LANGUAGES:
I have always admired people who can speak more than one language. I decided to make a list of all the languages of which I know at least one word. This might take a while.
I was born in America and thus grew up speaking relatively unaccented English. One of my grandfathers came from Sweden so I listened to that musical intonation as a child. I learned Glad Yul was Merry Christmas and that flicka meant girl.
The next language was Spanish. I can order beer,"Mas Cervasas, por favor" and food related items, Taco, enchilada and Mole Enchilada Con Poyo. Could I get chips with that.
Long dry spell. Sim means yes in Portugese. Nein means no in German and as far as sentence structure I think all sentences begin with a noun or maybe it is a verb.
I grew up in Basque country and listened to it but never learned anything other than five syllable names. Dr. Jewell could never pronounce Cihigoiniche and it always came out "She's a gonna getcha". Malexachebaria. Cengotito. I don't even know the Basque word for sheep.
There was actually a Latin teacher in the Junior High School. When she left that was the end of Latin. I collided with Latin root words later on in medical terminology class which I found fascinating. My favorite quote in Latin is "Carthago delenda est". Carthage must be destroyed and eventually it was completely wiped off the face of the earth.
In high school, we had an exchange student from Kenya. Her name was Ellen Ogada and she was pure shining black and had very white teeth. I begged her to teach me some Swahili and all I can remember 50 odd years later is "Kiazi kizuri kidogo" which means three small potatoes. Might come in handy on Safari.
I learned a few Inupiaq words when I worked in Barrow, Alaska. Eiii is yes. Mukluks boots. Kuspik, ladies dress. Arigaaa means wow. Muktuk, fresh whale blubber. Nanuk is polar bear. Usik is walrus penis bone. These were commonly carved and sold, always guaranteed to break the ice at a party.
While there I also learned a couple American Sign Language signs. I would hold up my hand and twist and back and forth rapidly in applause. I could hold up my fist and bend it back and forth which was "yes".
The year I came back to Idaho about 1975 I worked the apple harvest in the Dewey apple sheds. I sorted and packed apples. I had a chance to meet one of the Romanian exchange farmers. We spoke a bit finding commonalities and I asked him what "Good Evening" was in Romanian. He replied, "Buna Sera." I exclaimed that sounded like Italian. He then explained that Romania had been invade by the Romans a few centuries ago and some of the language remained as a result.
The same place had some exchange workers from Japan. They were a bit more difficult to interact with as they were hauling boxed apples to the railhead in town. I did get offered "Cigaretto?" and declined.
The only French I know is from a "French For Dummies" book I purchased and which languishes to this day on the book shelf. I of course recognize many French dishes and know enough to avoid snails on the menu. I learned that there are cognates in French that look like a familiar English word but invariably DO NOT MEAN THE SAME.
Italian, same thing food items with which I am familiar. The place names in Italy crack me up when translated into English. Liguria is Rooster, I think and that is very funny.
Chinese, menu items only except a girl friend married a Hong Kong born gentleman and as a friend I was invited to his parents Chinese New Years celebration. Wow! I learned all about pork steamed buns. God Bless the Chinese.
I read a scifi book years ago, set in Earth future. It is highly desired that a person speak as many different languages as possible. It is not uncommon to know and speak 10 to 15 different languages. These people make excellent diplomats as well as translators. The women of this group also speak as many languages as possible. However the social group represses the women so that they do not do much more than have children. They have been creating a separate women's language in a very quiet rebellion. They are happy to know something that the men do not.
I have always admired people who can speak more than one language. I decided to make a list of all the languages of which I know at least one word. This might take a while.
I was born in America and thus grew up speaking relatively unaccented English. One of my grandfathers came from Sweden so I listened to that musical intonation as a child. I learned Glad Yul was Merry Christmas and that flicka meant girl.
The next language was Spanish. I can order beer,"Mas Cervasas, por favor" and food related items, Taco, enchilada and Mole Enchilada Con Poyo. Could I get chips with that.
Long dry spell. Sim means yes in Portugese. Nein means no in German and as far as sentence structure I think all sentences begin with a noun or maybe it is a verb.
I grew up in Basque country and listened to it but never learned anything other than five syllable names. Dr. Jewell could never pronounce Cihigoiniche and it always came out "She's a gonna getcha". Malexachebaria. Cengotito. I don't even know the Basque word for sheep.
There was actually a Latin teacher in the Junior High School. When she left that was the end of Latin. I collided with Latin root words later on in medical terminology class which I found fascinating. My favorite quote in Latin is "Carthago delenda est". Carthage must be destroyed and eventually it was completely wiped off the face of the earth.
In high school, we had an exchange student from Kenya. Her name was Ellen Ogada and she was pure shining black and had very white teeth. I begged her to teach me some Swahili and all I can remember 50 odd years later is "Kiazi kizuri kidogo" which means three small potatoes. Might come in handy on Safari.
I learned a few Inupiaq words when I worked in Barrow, Alaska. Eiii is yes. Mukluks boots. Kuspik, ladies dress. Arigaaa means wow. Muktuk, fresh whale blubber. Nanuk is polar bear. Usik is walrus penis bone. These were commonly carved and sold, always guaranteed to break the ice at a party.
While there I also learned a couple American Sign Language signs. I would hold up my hand and twist and back and forth rapidly in applause. I could hold up my fist and bend it back and forth which was "yes".
The year I came back to Idaho about 1975 I worked the apple harvest in the Dewey apple sheds. I sorted and packed apples. I had a chance to meet one of the Romanian exchange farmers. We spoke a bit finding commonalities and I asked him what "Good Evening" was in Romanian. He replied, "Buna Sera." I exclaimed that sounded like Italian. He then explained that Romania had been invade by the Romans a few centuries ago and some of the language remained as a result.
The same place had some exchange workers from Japan. They were a bit more difficult to interact with as they were hauling boxed apples to the railhead in town. I did get offered "Cigaretto?" and declined.
The only French I know is from a "French For Dummies" book I purchased and which languishes to this day on the book shelf. I of course recognize many French dishes and know enough to avoid snails on the menu. I learned that there are cognates in French that look like a familiar English word but invariably DO NOT MEAN THE SAME.
Italian, same thing food items with which I am familiar. The place names in Italy crack me up when translated into English. Liguria is Rooster, I think and that is very funny.
Chinese, menu items only except a girl friend married a Hong Kong born gentleman and as a friend I was invited to his parents Chinese New Years celebration. Wow! I learned all about pork steamed buns. God Bless the Chinese.
I read a scifi book years ago, set in Earth future. It is highly desired that a person speak as many different languages as possible. It is not uncommon to know and speak 10 to 15 different languages. These people make excellent diplomats as well as translators. The women of this group also speak as many languages as possible. However the social group represses the women so that they do not do much more than have children. They have been creating a separate women's language in a very quiet rebellion. They are happy to know something that the men do not.
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