The Flat Earth Society

Other Discussion Boards => Philosophy, Religion & Society => Topic started by: Rushy on September 22, 2014, 11:49:29 PM

Title: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 22, 2014, 11:49:29 PM
I looked into some foreign language classes because I need some humanities credits, but wanted it to be something practically useful. Of course the top contenders were Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, being more popular per capita languages than English. Since I took Spanish in high school and learned very little (which was my own fault) I looked more closely into Mandarin. There is a big catch, though: only one Mandarin class is offered at the college I attend, and not only that, but the class is 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 7 days a week for 16 weeks.

What wonderful stories does the FES have about foreign language encounters?

Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost of V on September 22, 2014, 11:56:00 PM
Took Spanish 3 times in middle school. Failed each time.


Have you considered Klingon?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Particle Person on September 22, 2014, 11:58:42 PM
I choose which languages to study based on the sort of women I want to seduce. So, naturally, Russian and Spanish are my focus. I recommend Spanish for you, since you've already been exposed to it and it will be more relevant than Mandarin for a US citizen.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 23, 2014, 12:48:10 AM
I took 2 years of French in middle school, 2 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years of German in college. I suck at all of it.

I wanted to take Gaelic in college but they didn't offer it. I picked up on German better than the other two but I was more interested and more invested in making good grades. I dislike Spanish but French is really interesting if only because they don't pronounce half of the letters.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lord Dave on September 23, 2014, 12:56:38 AM
Pick spanish.  You won't remember it anyway and it's easier to pass.

Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 23, 2014, 01:14:19 AM
Pick spanish.  You won't remember it anyway and it's easier to pass.
Yep, pretty much this.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 23, 2014, 01:53:21 AM
But the Chinese are going to take over the world after they overthrow the Jews.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 23, 2014, 01:58:54 AM
But it's difficult to learn. If you're just looking for credits than take an easy one so you don't mess up your GPA. Spanish is both relatively easy and extremely practical for someone living in the south west.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Tau on September 23, 2014, 02:02:00 AM
But the Chinese are going to take over the world after they overthrow the Jews.

It'll never happen. The Jews are already in control of China. Have you seen the Chinese president's nose?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: spoon on September 23, 2014, 03:37:14 AM
My school has a fantastic Norwegian department, so I'm taking the first course next fall.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Pete Svarrior on September 23, 2014, 03:55:23 AM
I took English. Didn't go that well.

I also took a very small amount of German and Russian throughout compulsory education. I can just about read it very slowly, and I could maybe mutter out a half-comprehensible sentence in Russian if I really had to, but I'm not comfortable with either.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: beardo on September 23, 2014, 04:08:35 AM
But pizaaplanet! You speak Polish! That's practically Russian!
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Pete Svarrior on September 23, 2014, 04:40:11 AM
It does help in many ways, but it also fucks me up, because I try to apply what would intuitively make sense in Polish to Russian, and then it doesn't.

That said, if there is a language that I'm currently not proficient in but could become proficient in with relative ease, I'd say it would be Russian. I should stop being a lazy shit and learn it some day.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 23, 2014, 04:48:14 AM
It does help in many ways, but it also fucks me up, because I try to apply what would intuitively make sense in Polish to Russian, and then it doesn't.

That said, if there is a language that I'm currently not proficient in but could become proficient in with relative ease, I'd say it would be Russian. I should stop being a lazy shit and learn it some day.

It's only a matter of time before they invade, anyway. You might as well accept your new Soviet masters by learning their angry language.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Particle Person on September 23, 2014, 04:50:44 AM
cheeki breeki get out of here stalker
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Pete Svarrior on September 23, 2014, 05:02:07 AM
It's only a matter of time before they invade, anyway. You might as well accept your new Soviet masters by learning their angry language.
It's okay, now that we still have Scotland we can use their angry yells to counter theirs, thus keeping my ass safe.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Vindictus on September 23, 2014, 07:54:57 AM
It does help in many ways, but it also fucks me up, because I try to apply what would intuitively make sense in Polish to Russian, and then it doesn't.

That said, if there is a language that I'm currently not proficient in but could become proficient in with relative ease, I'd say it would be Russian. I should stop being a lazy shit and learn it some day.

It's only a matter of time before they invade, anyway. You might as well accept your new Soviet masters by learning their angry language.

Poland is in NATO.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost Spaghetti on September 23, 2014, 08:01:14 AM
I found Russian quite easy, well, easy enough to self-teach enough of it to survive a couple of weeks in Ukraine and Petersburg. The language is quite literal and there doesn't seem to be much mucking about with tenses required.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Pete Svarrior on September 23, 2014, 08:14:05 AM
Conjugation and declension are what gets me. They're similar enough to Polish for me to want to fall back to what I already know, but different enough to make me sound like an idiot when I do. Not to mention the abundance of false-friend words. The Polish word for caviar means carpet in Russian - lol wut.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 23, 2014, 03:22:00 PM
I took 2 years of French in middle school, 2 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years of German in college. I suck at all of it.

I wanted to take Gaelic in college but they didn't offer it. I picked up on German better than the other two but I was more interested and more invested in making good grades. I dislike Spanish but French is really interesting if only because they don't pronounce half of the letters.

Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Shane on September 23, 2014, 03:51:22 PM
I took Spanish for like 5 years, between middle school and high school. I didn't really learn anything. I learned way more working with Guatemalans for the past 3 years.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost of V on September 23, 2014, 05:00:01 PM
Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?

I think the dialect you're looking for is "hipster".
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 23, 2014, 05:05:33 PM
Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?

I think the dialect you're looking for is "hipster".

lol
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 23, 2014, 05:14:06 PM
I took 2 years of French in middle school, 2 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years of German in college. I suck at all of it.

I wanted to take Gaelic in college but they didn't offer it. I picked up on German better than the other two but I was more interested and more invested in making good grades. I dislike Spanish but French is really interesting if only because they don't pronounce half of the letters.

Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?
Scottish.

Although I am impressed that as an Irishman you would even ask. Most Irish just assume you mean Irish Gaelic.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Thork on September 23, 2014, 05:15:33 PM
Most Irish just assume all Gaelic is Irish.
Citation? I very much doubt that to be the case.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 23, 2014, 05:29:26 PM
Although I am impressed that as an Irishman you would even ask. Most Irish just assume you mean Irish Gaelic.

Not quite. Most of the time if you're American we presume you mean Irish because you usually do. This is at least true for the people I know.

Citation? I very much doubt that to be the case.

You'd be correct. We do not assume all Gaelic is Irish. Our own education system makes sure of that.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 23, 2014, 05:42:07 PM
You'd be correct. We do not assume all Gaelic is Irish. Our own education system makes sure of that.
Interesting.

Well then the Irish I've known are dicks. Or like you said, they just thought I meant Irish because I'm American.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 23, 2014, 05:44:38 PM
You'd be correct. We do not assume all Gaelic is Irish. Our own education system makes sure of that.
Interesting.

Well then the Irish I've known are dicks. Or like you said, they just thought I meant Irish because I'm American.

Could easily be one or the other.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost Spaghetti on September 24, 2014, 07:50:48 AM
I took 2 years of French in middle school, 2 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years of German in college. I suck at all of it.

I wanted to take Gaelic in college but they didn't offer it. I picked up on German better than the other two but I was more interested and more invested in making good grades. I dislike Spanish but French is really interesting if only because they don't pronounce half of the letters.

Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?

You forgot Manx
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: markjo on September 24, 2014, 01:58:57 PM
Q: What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages?
A:  Bilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages?
A:  Trilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks 1 language?
A:  American.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 24, 2014, 03:23:59 PM
I took 2 years of French in middle school, 2 years of Spanish in high school, and 2 years of German in college. I suck at all of it.

I wanted to take Gaelic in college but they didn't offer it. I picked up on German better than the other two but I was more interested and more invested in making good grades. I dislike Spanish but French is really interesting if only because they don't pronounce half of the letters.

Which Gaelic? :) Irish or Scottish? Or perhaps Welsh?

You forgot Manx

I just thought it was far too unlikely.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 24, 2014, 11:21:31 PM
It does help in many ways, but it also fucks me up, because I try to apply what would intuitively make sense in Polish to Russian, and then it doesn't.

That said, if there is a language that I'm currently not proficient in but could become proficient in with relative ease, I'd say it would be Russian. I should stop being a lazy shit and learn it some day.

It's only a matter of time before they invade, anyway. You might as well accept your new Soviet masters by learning their angry language.

Poland is in NATO.

And?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Vindictus on September 25, 2014, 12:14:17 AM
It does help in many ways, but it also fucks me up, because I try to apply what would intuitively make sense in Polish to Russian, and then it doesn't.

That said, if there is a language that I'm currently not proficient in but could become proficient in with relative ease, I'd say it would be Russian. I should stop being a lazy shit and learn it some day.

It's only a matter of time before they invade, anyway. You might as well accept your new Soviet masters by learning their angry language.

Poland is in NATO.

And?
Well.. They probably won't be happy about a Russian invasion. No one cares about Crimea.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 25, 2014, 03:35:09 AM
Well.. They probably won't be happy about a Russian invasion. No one cares about Crimea.

They wouldn't be happy and that would be the extent of NATO's response if Poland were invaded. I honestly believe that NATO would do nothing and might even fall apart. Most of the NATO countries care very little about each other.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Vindictus on September 25, 2014, 03:39:06 AM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing if one of their members was invaded by Russia.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 25, 2014, 05:14:53 AM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing if one of their members was invaded by Russia.

I didn't say they would do nothing. I simply said that they would do very little.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Snupes on September 25, 2014, 07:04:00 AM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing

I didn't say they would do nothing.
I honestly believe that NATO would do nothing
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Vindictus on September 25, 2014, 07:22:57 AM
Did.. did you just catch Rushy out? Oh my God!
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost of V on September 25, 2014, 07:40:05 AM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing

I didn't say they would do nothing.
I honestly believe that NATO would do nothing

Classic Rushy.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 26, 2014, 01:36:47 AM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing

I didn't say they would do nothing.
I honestly believe that NATO would do nothing

Notice only one of those says honestly.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Saddam Hussein on September 26, 2014, 02:08:52 AM
Russia will soon invade the United States.  High schools will be priority targets.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Thork on September 26, 2014, 07:46:17 AM
Russia will soon invade the United States.  High schools will be priority targets.
America don't know how to attack a school. They only have weapons that destroy oil wells.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Hoppy on September 26, 2014, 11:09:40 AM
Russia will soon invade the United States.  High schools will be priority targets.
America don't know how to attack a school. They only have weapons that destroy oil wells.
Also the weather patterns on the moon.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Saddam Hussein on September 26, 2014, 12:17:52 PM
Russia will soon invade the United States.  High schools will be priority targets.
America don't know how to attack a school. They only have weapons that destroy oil wells.

Irrelevant, seeing how Russia is the one doing the attacking.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Snupes on September 28, 2014, 11:09:54 PM
I highly doubt NATO would do nothing

I didn't say they would do nothing.
I honestly believe that NATO would do nothing

Notice only one of those says honestly.

kk good save 12/10
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Particle Person on September 28, 2014, 11:29:10 PM
Yeah, that was close. For a moment there I thought Rushy might be really dumb.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on September 29, 2014, 12:46:25 PM
For whatever its worth, IRUSH, I took Spanish in public high school, and lived in a town half Mexican in population, and then went to Guadalajara and studied during my summers of college, and studied more Spanish during my college academic years. I lived in Costa Rica for two and a half years also.

I speak Spanish as well as I do English. I am grateful for having learned the language. I studied Latin for two years in college as well, and lost most of that, and I'm trying to get that back now.

My knowledge of Hebrew is poor, just enough to get me through the Prayer Book without looking like a total schmuck in services. I can't read the alphabet, though.

I think you are right that Spanish or Mandarin Chinese are your best bets. Certainly Spanish is going to be hella easier. Latin is a good choice if you wish to have an appreciation for our cultural patrimony, and if you wish to understand the grammatical base of European languages generally. And of course, if you get Latin, learning Spanish (at the same time or later in life) will be simple.

So, that is where I would rate things. Overall, if I were you, and I had to make a choice based on a purely utilitarian grounds, and had a gun pointed at my head, I would pick Spanish. I think that would be the best option if the above situation obtained.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Thork on September 29, 2014, 05:53:55 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Flag_of_Esperanto.svg/200px-Flag_of_Esperanto.svg.png)
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on September 29, 2014, 05:56:46 PM
Except that Esperanto only has 2,000,000 speakers, and doesn't look to be getting any more soon. It really serves very little purpose in the overall scheme of things.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Lemon on September 29, 2014, 08:47:18 PM
It is highly useful and (especially in Europe) we need to push for its use.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 29, 2014, 11:27:03 PM
I'm probably just going to take another Spanish class. Its easier to find people to (attempt) to converse with, especially in Arizona.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on September 30, 2014, 02:00:34 AM
In the United States, aside from George Soros, who is a native speaker of Esperanto, you can probably count the number of speakers of the language on your fingers and your toes.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: rooster on September 30, 2014, 02:55:20 AM
In the United States, aside from George Soros, who is a native speaker of Esperanto, you can probably count the number of speakers of the language on your fingers and your toes.

Well damn, can I cash in on the rare speaker I've known?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Thork on September 30, 2014, 04:44:50 PM
In the United States, aside from George Soros, who is a native speaker of Esperanto
There are no native speakers of Esperanto.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Eddy Baby on September 30, 2014, 06:26:06 PM
You guys are silly, languages are an end in themselves, learn whatever you want.

And Thork, yes there are.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on September 30, 2014, 06:36:18 PM
George Soros was brought up speaking Esperanto as a native tongue, along with his native Magyar and English. That makes him a native speaker. Just because its an artificial language doesn't mean you can learn to speak it from birth.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Rushy on September 30, 2014, 08:46:12 PM
There are no native speakers of Esperanto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Esperanto_speakers
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Thork on October 01, 2014, 11:24:29 PM
na•tive (nāˈtĭv)
 ► 
 
adj. Being such by birth or origin: a native Scot.
adj. Being one's own because of the place or circumstances of one's birth: our native land.

No one is born in Esperantoland. It isn't the official language of any country. As no one is native to Esperantoland because it doesn't exist, you can't speak the language like a native. Obviously.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Particle Person on October 01, 2014, 11:29:01 PM
na•tive (nāˈtĭv)
 ► 
 
adj. Being such by birth or origin: a native Scot.
adj. Being one's own because of the place or circumstances of one's birth: our native land.

No one is born in Esperantoland. It isn't the official language of any country. As no one is native to Esperantoland because it doesn't exist, you can't speak the language like a native. Obviously.

That isn't what it means to be a native speaker. A person born in the U.S. can be a native speaker of Spanish.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Ghost of V on October 01, 2014, 11:33:00 PM
If you are born to a family that speaks Esperanto, and Esperanto was your first language... you are a native speaker of Esperanto. Or is there something I'm missing?
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on October 02, 2014, 12:04:54 AM
No, you are not missing anything. I can live anywhere. But if my mother tongue is a language other than the one commonly used in the street, then I am native to that tongue, as well as (likely) the one used in the street. I had a lot of friends whose mother tongues were both English and Spanish. Wikipedia defines a native speaker of Esperanto as a person who has at least one parent who teaches them Esperanto from birth. They go on to say that, for whatever reason, this is almost always the father.

QUOTE: "Native Esperanto speakers (in Esperanto denaskuloj or denaskaj esperantistoj) are people who have acquired Esperanto as one of their native languages. As of 1996, there were 350 or so attested cases of native Esperanto speakers,[1] though estimates from associations indicate that there are currently around 1,000 Esperanto-speaking families, involving perhaps 2,000 children.[2] In all known cases, speakers are natively bilingual, raised in both Esperanto and either the local national language or the native language of their parents. In all but a handful of cases, it was the father who used Esperanto with the child. In the majority of such families, the parents had the same native language, though in many the parents had different native languages, and only Esperanto in common.[1][3]" Wikipedia

I learned Spanish starting in the Ninth Grade, but acquired virtual native fluency in it. And I used it as a mother tongue in Latin America for almost three years. So, although I don't define myself as a native speaker, I do say that I have native fluency in it, which is nearly the same thing. But it is a  bit different than learning to speak with a language, I will acknowledge that. I learned to speak with English only. I also learned Latin, but I lost most of it, which is why I am getting it back now, though prolonged study. Its coming back, but its not easy.

Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Eddy Baby on October 02, 2014, 03:13:49 AM
na•tive (nāˈtĭv)
 ► 
 
adj. Being such by birth or origin: a native Scot.
adj. Being one's own because of the place or circumstances of one's birth: our native land.

No one is born in Esperantoland. It isn't the official language of any country. As no one is native to Esperantoland because it doesn't exist, you can't speak the language like a native. Obviously.

This was the poorest troll attempt I've seen in a while
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Yaakov ben Avraham on October 02, 2014, 03:50:47 AM
That was a pretty sorry attempt at trolling. Those who would troll should first get the right data., and accurately apply words in the English language.
Title: Re: Foreign Language
Post by: Fortuna on October 12, 2014, 05:47:18 PM
I took three years of Spanish and still remember a decent amount of it.