Languages

[ila]

Transladyboy is a site in which the language of communication is in English. Yet there are several members whose mother tongue is not English. I have always admired people who can speak, read, and write a second, third, fourth, etc. language in addition to their mother tongue. It is even more admirable when that person also has to learn a new alphabet.

My mother tongue is English. The only other language I could ever speak with any degree of fluency is German. That's not such a great leap though as English is a Germanic language. English after all is named after the Angles, a Germanic tribe that migrated to the area of southern England from the North Sea area between present day Holland and Denmark. In fact if one listens to the dialect of the Frisians, another North Sea tribe, one would almost think he is listening to English. I only learned to speak German because I lived there for seven years. I am rapidly losing fluency in German though as I haven't spoken it in a number of years. I get the German news channel through my cable tv and as I listen to it I realize just how much I have forgotten.

I took French in school for several years and still don't know how to speak it beyond a few phrases. I did find out though that the French in France is easier to understand than the French spoken in Canada. I have been through several countries in Europe, but I don't speak any of the languages. At best I can get out a few words and phrases in the Romance languages, which are all related by their common root in Latin.

I did know some words and phrases in Greek and I still know the Greek alphabet (capital letters only). At one time I could carry on a conversation in Ukrainian although I tended to throw in a lot of Russian words. I can no longer converse in Ukrainian though and I don't remember very many words. I did manage to figure out most of the Cyrillic alphabet (again only capital letters) and that was all self taught from reading signs. That is the extent of my knowledge of Slavic languages.

I know none of the Arabic or Oriental languages. I am making a broad sweep here with oriental languages by including Turkish, Pashtu, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, etc. I also cannot read any of these languages (except Turkish which now uses an alphabet based on the Latin alphabet, but I still don't understand the words).

So forum members share with the rest of us your experiences learning languages other than your mother tongue. This includes those whose mother tongue is English as well as all our friends who learned English, as a second language, and are comfortable enough using it to communicate with us on an English site. I find the topic of languages very fascinating and look forward to your responses.

[sesame]

Ya ssou fi le mou Ila, kali spe ra. Mi la te Yermani ka? Apo pou ei sai?

[sesame]

I hope you like this one, Ila.

[sesame]

Cuántos de puede hablar en este idioma?

[sesame]

Respondeo ut is iam.

[ila]

Ya ssou fi le mou Ila, kali spe ra. Mi la te Yermani ka? Apo pou ei sai?

My guess is Greek and something about speaking German.

And it's only a guess and not a very educated one at that. I only remember a few words of any language that I knew anything of. I was also self taught in anything I did pick up so my grasp of languages wasn't all that strong.

[sesame]

Greek:
Hello Ila, my friend; good afternoon. Do you speak German? Where are you from?

[sesame]

Ok, Guys... and gals of course ;)
what is written below?

[sesame]

compello mihi == speak to me:yes:

But, what language is it? :rolleyes:

Bionca, exsisto meus amicus. :lol:

Gwenny, vos es vere callidus :p

Hank est sic excolo :D

Ila est plenus of sapientia :cool:

[ila]

Greek:
good afternoon.

I should have caught that right away. The first three expressions I ever learned were good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. I never knew how to spell them though and it always sounded like two words only. The second Greek expression I learned was how to get the required number of beer. After that it was (and pardon my spelling) Ava Kuprus - which I think translates to "long live Cyprus". It's been a long time so I can't even spell the Greek version of Cyprus using the Latin alphabet.

[Bionca]

I 0n1y Kn0w L33T

[sesame]

Ila, "I think you are from Canada"
http://forum.transladyboy.com/files/7/3/9/9/28137.jpg
In Greek alphabets...

[sesame]

I 0n1y Kn0w L33T

Ah, Queen of Hearts is here.

Glad to be in your Holy presence, your Ladyship:inlove:.

[sesame]

Any service for this humble servant, your Highness? Mizzy B?:frown:

[ila]

Ila, "I think you are from Canada"
http://forum.transladyboy.com/files/7/3/9/9/28137.jpg
In Greek alphabets...

You didn't give me a chance work on that.

[Bionca]

Sesame.. you are really so sweet and funny.

Queen of Hearts indeed.. lol... I think you have me confused with the lovelies that populate the board just above this one.

[ila]

Cuántos de puede hablar en este idioma?

I don't speak Spanish. If I had time I could look up the translation. Well ok I have the time I just don't have the inclination right now. I can only recognize two words in there:
hablar - I'm guessing is the infinitive of to speak
idioma - comes from the Latin root meaning one's own

[ila]

compello mihi == speak to me:yes:

But, what language is it? :rolleyes:

Ila est plenus of sapientia :cool:

Latin: Ila is full of knowledge.
(I guess my Latin isn't as bad as I thought. Of course Latin had a great influence on English)

[ila]

So Sesame just how many languages do you know and what are they?

[sesame]

Sesame.. you are really so sweet and funny.

Queen of Hearts indeed.. lol... I think you have me confused with the lovelies that populate the board just above this one.
Now, now, you dont have to be so polite. You know fairly well, dont pretend to be a village girl. You are the real star here.:p

[sesame]

So Sesame just how many languages do you know and what are they?
I am an ignorant simpleton... stupe. I dont know any language, as such. I barely manage with gestures and pregnant Grunts.:p

[ila]

I am an ignorant simpleton... stupe. I dont know any language, as such. I barely manage with gestures and pregnant Grunts.:p

Yeah ok, I really believe you.;)

[sesame]

What? Ila, You are making fun of me?

aiiiii weel chkees mizzzz Beeeez!

What do you make out of that?

[ila]

What? Ila, You are making fun of me?


Nope, not at all.

[sesame]

Puella Volo basio :
illa women es venustus:
EGO contemplor illa per valde suspicio:

Bionca & GRH
(dea es valde sapiens) *:p*

[sesame]

وأود ان يكون في العالم كله مرة أخرى. وأود ان يكون واحد في العالم مرة اخرى. ويجب الا يكون هناك الفرح والوئام فى كل مكان.




Some thoughts... I dont know if my Arabic adds up to anything.
So, as an extra precaution, this is what I intend to say. :p
Let the world be whole again.
Let the world be one again.
Let there be joy and harmony everywhere.

[sesame]

A all areithia i mewn Cymraeg 'ma?

[rhythmic delivery]

my first language is gaelige but unfortunatly i have to speek english due to eight hundred years of english empearialism.

is a gaelige mo chead teanga ach leabhairim bearla de gra

[sesame]

my first language is gaelige but unfortunatly i have to speek english due to eight hundred years of english empearialismI find your Irish accent very entertaining. Honest to God, its absolutely charming.:respect:

[GRH]

Was post number 8 Hebrew? Aramaic?

And your last post to Bionca and I...

Does it translate to something like "Goddesses of man?"

I'm not very good with foreign languages...The only class I ever failed in college (or my whole life for that matter) was German...But that had a lot to do with my less than stellar attendance. I studied a few years of French back in the day and it is by far my favorite spoken language, it's really beautiful. Too bad I know so little of it.

[rhythmic delivery]

I find your Irish accent very entertaining. Honest to God, its absolutely charming.:respect:

are you poking fun at my poor typing and spelling skills?

[sesame]

dea es valde sapiens:D

I tried to say, They are very wise goddesses.
sapiens=wise

[sesame]

rhythmic delivery,
Believe me, ;)
I really liked to read that.:innocent:

[rhythmic delivery]

are you welsh

[sesame]

RDelivery,
Not really.
If you count the languages I have spoken in,
then, I am all these:

Greek
Hebrew
Latin
English
Arabic
Spanish

Who am I?:p

[jimnaseum]

In the Netherlands the kids must learn Dutch, English, French and German in school, I hear. I speak American. But after going to Europe, you really do look at your home country different when you get back.

[sesame]

But after going to Europe, you really do look at your home country different when you get back.
Elucidate please.:yes:

[sesame]

Effor vestri. Libero vestri animus. Impendo vestri scientia.

~ Express yourself. Free your soul. Expand your knowledge.

[sesame]

Amor est via gratia Deus


~Love is the way to God.

[Mel Asher]

What, Sesame ? Reads like Classical Greek to me. Maybe some Latin too ?

As these are not exactly developing languages, they're only part of my murky academic past. I am however stumblingly fluent in French. German - nice easy language to learn but I have not gone very far - no real incentive. But I think it's a good point : Europeans should have access to a Translator on this Forum, and feel free to use their native tongue in expressing their opinions. I for one would enjoy unravelling their contributions - as long as they are not in Basque or Languedoc or similar obscure dialects.

Anyway keep stretching this thread - it's an interesting one -

[sesame]

What, Sesame ? Reads like Classical Greek to me. Maybe some Latin too ?Its only Latin Mel, I'm referring to the last two posts. I think that Latin has a grace which no other European language has. Also many words in English, French, Italian or German have their Origin in Latin. Most species have their scientific names in Latin.

In old times, upto mid 18th century, scientists whimsically referred to plants and animals with their common names. But these names were Local and varied from region to region. So two people might have been talking about the same animal unknowingly and imagine them to be different due to their fanciful local names!

This problem was solved by Carl Linnaeus (Swedish biologist) in 1758 AD. He proposed a universal naming system called binomial nomenclature. According to him each species should have a unique name and everyone should call it by that name in the scientific community. Binomial, as you can guess means two names, one personal name and one surname(family name = genus). Its very similar to human names, like in Albert Einstein, Albert is his personal name, Einstein is the family name. As a convention, this scientific name was chosen mostly from Latin words. Hence the Latin Name. Later more words are added to denote regional variations. Anyway, in a Latin name, the family name stands first and then comes the personal name. So many species can share the family name, like brothers and sisters, but there is only one personal name. Like there may be many Einsteins, but only one Albert Einstein.

Eg. Tiger
Latin name: Panthera tigris.
subspecies:
Panthera tigris tigris (Royal Bengal tiger)
Panthera tigris balica (Bali tiger became extinct in 1937):no:
Panthera tigris altaica (Siberian tiger)
Panthera tigris amoyensis (South China tiger)
Panthera tigris corbetti (Indochinese tigers, Thailand, named after Jim Corbett, only 1000 left in the world!)
Panthera tigris sumatrae (Sumatra tigers, only about 500!)

Panthera pardus (Leopard)
Panthera onca (Jaguar)
Panthera leo (Lion)

Forgive me, if I bored you to hell with Latin, Linnaeus, Lions and Tigers.:p

[twistedone]

I used to be pretty good with Italian, but its like everything else, if you don't use it, you lose it.

[jimnaseum]

Elucidate please. What?
When F Scott and Hemingway and Orson Welles got famous they went to Europe, got to know the people, the languages, absorb, then when they got home it hit them in the face how rascist America was. When Malcolm X went to the middle East he said for the first time in his life he could walk down the street and not FEEL people eryeballing him. Of course it's not as bad now, but there was an episode on the Sopranos where Tony goes to Italy, everybody eats together, the kids play with the parents, there's flowers everywhere, then Tony gets back to Jersey and drives down the NJ parkway and it's chain link fences and smokestacks. People in Europe pay higher taxes but they get it back in services. The Romance languages are deeper culturally.

[Mel Asher]

Since I have you pegged as Ahasuerus ( although he was last identified in Mainz 400 years ago, and you do not claim knowledge of German ) Ecclesiastical Latin would be familiar ground to you. Perhaps you gave Linnaeus a helping hand. Either way, may I be so bold as to point out that you left Panthera uncia off your list. Snow Leopards are so beautiful, they deserve a mention. Next to Panthera nebulosa ( which is still a matter of hot debate in zoological circles as to whether it should be a Felis or one of the Panthera ) it is certainly one of the rarest cats.

No apologies please, Sesame, by all means bang on about Linnaeus. I'm really obsessive about nature, mammals in particular ( quite apart from Trannies, that is ! ), so I'm happy !

[RedderZNZ]

My native tongue is Russian.
Fluent in Ukrainian and English.
Got some basics in French and German.
Remember some words from Spanish :)

Ну и само собой немножко уроков по великому и могучему: Здорово, пацаны! Как жизнь молодая! Всем удачи :)

[ila]

I for one would enjoy unravelling their contributions - as long as they are not in Basque or Languedoc or similar obscure dialects.


Basque is not a dialect. It is a language in its own right. It is unrelated to any other language currently spoken in Europe. If I remember correctly Basque is not related to any known language anywhere in the world.

[sesame]

Ah, Mel, what are friends like you for?
If I miss something, please, do remind me.
But the Southeast Asian Clouded Leopard
has already got a Latin name. And its :
Neofelis nebulosa

meaning clouded new cat.
Neo = new (Greek), felis = cat (Latin)
Nebulosa = foggy (Latin)
It lives in the rainforests of SE Asia.

Panthera uncia
The magnificent snow leopard of SE Asia.
This beautiful fat-cat :p is found at a height of 10,000 feet!
(officially 5000-18,000 feet) Its home is in the Altai mountains (Russia & Mongolia), Hindu-Kush mountains (Afghanistan) and the Himalayas.
It mostly stays in the snowy heights.

[sesame]

Pardon me, Ila dear, for dragging the thread forcibly into the wild. :p

[ila]

I think that Latin has a grace which no other European language has. Also many words in English, French, Italian or German have their Origin in Latin.


Latin has influenced so many languages because of the Roman conquests and settlements. A main invasion route to northern Europe was through the Rhine valley in Germany. The Romans built many settlements and fortifications throughout the Rhine valley and that is why Latin had a great influence on German. The Romans were in the British Isles for more than 400 years and that is lone of the reasons there is such a great Latin influence on English. The other reason for the Latin influence on English was the Norman conquest of the 11th century which brought a French influence to English.

French and Italian are derivitives of Latin as are the other Romance languages. They are in effect different developments of Latin created because the people, over time, changed Latin in their local areas and made the new language their own.

Much the same has happened with English and Dutch which are just two languages derived from German.

[ila]

The Romance languages are deeper culturally.

How did you arrive at this conclusion? The Romance languages developed from Latin. How does that make them culturally deeper than any other language? Don't give me the explanation that Romance languages are more romantic than other languages. The term Romance language is not used to describe the languages in the sense that romance is currently used in English. Rather the term Romance language only means that it was derived from the Romans, who spoke Latin.

[sesame]

Much the same has happened with English and Dutch which are just two languages derived from German.English derived from German? That is an insane idea! Or do you mean Germanic (Indo-European family of languages)?(thats true)

I prefer to think that English, French & German developed independantly from Latin & Indo-European family of languages.

In fact, French sounds very much like a twisted dialect of English. (no pun) Just my observation.

[ila]

English derived from German? That is an insane idea! Or do you mean Germanic (Indo-European family of languages)?(thats true)

I prefer to think that English, French & German developed independantly from Latin & Indo-European family of languages.

In fact, French sounds very much like a twisted dialect of English. (no pun) Just my observation.

To be truly accurate English is a Germanic language. English is named after the Angles, a Germanic tribe. The Saxons, another Germanic tribe, also had a great influence on English. Norwegian and Danish words, through the Viking conquests, have contributed words to the English language. All the Scandanavian languages are classified as Germanic (note Finns are not Scandanavian and their language is not Germanic).

If one traces back the Indo European languages one will find that their common root is Sanskrit.

[sesame]

Sanskrit, as we know it, is not the original Vedic language.
SansKrit as the name signifies is a reformed language.
Samskara=to reform or clean up.
The Old Vedic language is Deva-Bhasha the language of the Gods (Deva).
Panini, a scholar cleaned up the very complex grammer and simplified it into Sanskrit. SansKrit as a language is very scientific, its almost mathematical! If you mixup randomly all the words in a Sanskrit sentence, it will still mean the same! The phonetic speech sounds in Sanskrit also rise and fall in perfect musical rhythm, accurate to the minutest degree. All verses constructed in Sanskrit are bound in a particular metre and a rhythm by the author. This is called Chhanda.

So, Veda was not spoken like random speech.
Rather, it was sung! People communicated in songs, with melody!

[ila]

Sanskrit, as we know it, is not the original Vedic language.
SansKrit as the name signifies is a reformed language.
Samskara=to reform or clean up.
The Old Vedic language is Deva-Bhasha the language of the Gods (Deva).
Panini, a scholar cleaned up the very complex grammer and simplified it into Sanskrit. SansKrit as a language is very scientific, its almost mathematical! If you mixup randomly all the words in a Sanskrit sentence, it will still mean the same! The phonetic speech sounds in Sanskrit also rise and fall in perfect musical rhythm, accurate to the minutest degree. All verses constructed in Sanskrit are bound in a particular metre and a rhythm by the author. This is called Chhanda.

So, Veda was not spoken like random speech.
Rather, it was sung! People communicated in songs, with melody!

Thankyou Sesame. Although I have heard of Sanskrit and its relationship to the Indo-European languages I have never done any real research on it. Your post has been very informative and enlightening.:respect:

[translover]

My mother language is Turkish ...
I can speak English but not very good when i speak, i write it better.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ...

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? :)

[ila]

My mother language is Turkish ...
I can speak English but not very good when i speak, i write it better.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ...

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? :)

Hi translover. I've been waiting for your comments on this topic since I admire your ability to speak, read, and write in more than one language.

I'm afraid I don't speak any Turkish at all. I did visit your wonderful country many years ago, but I don't remember any of the words and phrases that I picked up. One of the things I do remember is all the people being so friendly towards visitors (whether in the big cities or the small towns that I was in). Everyone that I met there wanted to speak English though, which made it harder to pick up any of the language. Unfortunately my stay wasn't long enough, in any one place, to have time to make friends and really learn the language.

[Mel Asher]

Sesame - I should have know I wouldn't get away with it ! Of course the beautiful Clouded Leopard does not belong to the Panther squad, but there again neither does it belong to the Felids. The skull structure apparently has some unique features with disqualify it from both groups. So there it is all on its own as is the Cheetah. I guess from the snow, the third of your pics is one of Uncia uncia, although I would have expected lighter colouration. Got fantastic paws too - just like camels. Pics 1 and 2 are most certainly Neofelis. Beautiful animals, all three ! Admiration and Respect. So, my apologies for trying to pull that one on you !

Now back to the subject of this thread - ila, I promise I will control my urge to enthuse any more about wildlife on this thread. You are quite right. Basque is linguistically unique and quite separate from the Indo-European languages. It is certainly no dialect, and the jury is still out as to whether the Basques represent the original indigenous people inhabiting the Pyreneean ( is that the right spelling ? It looks kinda funny ) regions. Mea culpa, ila, it was sloppy word usage on my part. Hells Teeth, that's two apologies in one post ! I must be really slipping !

I have to say there seem to be some excellent porn sites of ' Latin ' origin which have been thoroughly trawled for Shemales and Trannies. ( How many times have we come across pictures of Bianca in our Web Travels ? ) By the same token there must be not a few Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Tgirls and Shemales who would, given the opportunity, take part in this Forum, but who feel excluded by language. Can this be redressed somehow ? Although I have enjoyed reading the discussion on the various origins of European languages, I think reaching out to others whose mother-tongue is not English should be given some further consideration.

[translover]

Hi translover. I've been waiting for your comments on this topic since I admire your ability to speak, read, and write in more than one language.

I'm afraid I don't speak any Turkish at all. I did visit your wonderful country many years ago, but I don't remember any of the words and phrases that I picked up. One of the things I do remember is all the people being so friendly towards visitors (whether in the big cities or the small towns that I was in). Everyone that I met there wanted to speak English though, which made it harder to pick up any of the language. Unfortunately my stay wasn't long enough, in any one place, to have time to make friends and really learn the language.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!! Hi from Turkiye to all people !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ... With my respects and loves

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? Ila, How are you? Would u like to talk Turkish language ?

Merhaba Ila, Hangi şehir/şehirleri ziyaret ettin Türkiyede ? Sana Antalya yı (Türkiyenin güneyi) öneririm bu aylarda tatil için. Çok güzel deniz, kumsal,güneş,sağlam gece hayatı,çok iyi ve lüks oteller ve tatil köyleri (iyi fiyata) ve etrafta birçok travestilerle :yes:. Rehberin olabilirim eğer istersen. Şimdi yurt dışındayım ama ağustos ayında ülkeme gidicem ve ilk olarak Ankara sonra İstanbul ve tatil için Antalya/Kemer veya Antalya/Alanya. :rolleyes:

English:
Hi Ila, Which city/cities you have visited in Turkiye ? And i suggest u, Antalya (south of Turkiye) in these months for holiday. Wonderful sea, beaches, sun,great nightlife, very nice and luxury hotels and resorts (with good prices) and many ladyboys around there :yes::cool:. i can be your guide if u want. I am in abroad now but i will go to my country in August and i will go to Ankara first and then Istanbul and go to holiday in Antalya/Kemer or Antalya/Alanya. :rolleyes:

[sesame]

Mel Asher, please dont apologise like that. We are all friends here. Also, technically speaking, Binomial Nomenclature is a Language of Science!
Relax, mano! ;)

Ila, welcome back from your Piranha hunting trip. :lol: Damn! You ate all of them? Alone? Dont forget, you promised me a good story, on your return!

I am very interested in Old Saxon Roots from which many modern English words have been born. I was wondering if you could provide me with some insight. And perhaps a line or two about their culture?

I recently found out that many of the 26 English alphabets didnt exist in the middle ages. They have been fashioned much later.:eek:

[Mel Asher]

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language. They enriched the emerging English Language as conquerors of an already polyglottal people. And what a debt the English Language owes to the Christial Church and its scholarship. Latin and Greek Classics as standard education for the nobility, and later Scientific Nomenclature - a positive harvest of Greek and Latin, and a linguist's delight.
And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time.

Ain't Babel worderful ? !

[sesame]

Thank you Mel Asher, or just Mel! :)
That was such a rich article! Something more on old Saxon, with examples would be delicious.:drool:

And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time. Make your point with hard evidence please.

[ila]

I have to say there seem to be some excellent porn sites of ' Latin ' origin which have been thoroughly trawled for Shemales and Trannies. ( How many times have we come across pictures of Bianca in our Web Travels ? ) By the same token there must be not a few Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Tgirls and Shemales who would, given the opportunity, take part in this Forum, but who feel excluded by language. Can this be redressed somehow ? Although I have enjoyed reading the discussion on the various origins of European languages, I think reaching out to others whose mother-tongue is not English should be given some further consideration.

You have an interesting idea Mel.:respect: Do you have any proposals as to how to rectify this situation? I am not being sarcastic here. I am truly interested. Anyone can put up a post in any language they desire, but how many people on this site would be able to read a language other than English. If the majority cannot read the message then the purpose of the post is lost. I'm afraid I have no solutions to this. Perhaps someone might. I have seen automatic translation programs and although they can be functional, sometimes the results are hilarious and sometimes misleading.

[ila]

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!! Hi from Turkiye to all people !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ... With my respects and loves

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? Ila, How are you? Would u like to talk Turkish language ?

Merhaba Ila, Hangi şehir/şehirleri ziyaret ettin Türkiyede ? Sana Antalya yı (Türkiyenin güneyi) öneririm bu aylarda tatil için. Çok güzel deniz, kumsal,güneş,sağlam gece hayatı,çok iyi ve lüks oteller ve tatil köyleri (iyi fiyata) ve etrafta birçok travestilerle :yes:. Rehberin olabilirim eğer istersen. Şimdi yurt dışındayım ama ağustos ayında ülkeme gidicem ve ilk olarak Ankara sonra İstanbul ve tatil için Antalya/Kemer veya Antalya/Alanya. :rolleyes:

English:
Hi Ila, Which city/cities you have visited in Turkiye ? And i suggest u, Antalya (south of Turkiye) in these months for holiday. Wonderful sea, beaches, sun,great nightlife, very nice and luxury hotels and resorts (with good prices) and many ladyboys around there :yes::cool:. i can be your guide if u want. I am in abroad now but i will go to my country in August and i will go to Ankara first and then Istanbul and go to holiday in Antalya/Kemer or Antalya/Alanya. :rolleyes:

Hi translover. Yes I would like to learn Turkish or at the very least some useful words and phrases. I like your idea of writing a post in Turkish and then providing the English translation.

When I went to Turkey it was as part of a tour, which was the easiest way at the time to visit. I was in Instanbul, Ankara, and Bursa with a few stops at small towns in between. I had one memorable trip on a ferry from the Black Sea back to Instanbul in which I had an opportunity to talk to some of the people. Unfortunately I was quite drunk from drinking vodka, on the ferry, and so although I was relaxed and had a great time I wasn't able to retain too much Turkish.

I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to Turkey this year. My holidays are over soon and then it's back to work for me.

[sesame]

Meantime I am a little unhappy with the syntax you use for " Libero vestri animus " The Latin does not translate for me. Maybe a little more apt would be
" Expedite animum vestrum " or " Liberate animum vestrum ". Thank you Mel. I will change my signature right away.:respect:

[poktor]

Cool thread

I speak Dutch, English and German. And some French, but French is very difficult for me to learn. Those verbs make me go nuts like the verb 'to be':
je suis
tu es
ille est
nous sommes
vous etes

or something like that.

And someone said that English has a different langauge structure, namely Celtic.
I think that might be true, I really think that English stands somewhat apart from the other germanic languages.
For example, when I was little I didnt understand anything when I heard someone speak English but when I was on vacation to Sweden and Norway I could understand what people were talking about after some time while never having heard those languages before.

[DL_NL]

In the Netherlands the kids must learn Dutch, English, French and German in school, I hear.
True. Those are the languages I'm -mostly- fluent in, and I can understand some Spanish, Catalán, Italian and Frisian.

[FoxySarah]

Being Canadian, I was required to learn French in junior school, I've since forgotton all of it. I learned a little German in highschool, but not enough that I consider myself fluent.

[SweetCharmer]

konichiwa genki desu?

[givemets]

ok but can u guess this


volim da me jebe trandza

[Mel Asher]

Thank you Mel Asher, or just Mel! :)
That was such a rich article! Something more on old Saxon, with examples would be delicious.:drool:

Make your point with hard evidence please.

OK, Sesame - just for you. I'll come back to the Celtic question later.

AngloSaxon, otherwise called Old English, is one of those blends from the Indo-European ' Germanic ' languages which was widely spoken in England prior to and contemporary with the Norman Invasion. Not to be confused with Middle English which was a much more streamlined version eliminating a lot of the gender inflections and rigid inflections occurring in the verb endings. Middle English was therefore much nearer English as we know it today and was the lingo that Chaucer used in his Cantebury Tales ( Fairly raunchy in parts - viz the Miller's Tales etc. )

As requested a sample with rough translation. ( I would add that although I can read some Middle English, Old English is beyond my scholarship - so I asked a friend for this sample !

hlude bi hearpan hleoþor swinsade, þonne monige men, modum wlonce,
wordum sprecan, þa þe wel cuþan, þæt hi næfre song sellan ne hyrdon.

Then many men with noble hearts, who understood these things,
openly said that they had never heard a better song.

Good poetic stuff, but my learning has taken me elsewhere
!

[Mel Asher]

Ah, Mel, what are friends like you for?
If I miss something, please, do remind me.
But the Southeast Asian Clouded Leopard
has already got a Latin name. And its :
Neofelis nebulosa

meaning clouded new cat.
Neo = new (Greek), felis = cat (Latin)
Nebulosa = foggy (Latin)
It lives in the rainforests of SE Asia.

Panthera uncia
The magnificent snow leopard of SE Asia.
This beautiful fat-cat :p is found at a height of 10,000 feet!
(officially 5000-18,000 feet) Its home is in the Altai mountains (Russia & Mongolia), Hindu-Kush mountains (Afghanistan) and the Himalayas.
It mostly stays in the snowy heights.

Thanks for the nice comment, Sesame. I'm not sure where I would start with such a thread. The sex life of Chimpanzees, perhaps ? ( Not joking, honest !) But I'm not sure that wildlife would spark an awful lot of interest. Opinions and suggestions ( as vulgar as you like ) welcome on this from anyone.

[nmlss]

I'm from Barcelona, so my two official languages are spanish and catalan (and english, but it's not an official state language). Catalan is the language spoke in Catalonia, and it's a really refined one.

Salut i força al canut, gent!!

[Mel Asher]

Sesame - I should have know I wouldn't get away with it ! Of course the beautiful Clouded Leopard does not belong to the Panther squad, but there again neither does it belong to the Felids. The skull structure apparently has some unique features with disqualify it from both groups. So there it is all on its own as is the Cheetah. I guess from the snow, the third of your pics is one of Uncia uncia, although I would have expected lighter colouration. Got fantastic paws too - just like camels. Pics 1 and 2 are most certainly Neofelis. Beautiful animals, all three ! Admiration and Respect. So, my apologies for trying to pull that one on you !

Now back to the subject of this thread - ila, I promise I will control my urge to enthuse any more about wildlife on this thread. You are quite right. Basque is linguistically unique and quite separate from the Indo-European languages. It is certainly no dialect, and the jury is still out as to whether the Basques represent the original indigenous people inhabiting the Pyreneean ( is that the right spelling ? It looks kinda funny ) regions. Mea culpa, ila, it was sloppy word usage on my part. Hells Teeth, that's two apologies in one post ! I must be really slipping !

I have to say there seem to be some excellent porn sites of ' Latin ' origin which have been thoroughly trawled for Shemales and Trannies. ( How many times have we come across pictures of Bianca in our Web Travels ? ) By the same token there must be not a few Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Tgirls and Shemales who would, given the opportunity, take part in this Forum, but who feel excluded by language. Can this be redressed somehow ? Although I have enjoyed reading the discussion on the various origins of European languages, I think reaching out to others whose mother-tongue is not English should be given some further consideration.
On the subject of non-English Posts ( as opposed to those linguistic whimsies that are presented to everyone as a sort of guessing game ) I don't think that the inclusion of a link to a Universal Translator program among the available Tools would be all that a bad idea - even though some of the translations might turn out to be a bit hillarious - This woud give at least some meaning to the non-English posts so that we could all benefit from them. I put the idea to Grand Shemale Lover, but he didn't seem to think it a very good idea - so . . . . keep reaching for those dictionaries !

[Mel Asher]

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language. They enriched the emerging English Language as conquerors of an already polyglottal people. And what a debt the English Language owes to the Christial Church and its scholarship. Latin and Greek Classics as standard education for the nobility, and later Scientific Nomenclature - a positive harvest of Greek and Latin, and a linguist's delight.
And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time.

Ain't Babel worderful ? !
Another end left loose after my unenjoyable fun and games on the motorway -

Courtesy of my son-in-law ( a Hindu Doctor ) :
Bungalow = Low Dwelling in Bengali / Hindi
Pukka = Thorough ( Hindi )
Pundit ( Hindi )
Guru ( Hindi / Punjabi )

And Dutch : A Boom ( on a boat ), Trek = A trail, Landscape ( means the same, but spelling slightly different ), and Mannequin ( meaning Little Man Viz - Le Mannequin qui pisse )

French - Loads of them - you can probably think of these : Bayoney, Rifle, Unique, Crayon, Sachet

German - some obvious ones : Kindergarten, Flak, Rucksack ( a mild insult in Dutch ) Snorkel etc.

Enjoy

[ila]

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language.

As soon as I get the time Mel I shall refute your arguments, quoting applicable text. Until then all I will say is that you are not completely right and you are not completely wrong.

[ila]

I'm from Barcelona, so my two official languages are spanish and catalan (and english, but it's not an official state language). Catalan is the language spoke in Catalonia, and it's a really refined one.

Salut i força al canut, gent!!

A question for you nmlss, and I'm not being facetious here. Is Catalan considered a language on its own or is it considered a dialect of Spanish? If it is a dialect how does it differ from Spanish? If it is a language to what group of languages does it belong?

[nmlss]

A question for you nmlss, and I'm not being facetious here. Is Catalan considered a language on its own or is it considered a dialect of Spanish? If it is a dialect how does it differ from Spanish? If it is a language to what group of languages does it belong?

I'll tell you. But first I have to tell you a little bit of Spanish History X.

Catalan is a real language. In Spain there are nationalism from Catalonia (which demands independence) and the Spanish Nationalism (whick says "Spain is one, not fiftyone).

The spanish nationalism came from Franco's dictatorship, and the catalan one from the Civil War's anarchists. This is where this "Language war" started.

If you ask a reactionary spanish (which doesn't speaks catalan) he'll say "It's a dialect!!! In Spain we only talk one language, not fiftyone!!!"

If you ask a catalan (a person who SPEAKS catalan) or a spaniard with common sense they'll say "Of course it's a language"

I'll sum up!!: Catalan IS a LANGUAGE, and it's spoken on the east cost of Spain, the zone of "Catalan Countries" (Catalunya, València (well, they speak Valencian, but it comes from the same root as catalan) and Illes Balears). In these autonom communities it's the official language along with spanish, but in Andorra, the country in the Pyrinees, it's the oficial one.

Well, hope you can understand my words, I'm talking my third language, so probably I made lots of errors, hehe. :p

[sesame]

Well, Pundit and Guru are actually Sanskrit words, but I guess they got into the English vocabulary from the Hindi dialect during the British Raj in India.
Other words are:

avatar: meaning the incarnations of God on earth.
karma: means both good and bad actions in Sanskrit; but in the West, only the bad deeds are taken for the word Karma.
Guru: means spiritual master, teacher, initiator. Gu= darkness, Ru= Light. He who takes us from darkness to light is the Guru.
Desi: local, grown in the state.
Charisma: Urdu word. Meaning~ Miracle.
Baba: father, papa, dad. Sometimes refers to a holyman.
Yoga: Sanskrit. Means connection, way. Commonly people think of Hatha-Yoga postures by this word, but it really refers to the connection between man and God.
Lemon: "Nimbu" Early Sanskrit means Lemon and Lime. People of Bengal still call it Lebu. L substitutes N. Arabic = Limun, Persian=Limou.
Mantra: powerful words for chanting. Sanskrit. Mana+Tra. Mana=mind, Tra=trana=to free. The thought of which frees our mind.
Mind: Mana, Manas. Sanskrit.
Nirvana: Sanskrit. Ultimate Freedom. Extinguish.
Three: Vedic Sanskrit. Tri. Means 3. Like Gayatri, Triveda, trishula.
Diva: Divya, Sanskrit. Meaning of Godly source. Deva= god, Devi =goddess.
Navy: Nauka, Nau. Ancient Indian*. Sanskrit. means a boat. That which floats in water. Or Navik= an experienced sailor or navigator.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

I 0n1y Kn0w L33T

\/\/7F? 100|<5 /\/\0|^3 1¦|<3 n00|3 2 /\/\3.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Well, Pundit and Guru are actually Sanskrit words, but I guess they got into the English vocabulary from the Hindi dialect during the British Raj in India.
Other words are:

avatar: meaning the incarnations of God on earth.
karma: means both good and bad actions in Sanskrit; but in the West, only the bad deeds are taken for the word Karma.
Guru: means spiritual master, teacher, initiator. Gu= darkness, Ru= Light. He who takes us from darkness to light is the Guru.
Desi: local, grown in the state.
Charisma: Urdu word. Meaning~ Miracle.
Baba: father, papa, dad. Sometimes refers to a holyman.
Yoga: Sanskrit. Means connection, way. Commonly people think of Hatha-Yoga postures by this word, but it really refers to the connection between man and God.
Lemon: "Nimbu" Early Sanskrit means Lemon and Lime. People of Bengal still call it Lebu. L substitutes N. Arabic = Limun, Persian=Limou.
Mantra: powerful words for chanting. Sanskrit. Mana+Tra. Mana=mind, Tra=trana=to free. The thought of which frees our mind.
Mind: Mana, Manas. Sanskrit.
Nirvana: Sanskrit. Ultimate Freedom. Extinguish.
Three: Vedic Sanskrit. Tri. Means 3. Like Gayatri, Triveda, trishula.
Diva: Divya, Sanskrit. Meaning of Godly source. Deva= god, Devi =goddess.
Navy: Nauka, Nau. Ancient Indian*. Sanskrit. means a boat. That which floats in water. Or Navik= an experienced sailor or navigator.

Few mistake there.

Charisma come from the greek χάρισμα meaning gift or divine favour.


Navy comes from the French navigium meaning "fleet of ships", which in turn comes from the latin navis, "ship" and agere, "to drive"

Three The prefix "tri-" supposedly comes form Sanskrit, but three itself comes from Latin "tres"

Mind comes from old English ġemynd, which comes from proto-germanic gamunđiz. which if it shares any common origin with the sanscrit word mana is only through the hypothetical proto-indo-european language, which of course means it pre-dates both languages and so one can not be said to be derived of the other.

[sesame]

Early form of Sanskrit or Vedic language is from 2000 BC or earlier.
Early Greek language begins at 750 BC.
Ancient Roman or Latin begins from 100 Bc to 100 AD.

The Nava, Nau, Nauka word meaning boat or navigation is from Rigveda. As it sounds similar and means the same in all other relatively younger languages, it must be the origin of the word. Same goes for "mind".

Same reason goes for Two, three... Ten. I am not sure of the word one. Sanskrit is Ek. Zero and decimal system comes from Sanskrit again.

Second as a unit of time comes from the Sanskrit word, Ksana or Ksanda.

[fionahavelock]

i'm so lost......

fi

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Early form of Sanskrit or Vedic language is from 2000 BC or earlier.
Early Greek language begins at 750 BC.
Ancient Roman or Latin begins from 100 Bc to 100 AD.

The Nava, Nau, Nauka word meaning boat or navigation is from Rigveda. As it sounds similar and means the same in all other relatively younger languages, it must be the origin of the word. Same goes for "mind".

Same reason goes for Two, three... Ten. I am not sure of the word one. Sanskrit is Ek. Zero and decimal system comes from Sanskrit again.

Second as a unit of time comes from the Sanskrit word, Ksana or Ksanda.

Last time I checked mana does not sound like gamunđiz. and second as a unit of time comes from French.

Being first does not make it the origin, isolation of the Indian subcontinent from Europe prior to 2000BC makes it pretty unlikely that Ancient greek words could have originated from Sanskrit, a common origin is not the same thing as a derivation, does it make sense to you that a set of people would divide onto different continents, develop thier own languages, then one set of people develops a new language based on the other set whom they have no recorded direct contact with at all? Or is it more sensible that a set of people had one language, they divided and they developed languages based on that one language independently?

The original language was proto-indo-european.



oh and also, in your list baba is not an English word.

[Ogryn1313]

I can only speak English and just enough German that if I was magically whisked to Germany I could get by and still look a fool to the Germans.

[sesame]

second as a unit of time comes from French.:lol:Many experts think otherwise.
French language is much younger compared to Ancient Vedic Sanskrit.

Ancient Vedic Sanskrit dates from 4000BC to 2000BC. Let Somebody challange me on that.
French:
French language came to being from vernacular Latin used in the Roman Empire. The ancient French were actually Celtic Gauls before Caeser invaded them in 52 BC. Old French started around the 1st century BC to the 14th century AD. Middle French 14th to 16th century. Modern French 16th to Now. Old French was imbibed with many Germanic words when the Roman empire was crumbling under attack from the invaders. (;) Hey Anna, I think Darth Vader came from Invader!! It has nothing to do with French though.) If a word is used in different languages, implying the same meaning, then, it must come from the most ancient language. Thats how Linguists determine the origin of words. Some arrogant linguists even go to the length of determining the age of a civilization by sheer guesswork! But I am not doing that, I am providing solid proof. Do you want the exact verses of Rigveda? I can get them too.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

If a word is used in different languages, implying the same meaning, then, it must come from the most ancient language.

Is that a logical fallacy I see there....

You assume that the oldest recorded language is the oldest there is. Do you think people were just silent before 2000BC?

[ila]

Previously I had posted that European languages derived from Sanskrit. I based this comment on what I remembered from English classes during my high school years. I have recently gone back through some of my reference books to do some research on the origin of English.

European languages did not have Sanskrit as a common source. Rather Sanskrit and the European languages have a common source known as "Indo-European". There is some controversy over where the original speakers of "Indo-European" lived. Some have argued that the original speakers were the Kurgan culture of the Russian steppes. Others have suggested the origin is from a farming culture of the Danube valley. The currently accepted theory is that the language comes from a people who lived in a cold, northern climate. The dates of origin vary from 6000 BC to 4500 BC. Words for snow, beech, bee, and wolf had an important role in this language. Also the prehistoric "Indo-European" language didn't have a word for sea. For these reasons scholars have placed the origin of the "Indo-Europeans" in northern Central Europe.

Source
The Story of English
Robert McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil
Viking Penguin Incorporated
First American edition published 1986
Pages 51 - 53

[sesame]

Yeah Ila, all these Indo-European Ethnic groups making epic journeys across Continents... ... is based on the Aryan Invasion theory and the scholarly fascination for Mesopotemia. Perhaps there was an ancient group, but as science is cleaning up the colonial mist, another scenario is coming to view. There was no Aryan Invasion ever. The British colonials spread the lie to rule and subjugate. The German Nazis spread the rumours to tickle it's citizens and motivate them under one banner by awakening German Pride and the dream of a superior race. This was the tendency of european scholars to show the civilization of Mesopotemia as the point of origin of the Indo-Aryans, Persian-Aryans or Indus Valley civilization. Everything begins in Mesopotemia and ends up in far-off places around the world! Fancy wishful reverse calculators! Is that research to ascertain truth or bending truth to one's prejudice?

Recent satellite images show that the early Vedic people were inhabitants of the now extinct Saraswati basin. You will note that the Vedic civilization shifted from the banks of Saraswati to Sindhu to Ganges. This whole process took thousands of years to unfold. No foreign rivers or steppes or animals have ever been mentioned in all the four vedas. The whole migration theory through Ural and Siberian landscape was just guesswork of idle scholars. And the fixing of Vedic age to 1200 BC by the Germans was the stupidest guesswork of the century.
Prof. Max Muller divided the Vedic literature into four periods Chhanda (rhythm), Mantra, Brahmana and Sutra. Since Vedas came before Buddhism ( which starts at 400 BC), the learned scholar just imagines using his tiny brain. And he then ascribes 200 years to each of those 4 imaginery periods and declares the earliest Vedic date as 400+(200x4)=1200BC!! Isn't that funny?
Then a Chinese scholar Dr. Haug comes along and calculates by assigning each period to be 500 years, because Chinese literature changed in that pace. So he fixed the earliest Veda (Rigveda) at 400+(500x4)= 2400 BC. But Tilak ended all this fancy guessing game by providing astronomical data and pinpointing the Vedic age by science. Through thousands of years, constellations in the sky change position as they rise and set. The stars mentioned in the vedic rituals provide ample proof of that. He fixed the first vedic hymns to be created before 4000 BC.

[GRH]

My friends, I assure you, I cannot compete on grounds intellect in this subject. I know next to NOTHING about linguistic development, and won't pretend to be an expert in the subject. But of what I have read, Sanskrit seems to be one of the oldest of languages, and a variety of sources cite that these tales/language date back to around 4,000 BCE. Whether it is in fact the OLDEST or not, I don't know, but I suspect the origins of recorded language probably originated not TOO far from the Middle East region/India.

As an aside that is completely irrelevant to this discussion...Is Sanskrit difficult to learn? It is a language that I feel that I should learn, but I am SO not motivated when it comes to foreign languages (particularly ones of antiquity), that I don't even know when to start. There is no such thing as "a class" about Sanskrit where I am from, so where would an initiate start?

[ila]

Yeah Ila, all these Indo-European Ethnic groups making epic journeys across Continents... ...

I rather doubt there were any epic journeys across continents, but rather the slow dispersion of people across continents down through the ages. Humans did not spontaneously spring up all over the planet. There was a gradual migration from one area to another.

[Ogryn1313]

Ila, wasn't this how the Native American's entered this continent, an epic migration from one to the other via land bridge? Or am I mistaken?

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Yeah Ila, all these Indo-European Ethnic groups making epic journeys across Continents... .

Wait a second, you are the one expecting us to believe that Sanskit speakers travelled all the way to Europe and persuaded the locals to change their words for boat, two and mind. You are just making fancy wishful reverse calculations where everything starts in India and ends up in different parts of the world.

[ila]

Ila, wasn't this how the Native American's entered this continent, an epic migration from one to the other via land bridge? Or am I mistaken?

The theory is that there was a migration from Asia to the Americas across a land bridge where the Bering Sea is now. I don't know whether it could be classified as an epic migration or just a migration of small groups over a long period of time. In my mind an epic migration would be the movement of a large group of people over a long distance in a short space of time. I don't know if the populating of the Americas was done in this fashion or not.

The alternate to the migration theory is from the Natives themselves which say that they were always in the Americas and did not migrate here from anywhere else.

[sesame]

Wait a second, you are the one expecting us to believe that Sanskit speakers travelled all the way to Europe and persuaded the locals to change their words for boat:lol: Good ideas travel far and wide. At those times, it was not India as we know it now, not even Bharat, it was just Jambudweep, a centre of civilization. Dont get upset, 6000 years ago, european civilization was in it's infancy. Times come and times go. I didnt say that all good things began in India, but a lot of things attracted Westerers to that land. Why do you think so many expedetions were undertaken to chart a route to India? Why were so many places of the world named after the Indians? The Red Indians, the West Indies, Indonesia... why do they have India in common? Christopher Columbus in 1492 AD upon landing in North America, mistakenly thought that he had discovered India! So he named the locals Indians.

Other Cultures:
The Red-Indians held sway in America. Europeans only came later. The Hanging Garden was created in Babylon and the Great wall in China. Democracy, sculpture, Logical-Debates and a lot of other things began in Greece. Fire and gunpowder was invented in China. The Nalanda University (427-1197AD) in Pala era was one of the oldest centres of learning in the world! The Mayan culture of Mexico, the Aztecs and Incas were most fascinating (except the blood thirst). Ah, and dont forget Yoga and Ayurveda, they are also from India. Buddhism originated in India. The early Brahamanic culture in India was great (but later caste systems were really bad). The European Clergy culture was also magnificent, except the bigotry. Christianity came from Israel, the modern Christians tend to forget that. The Japanese warlike Samurai culture was also a masterpiece. Times change, nothing remains the same. The powerful may become ignorant, the rich can become paupers. Civilizations crumble and become extinct, new ones grow up. So, dont be prejudiced, give due credit, Annie.

[Ogryn1313]

The theory is that there was a migration from Asia to the Americas across a land bridge where the Bering Sea is now. I don't know whether it could be classified as an epic migration or just a migration of small groups over a long period of time. In my mind an epic migration would be the movement of a large group of people over a long distance in a short space of time. I don't know if the populating of the Americas was done in this fashion or not.

The alternate to the migration theory is from the Natives themselves which say that they were always in the Americas and did not migrate here from anywhere else.

Thank you. It's been a long time since school so I forgot much. I agree with what you think. A series of small groups over time seems more logical than a mass exodus. A mass exodus would likely need a reason to move yes? So what could that be then? A massive war? Famine, disease, some other thing? No evidence of this. So it's likely small groups over time moved for various reasons. Perhaps a small tribe fled from conflict with another. Or most likely it was just man's natural curiosity.

The alternate theory is also quite likely. They may well have always been here.

[sesame]

I saw a documentary which showed the migration of early American Indians during an Ice Age. Their hunting grounds were shrinking so they were forced to migrate. In the beginning, they were like Eskimos and primarily lived on seals and marine fish. They travelled in kayaks made of stretched leather and used animal bones and flint stones for weapons. I am very much fascinated by the ancient wisdom and hunting skills of the Red Indians and Aztecs.
Castaneda states that the stone artifacts found in some of the Mexican sites are 10,000 years old. It may be true.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

:lol: Good ideas travel far and wide.

WTF? that makes no sense. Names for objects are not ideas. I think you fail to comprehend reality.

[sesame]

Second as a unit of time is an idea, so is zero and the decimal system.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Castaneda states that the stone artifacts found in some of the Mexican sites are 10,000 years old. It may be true.

You know there are stone artifacts found in Africa, Europe and Asia that pre date homo sapiens. Stone artifacts in Ethiopia date from 2.6 million years ago.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Second as a unit of time is an idea, so is zero and the decimal system.

Umm, the second was not invented until the year 1000, by subdivision of the minuite by 60, creating the second, and again by 60 creating the third and then fourth. The word for second of course coming from the cardinal number.


And why would the greeks use the vedic names for numbers but not the decimal system itself? Major logic failure!

Think before you speak boyo.

[Ogryn1313]

Sheesh, you folks are too smart even for this college boy. But this is surely a good thing. Brains before beauty people!

[sesame]

The metric system, so neat and clean, increasing in multiples of ten, is the most scientific system of measurement. It was devised in 18th century France by scientists like Lavoisier (my favourite) under the rule of Louis 16.

Length: mm, cm, dm, meter, deca, hecto, kilometer
Mass: Grams... ... Kilograms
Temperature: Celsius.

Compare that with Pound-oz, inch-feet-yards, fathoms, furlongs, miles, leagues, fahrenheit system, with no head or tail, no co-ordination or interrelation!!! Just wondering, I mean no offence to anyone. :rolleyes:

Water boils at 100 degree Celsius and freezes at zero degree. Neat!
The Triple point of water is 0.01°C. :yes:

Now, water boils at 212°Fahrenheit and freezes at 32!!! Triple point of water is 32.018 °F. :no:

One cubic centimeter of water has a volume of 1 milli-liter, so 1000 cc = 1 L. Neat and clean, no confusion!

1 ounce= 16 drams = 480 grains = 1/12 pound :confused:
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches! :frown:
1 pint = 28.875 cubic inches. :p Bring me the calculator!

1 mile = 1760 yards = 5280 ft = 63360 inches. Wow! :(
1 Km = 1000 m = 100,000 cm. Smooth! :respect:

[sesame]

And why would the greeks use the vedic names for numbers but not the decimal system itself? Major logic failure!

Think before you speak boyo.Without the concept of zero, invented in India, there would be no decimal system, Girlie!

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

WTF? Way to go off on a tangent.

Avoirdupois weights are far more complex than you imagine btw. You can blame the French for them too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoirdupois

And as for the concept of Zero, sorry but what the fuck does that have to do with your faulty logic? Your shit still makes no sense.

Also, zero is not exactly an amazing discovery, it's not like every culture in the world had zero. Oh wait, they did. You don't get the importance of zero in the decimal system, it's not the role of zero as a number, but of the numeral zero's use as a positional digit that enables the decimal system. Although the use of zero in not actually essential, the use of any positional digit works the same.

Anyway, your logic is still faulty.


<Seseme logic>
Oh lets see, zero was first written in South America by the Olmecs, therefore the Indians must have copied them, all zero's everywhere originate from the Olmecs.
</>

[sesame]

Stone artifacts in Ethiopia date from 2.6 million years agoCan you show us some pictures or post links?

[sesame]

Stone artifacts in Ethiopia date from 2.6 million years agoStone Artifacts, eh? It sounds fishy!!

The earliest human bones have been found in Tianyuan Cave, near Beijing, China.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42756000/jpg/_42756041_cave_pnas_203.jpg
Its 42000 years old, belonging to a fully developed Homo sepiens.
By the "Out of Africa" theory, Homo sapiens originated in E. Africa and then spread out across the globe about 70,000 years ago.
The first Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthals were from Europe and Central Asia and lived around 500,000 years ago. The earliest humanoid species Homo habilis lived in Africa around 2.2 million years ago. But they moved on all fours! Apes basically. Homo erectus 2 million years ago existed in Africa, Eurasia, Java, they first stood on two feet. We only have fossils belonging to these 2 earliest species from around 2 million years ago.

Now, Anna, my clever friend, how can you get 2.6 million years old stone ARTIFACTS? Are you inventing them? Or did the aliens present you with the alleged artifacts?

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6518527.stm)

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Can you show us some pictures or post links?

Lol, stumped you there eh?

Semaw, S., M. J. Rogers, J. Quade, P. R. Renne, R. F. Butler, M. Domínguez-Rodrigo, D. Stout, W. S. Hart, T. Pickering, and S. W. Simpson. 2003. 2.6-Million-year-old stone tools and associated bones from OGS-6 and OGS-7, Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution 45:169-177.

I don't have any pictures of the particular finds, but I can tell you the tools were Oldowan, which consist of Awls, Unifacial and Bifacial choppers, Burins (used for engraving) and Scrapers.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Stone Artifacts, eh? It sounds fishy!!

The earliest human bones have been found in Tianyuan Cave, near Beijing, China.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42756000/jpg/_42756041_cave_pnas_203.jpg
Its 42000 years old, belonging to a fully developed Homo sepiens.
By the "Out of Africa" theory, Homo sapiens originated in E. Africa and then spread out across the globe about 70,000 years ago.
The first Homo neanderthalensis or Neanderthals were from Europe and Central Asia and lived around 500,000 years ago. The earliest humanoid species Homo habilis lived in Africa around 2.2 million years ago. But they moved on all fours! Apes basically. Homo erectus 2 million years ago existed in Africa, Eurasia, Java, they first stood on two feet. We only have fossils belonging to these 2 earliest species from around 2 million years ago.

Now, Anna, my clever friend, how can you get 2.6 million years old stone ARTIFACTS? Are you inventing them? Or did the aliens present you with the alleged artifacts?

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6518527.stm)

Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo Habilis were all know to use Oldowan tools. The first 2 were around before 2.6 million years ago, Homo Habilis apeared 2.2 million years ago so was late to the Oldowan party.

[sesame]

Pliocene 2.6 mill humanoid tools (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WJS-49D21DV-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d5cc4f4102b592895de24ded75a64005)
I got it. Thank you Anna, honestly.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Pliocene 2.6 mill humanoid tools (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WJS-49D21DV-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d5cc4f4102b592895de24ded75a64005)
I got it. Thank you Anna, honestly.

There you go. Follow my wisdom grasshopper.

[sesame]

:p There she goes again, boasting bush baby!

[ila]

Fire and gunpowder was invented in China.

Fire was invented in China. You can't be serious Sesame.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Fire was invented in China. You can't be serious Sesame.

Lol, I missed that one, I think Seseme is trying to replace the out of Africa Theory with out of Asia. lol.

[Mel Asher]

Well, Pundit and Guru are actually Sanskrit words, but I guess they got into the English vocabulary from the Hindi dialect during the British Raj in India.
Other words are:

avatar: meaning the incarnations of God on earth.
karma: means both good and bad actions in Sanskrit; but in the West, only the bad deeds are taken for the word Karma.
Guru: means spiritual master, teacher, initiator. Gu= darkness, Ru= Light. He who takes us from darkness to light is the Guru.
Desi: local, grown in the state.
Charisma: Urdu word. Meaning~ Miracle.
Baba: father, papa, dad. Sometimes refers to a holyman.
Yoga: Sanskrit. Means connection, way. Commonly people think of Hatha-Yoga postures by this word, but it really refers to the connection between man and God.
Lemon: "Nimbu" Early Sanskrit means Lemon and Lime. People of Bengal still call it Lebu. L substitutes N. Arabic = Limun, Persian=Limou.
Mantra: powerful words for chanting. Sanskrit. Mana+Tra. Mana=mind, Tra=trana=to free. The thought of which frees our mind.
Mind: Mana, Manas. Sanskrit.
Nirvana: Sanskrit. Ultimate Freedom. Extinguish.
Three: Vedic Sanskrit. Tri. Means 3. Like Gayatri, Triveda, trishula.
Diva: Divya, Sanskrit. Meaning of Godly source. Deva= god, Devi =goddess.
Navy: Nauka, Nau. Ancient Indian*. Sanskrit. means a boat. That which floats in water. Or Navik= an experienced sailor or navigator.
A veritable plethora of linguistic equivalence examples, Sesame. As such it quite definitely puts the modest selection you originally requested from me firmly into the shade. Heigh-ho ! But it's still all you're going to get from me off-the-cuff ! !

Meantime, as etymological interest still seems to show a few signs of life in this thread, here's a little palindrome from Ancient Greece to keep your appetite sharp ! I haven't bothered to include the accenting it doesn't really affect the meaning of the words. No doubt you will tease out the translation as it's not too obscure :

niyonὀnomhma mh monon ὀyin ( could even make a good advert for detergent perhaps ! )

[GRH]

As an aside that is completely irrelevant to this discussion...Is Sanskrit difficult to learn? It is a language that I feel that I should learn, but I am SO not motivated when it comes to foreign languages (particularly ones of antiquity), that I don't even know where to start. There is no such thing as "a class" about Sanskrit where I am from, so where would an initiate start?

Goddamit, I want answers!!!

[GRH]

Anna, the Vedic concept of zero is generally attributed to Indian culture, as the concept is much larger than just fulfilling the role of a place holder, and here is perhaps why India is historically given credit for the development as opposed to other cultures. "Zero" functions as an obvious place-holder in our own base-ten numerical system of mathematics, but if we used a different base of numerology, the concept would lose significance. In fact, the idea of a place-holder is entirely theoretical, as a system of numerology could in fact have a hypothetical infinite number of symbols to represent each place of standing within said numerology.

As the Vedic conception stands, "zero" functions as MUCH more than just a place-holder, but a concept for the idea of "nothing" as can result from mathematical computations. At the broadest interpretation, zero is akin to the mythical conception of "Om," or a certain understanding of unity with the divine. More importantly, it puts the entire concept of numerology in a linear fashion whereby which numerology can be expressed as both positive and negative functions of values, whereby "zero" functions as a balancing point at the pendulum of this scale. This is a RADICAL way of thinking about numbers, if you can step outside of our current conception and look at the historical development of mathematics.

[GRH]

As to fire being "invented" (or more appropriately, "developed") in China, I would disagree with this larger premise, but I would suggest that Sesame chose a poor choice of words to express a larger concept. I suspect he meant to imply that "fire" was akin to "fireworks," or an artistry of using fire and flammable materials. I'll let him clarify his own position, but if this broader definition is applied, I most hardily agree, as our classical notion of "fireworks" is almost universally credited to the region of China.

For that matter, I don't think that Sesame necessarily espouses a Indo-centric perspective of human development, but I think that he attempts to counter the rather obvious Euro-centric view that has come to dominate MUCH of academia. Contemporary studies have done much to discredit the Euro-centric view, and this is admirable, but we still have MUCH to learn. The West still has much to embrace that came from the East, or farther. Even with our best hypotheses of how the "New World" came to be settled, it is our Mayan ancestors that developed perhaps the single best calendar in the history of mankind. Their calendar is more accurate (down to tenths or hundredths of a second) than our own Gregorian means of keeping time. This makes you really ponder what we consider "primitive" culture???

[sesame]

Mathematics is nothing without zero or the decimal calculating system. Anna is trying her best to undermine this fact. But argument without the courage to admit when a truth is arrived at, is not worth carrying on.

GRH, its easy to learn Sanskrit. Buy a Gita with the meaning analyzed underneath each line, word for word. This way you will see that several words are coming again and again, and some are just parts of speech. I learnt Sanskrit this way. Then you can know for yourself what is being said. Later on, learn some elementary Sanskrit grammer. Its quite easy. But dont expect to understand the Vedic hymns with such knowledge. The early Vedas are not really in Sanskrit. Its an ancient form which is very complex. When I tried to read it the first time, I felt that my teeth will fall off and my tongue will form a knot! Some letters have become extinct, their pronounciation vanished from known memory. Such is also the case with the rhythm, Vedic chhanda. Its extinct too... some obscure himalayan tribes and the South Indian Pundits are aware of a few.

[Marine_N41_432]

The theory is that there was a migration from Asia to the Americas across a land bridge where the Bering Sea is now. I don't know whether it could be classified as an epic migration or just a migration of small groups over a long period of time. In my mind an epic migration would be the movement of a large group of people over a long distance in a short space of time. I don't know if the populating of the Americas was done in this fashion or not.

The alternate to the migration theory is from the Natives themselves which say that they were always in the Americas and did not migrate here from anywhere else.
Ther's some recent archaelogical eveidence of neolithic North American settlements which tends to support the second idea, but the first still holds good because of the geological evidence and the fact that North & South American Indians have certain Mongoloid features. It is also said that Tupac indians have a language with many features in common with Chinese, but this might just be fanciful thinking or some pushy academic trying to make a name for himself !

[sesame]

Mathematics is nothing without zero or the decimal calculating system. Anna is trying her best to undermine this fact. But argument without the courage to admit when a truth is arrived at, is not worth carrying on.

GRH, its easy to learn Sanskrit. Buy a Gita with the meaning analyzed underneath each line, word for word. This way you will see that several words are coming again and again, and some are just parts of speech. I learnt Sanskrit this way. Then you can know for yourself what is being said. Later on, learn some elementary Sanskrit grammer. Its quite easy. But dont expect to understand the Vedic hymns with such knowledge. The early Vedas are not really in Sanskrit. Its an ancient form which is very complex. When I tried to read it the first time, I felt that my teeth will fall off and my tongue will form a knot! Some letters have become extinct, their pronounciation vanished from known memory. Such is also the case with the rhythm, Vedic chhanda. Its extinct too... some obscure himalayan tribes and the South Indian Pundits are aware of a few.

[sesame]

In which Language did Jesus Christ speak to his fellow men?

Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani (Its the real thing :yes:)
Noli me tangere (its only a Latin translation :frown:)



Hebrew
Aramaic
Greek
Latin
French ;)
German
English
Arabic :p


Below is Titian's painting named "Noli Me Tangere".

[ila]

In which Language did Jesus Christ speak to his fellow men?

Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani (Its the real thing :yes:)
Noli me tangere (its only a Latin translation :frown:)



Hebrew
Aramaic
Greek
Latin
French ;)
German
English
Arabic :p




Aramaic.

Okay Sesame next question and this time try to make it challenging.

[sesame]

Aramaic.

Okay Sesame next question and this time try to make it challenging.Ok, Ila, your wish is my command.

What is Aramaic? ;)

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Anna, the Vedic concept of zero is generally attributed to Indian culture, as the concept is much larger than just fulfilling the role of a place holder, and here is perhaps why India is historically given credit for the development as opposed to other cultures. "Zero" functions as an obvious place-holder in our own base-ten numerical system of mathematics, but if we used a different base of numerology, the concept would lose significance. In fact, the idea of a place-holder is entirely theoretical, as a system of numerology could in fact have a hypothetical infinite number of symbols to represent each place of standing within said numerology.

As the Vedic conception stands, "zero" functions as MUCH more than just a place-holder, but a concept for the idea of "nothing" as can result from mathematical computations. At the broadest interpretation, zero is akin to the mythical conception of "Om," or a certain understanding of unity with the divine. More importantly, it puts the entire concept of numerology in a linear fashion whereby which numerology can be expressed as both positive and negative functions of values, whereby "zero" functions as a balancing point at the pendulum of this scale. This is a RADICAL way of thinking about numbers, if you can step outside of our current conception and look at the historical development of mathematics.

Your two main points:

Vedic zero was the first concept of nothing invented. WRONG!
Zero only has meaning in base ten. WRONG!

Also, negative numbers were invented in Hellenistic Egypt, so this whole balance of negative and positive around zero didn't exist when it was invented by the Indians.

Sorry, but whats all this about numerology? I thought we were talking abut mathematics here.

[ila]

Ok, Ila, your wish is my command.

What is Aramaic? ;)

Okay, sesame it's time to revive this thread.

Aramaic is a Semitic language that was thought to be the language that Jesus spoke. Aramaic belongs to the Canaanite languages which is includes Hebrew and Arabic. It is still spoken by small groups of Christians, Jews, and Arabs in the Middle East. If I'm not mistaken the alphabet used in Aramaic is the forerunner of the Hebrew alphabet.

This information is easily verifiable if one does an internet search. I did not however, do a search for any of this information. What I wrote is all from knowledge I have picked up over the years as well as my travels in the Middle East.

Now, sesame I asked you to challenge me. Ask me something that I will at least have to do a search on.

While you are trying to think of something I have several questions for you.

1. How many languages are in common use in the country of China (dialects excluded)?

2. What is the main language of China?

3. How did the main language of China become the main language?

4. How much influence did the Mongol language of Ghengis Khan have on the Chinese languages?

I look forward to your report, sesame. (BTW I don't know the answers to any of the questions that I posed)

[الدكتور العراقي]

مرحبا بكم جميعا

hi every body

اتمنى ان تكونوا بخير

I wish that you are fine

لغتي الام هي العربية

my native language is arabic

كما اني اتكلم الانكليزية

also , i can speak english

@@@@@@@@@@@@

What is Aramaic?

ila gave us the answer and it was so right

I would like to add that I got several friends in my country who are using aramic to communicate with each others side by side whith arabic language


I would like to say that in my country ( Iraq ) , there are several ethnic groups each have her own language

we have arabs ( majority ) speak arabic and should learn english in school from 5 th stage and up

and Kurd >> who are using Krdish language which differ completely from arabic and turky

and turman >> who speak turky

keldan - who speak aramic

in addition to paresian language which is used by peoples who live on Iraqian- Iranian borders


ila , and every one , any question about arabic language will be my pleasure to answer you


مع حبي

with my love

[ila]

مرحبا بكم جميعا

hi every body

اتمنى ان تكونوا بخير

I wish that you are fine

لغتي الام هي العربية

my native language is arabic

كما اني اتكلم الانكليزية

also , i can speak english

@@@@@@@@@@@@

What is Aramaic?

ila gave us the answer and it was so right

I would like to add that I got several friends in my country who are using aramic to communicate with each others side by side whith arabic language


I would like to say that in my country ( Iraq ) , there are several ethnic groups each have her own language

we have arabs ( majority ) speak arabic and should learn english in school from 5 th stage and up

and Kurd >> who are using Krdish language which differ completely from arabic and turky

and turman >> who speak turky

keldan - who speak aramic

in addition to paresian language which is used by peoples who live on Iraqian- Iranian borders


ila , and every one , any question about arabic language will be my pleasure to answer you


مع حبي

with my love

Thankyou very much for your informative post and your offer of help. It is so very nice to have a someone whose native tongue is Arabic give us some more information.:respect:

Edit: I forgot to thank you for the Arabic - English translation.

[sesame]

Okay, sesame it's time to revive this thread.

Aramaic is a Semitic language that was thought to be the language that Jesus spoke. Aramaic belongs to the Canaanite languages which is includes Hebrew and Arabic. It is still spoken by small groups of Christians, Jews, and Arabs in the Middle East. If I'm not mistaken the alphabet used in Aramaic is the forerunner of the Hebrew alphabet.

This information is easily verifiable if one does an internet search. I did not however, do a search for any of this information. What I wrote is all from knowledge I have picked up over the years as well as my travels in the Middle East.

Now, sesame I asked you to challenge me. Ask me something that I will at least have to do a search on.

While you are trying to think of something I have several questions for you.

1. How many languages are in common use in the country of China (dialects excluded)?

2. What is the main language of China?

3. How did the main language of China become the main language?

4. How much influence did the Mongol language of Ghengis Khan have on the Chinese languages?

I look forward to your report, sesame. (BTW I don't know the answers to any of the questions that I posed)

Yeah, ha ha:lol:
Ila, you little turtle, it took you one whole year to answer my question. So, I will answer your 4 questions within the upcoming four years. Until then, rest in peace.:p

[ila]

Yeah, ha ha:lol:
Ila, you little turtle, it took you one whole year to answer my question. So, I will answer your 4 questions within the upcoming four years. Until then, rest in peace.:p

sesame, you might have gotten an answer much sooner had you not kept disappearing for months at a time.

[sesame]

Pitri ~ Pituh ~Pita (Sanskrit origin)
Padre (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian)
Father (English)
Bateren (Japanese)

alcool الكحول Arabic original word
alcool Early Portuguese
alcohol English, French

nagna (Sanskrit)
naakt (Dutch)~~Latin=nudo :p
nacod (Early English)
naked (modern English)

Al-Zabr (Arabic) الجبر
Algebra (Latin)
algebra (English)

ila (Sanskrit meaning, Earth, Word, Water) :p

What does Igirisu in Japanese mean?

[ila]

What does Igirisu in Japanese mean?

Google was my friend in answering this since I know only a few Japanese words and cannot put together a complete sentence in Japanese.

Igirisu - has been translated as England, Great Britain, and United Kingdom.

[ila]

Pitri ~ Pituh ~Pita (Sanskrit origin)
Padre (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian)
Father (English)
Bateren (Japanese)

You missed pater (Latin)

alcool الكحول Arabic original word
alcool Early Portuguese
alcohol English, French

alcool - (French, at least in Canada and therefore if not used in modern French alcool would be early French since that is the style of French spoken by Quebecois and Acadians. French Canadians please correct me if I am wrong.)

[sesame]

The Japs cannot pronounce 'L' ;). So, the word "English" became igirisu in Japanese tongue.

Where did the word Assassin come from?



Hash-shashin in Arabic, refers to an ancient Ismail-Persian sect, skilled in the art of killing. (sort of Arabic Ninjas). They lived in N. Iran near Alamoot between 780-1330AD; and were also called as Nissari's. They secretly formed a society that organised political and religious murders of the noblemen of antipathetic sects.

[ila]

Where did the word Assassin come from?



Hash-shashin in Arabic, refers to an ancient Ismail-Persian sect, skilled in the art of killing. (sort of Arabic Ninjas). They lived in N. Iran near Alamoot between 780-1330AD; and were also called as Nissari's. They secretly formed a society that organised political and religious murders of the noblemen of antipathetic sects.

I believe the origin is in Persian. A ruler/tribal chief in Persia used to give his mercenaries hash to get high before they went out to eliminate their enemies. The orginal word was hashasin. (I didn't need your hint btw)

[sesame]

Ila, my friend, thats called cheating!!! :lol:
You read my ghostwriting!:D

Opium is of little importance in regard to these Nissari killers.:no:

[ila]

Ila, my friend, thats called cheating!!! :lol:
You read my ghostwriting!:D


Reread the part of my sentence in parentheses where I said I didn't need your hint. I didn't know that you had even put it in until I replied quoting your post and saw the ghostwriting then.

[sesame]

Remember those Diazo Reactions in organic chemistry?
The word azo comes from Azure, meaning blue.
Where did Azure come from?

[St. Araqiel]

Ich sprech ein wenig Deutsche, enough to get by. Then I know basic words and phrases-"hello," "goodbye," "please," "thank you," etc.-of a few other European languages, Mexican Spanish and Japanese. Oh, and I can cuss people out in them, too!

[ila]

The word azo comes from Azure, meaning blue.
Where did Azure come from?

The short answer I would guess is Latin, however it will have deeper roots than that. The root word might possibly be in Sanskrit, but for some reason I'm thinking Phoenecian. I will see what I can come up with.

[ila]

The short answer I would guess is Latin, however it will have deeper roots than that. The root word might possibly be in Sanskrit, but for some reason I'm thinking Phoenecian. I will see what I can come up with.

I wasn't even close in the origins of azure. According to Wikipedia the word originated in Persian, was adopted into old French, and then into English.

[sesame]

Azure came from the Persian word Lazwardh meaning a deep blue mineral called Lapis Lazuli. Medieval Sanskrit has a word called Laajwant, also meaning Lapis. But I guess it's inherited from the Persian. Alexander the Great came to India in 326 BC after conquering Persia. At that time all the Brahmins spoke in Sanskrit, the general masses in Pali.


Now, speaking of Organic Chemistry, how did we get the word Chemistry?

[الدكتور العراقي]

hi

how did we get the word Chemistry?

some authors saied that it was derived from arabic from the name الكمي which mean the brave man

i think so ?

the Assassin came from hash-shashin , حشاشين in arabic , they were an insane killing-machines not only in north iran but also in a the great cities like Cairo and Demscus ( in syria ) but later on the حشاشين became more isolated non-violent organization that help weak peoples aganist the bad peoples !


many words are from arabic like

ameral _ the ship captin

which came from arabic ... امير البحر prounounced ( ameer al- bahr )


thank you all for those great info. about language

[liesjeversteven]

My native language is Dutch (Belgian version, Vlaams) and I can have a fairly fluent conversation in English, French and German. I can sort of comprehensively order something in a bar in Polish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian but that's about as far as my liguistic capabilities go.

[lancelotq]

Az anyanyelvem magyar.
My mother tongue is hungarian.

[sesame]

What is the origin of the word:

A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A

[sesame]

What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night is night, and time is time.
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad.:no:

Alas, Gentle ila, nobe ila, is mad!:p


I'm just pulling your leg, ila dear!

[johndowe]

Hi there.

That reminds me of a series of manuals:

How to be brief, in 36 volumes.

JohnDowe.

[johndowe]

Hi there.

Ethimology, archeology paleanthology, mathematical theories, and all this because someone asked about the languages you spoke?

Facinating!

But i speak french and english, only?

JohnDowe.

[sesame]

What is the origin of the word:

A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A


To Johndowe, if you quote my original question about abracadabra and this one, you will find the structural difference and economy of code used to create the latter pattern.

Since ila or anyone else has not attempted to answer my question for so long, I will give the answer for sake's sake!


Abracadabra was indeed a word of power in ancient Greece. This magical formula was to be written in a parchment and worn in an amulet as a necklace. It was supposed to ward off sickness. The exact greek word was ABRASADABRA with an "S".

Another very ancient source:
Hebrew words for Father(ab), son(ben), holy spirit(ruach acadosch)...
gave rise to Aramaic idiom, avra kedabra, which meant, "I will create as I speak!"


Later on, magicians and performers used those magical words to add some mysticism to their shows, along with "Presto", "Voila" and "hocus-pocus".

[ila]

.....Since ila or anyone else has not attempted to answer my question for so long, I will give the answer for sake's sake!


sesame, you only posted this yesterday. I didn't have time to answer it. I do have a life beyond this forum. I intended to do some research, on abracadabra, before answering. I would have been surprised at the results though because my original inclination was that the word has arabic origins.

[sesame]

Ihesus Hominum Salvator (IHS) : some say that it stands for In His Service, but the truth is something else.

IHESUS HOMINUM SALVATOR

Its in Latin meaning, Jesus, savior of mankind.

In Greek, Jesus was spelt like Ihesus.

[sesame]

These are the Nineth century Anglo Saxon alphabets. Note that K, W, Y are missing and there's a new letter after T and there's an alien looking S instead of Z! To sum up, I must assume that the English alphabets were less than 26 at that time.

In the next picture, taken from the Library of Minerva, Rome, 9th century, K, W, X, Y, Z are missing. Again, there is an extra S. I think this S was pronounced like Z and was later placed at the end, where Z is now.

[hansen]

Мамицу вам болесну свима педерчине изопачене што вас не побаци, но вас роди такве,све би ја вас од ува до ува разрезо

[Naked Freedom]

Speaking of languages this question comes to my mind......
Which country has the highest number of recognised laguages??
I think it is INDIA

[ila]

Speaking of languages this question comes to my mind......
Which country has the highest number of recognised laguages??
I think it is INDIA

I think that you are right, although I'm sure PRC is not far behind. I'm pretty sure that our esteemed and learned friend sesame will be able to give us a definitive answer, or perhaps Jenae may know.

[sesame]

The Total number of Indian languages, that are still in use will add upto 1,500 or more. That is because there are very twisted dialects of the same language structure if you move to different regions of the same state. There are 28 states in all.

The languages recognised by the govt. and spoken by the majority (more than 10,000) may be summed up as 122. And since there are 28 states, there should be 28 official languages, one for each state!:p
Well, there are 29 Main languages. Urdu, the Royal language of the Muslim poets, is also an Indian language.

The national language is Hindi. The name India is derived from Hindusthan. Hindu + Sthan meaning the abode of Hindus. The word Hindu came from the river Sindhu (Indus), on whose basin, the Aryan civilization grew up. In my opinion, the national language should have been Sanskrit, since it is the mother of all Indian languages.

Indian languages have assimilated many words from foreign tongues. They include Persian, Arabic, Portuguese, English, French, Turkish, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Bactrian (Bakhtar) (remember the Bactrians, Greeks, Greco-Bactrians who came with Alexander 325 BC ? They opened up a trade route with ancient India. Thats how Gandhara style of Art flourished.)

[basbaque]

Parece-me que não há "falantes" de português neste forum.
(It seems there's no portuguese speackers in this forum.) Could be from: Portugal, Brasil, Angola, Cabo Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, Moçambique, Timor and all over the world where the "diaspora" is.

[ila]

(It seems there's no portuguese speackers in this forum.)

That's probably because this is an English site. People that come on here communicate in English. Any other language limits the number of people that are able to read what is posted; and why would anyone want to limit the number of people that can read what is posted?

[natandreita]

Since I live in a Latinamerican country (Colombia) my mother tongue is Spanish. I majored in English Philology which is my passion, and hopefully will follow an specialization in English-Spanish translation. I also studied some French and Japanese.
As for French, Je le souvien encore. Je ne le parle pas, mais j'aime lire en Francais.
I have completely forgot all the Japanese I learnt.

[BananaBanana]

i am actially not.

[petreski]

СИТЕ ВЕ САКАМ:hug:

[The Conquistador]

Ok, Guys... and gals of course ;)
what is written below?

Does it say Mazel Tov?

[Tread]

Mazel Tov: מזל טוב (good luck)
I think it's something like make peace, create peace or so. But I can't read a word. That's what google said me.

[Naked Freedom]

The Total number of Indian languages, that are still in use will add upto 1,500 or more. That is because there are very twisted dialects of the same language structure if you move to different regions of the same state. There are 28 states in all.

The languages recognised by the govt. and spoken by the majority (more than 10,000) may be summed up as 122. And since there are 28 states, there should be 28 official languages, one for each state!:p
Well, there are 29 Main languages. Urdu, the Royal language of the Muslim poets, is also an Indian language.

The national language is Hindi. The name India is derived from Hindusthan. Hindu + Sthan meaning the abode of Hindus. The word Hindu came from the river Sindhu (Indus), on whose basin, the Aryan civilization grew up. In my opinion, the national language should have been Sanskrit, since it is the mother of all Indian languages.

Indian languages have assimilated many words from foreign tongues. They include Persian, Arabic, Portuguese, English, French, Turkish, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Bactrian (Bakhtar) (remember the Bactrians, Greeks, Greco-Bactrians who came with Alexander 325 BC ? They opened up a trade route with ancient India. Thats how Gandhara style of Art flourished.)
Thanx, sesame for the info....some bit of research there....:respect:

[smc]

I can't believe I missed this thread for so long. I decided at a young age that I wanted to be a polyglot, and so languages became my academic specialty. I read some and read/speak others. When I was young, beginning at junior high school age, I spent a lot of time trying to teach myself to read new languages. I went on to study Classics as an undergraduate and then got a PhD in ancient studies, which meant learning most of the Canaanite/Semitic dialects of the ancient Near Eastern world (Akkadian, Hittite, Moabite, Phoenician, Chaldean, etc.), as well as Hebrew, Aramaic, and Sanskrit. I taught Ancient Greek and Latin at the university level. In addition, I have learned to speak and read German and French (fluently), and I'm reasonably proficient in Spanish and Italian. I can get by in Portuguese and Romanian, and lately I've been challenging myself with other Germanic languages (since English is a Germanic language, and I know German): these include Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, which I try to read on a regular basis. I've never learned any Asian languages, except for a bit of Vietnamese when I volunteered to teach English to immigrants from Vietnam a long time ago. They mostly spoke French, too, but I insisted on picking up some of their native language.

[wolf-boy]

I have quite good Japanese fluency!

日本語はすきです！:p

[curiousdude]

Dear all, after having lived in Malaysia, i have been exposed to malay, (both versions spoken in malaysia as well as indonesia), thai, chinese, indian (several dialects) and some other european languages. Nevertheless, i shall gloat about being able to speak any one of the above mentioned languages. I can only manage my life, food, shopping, etc needs if i were to be stuck in these places. However, i would like to share with you the main reason why i could not learn chinese. There are 4 main dialects of chinese language (dialect but each is completely different from the other) and the official version, which is called Mandarin Chinese. In general chinese language has roughly about 2000 characters, and each character is an equivalent of a "word" in our so called western understanding. However each character has 4 inntonations (ways of reading/pronounciation). Each pronounciation would mean something completely different. Furthermore, there are four dialects - Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Teo Chew, which each has 2000 characters with 4 inntonations. In order to be able to fully speak Chinese (or consider yourself to be fully able to speak chinese) the formula goes as such:

(Mandarin X 2000 characters X 4 intonations)+(cantonese X 2000 characters X 4 intonations)+(Hakka X 2000 characters X 4 intonations)+(Hokkien X 2000 characters X 4 intonations)+(Teo Chew X 2000 characters X 4 intonations) = God Knows What....

I don't really know what is the outcome of this formula, however, if i am not mistaken, the equivalent of "tea" from Japan to Greece (including all other countries in between) is "chay" or a very similar pronounciation of "cha"...

[GRH]

I've picked up a few books and audio CD's to try to brush up on my French. I took three years of French in high school, but I don't remember a whole lot of it, and I was NEVER good at hearing the language spoken.

I'd like to try to gain some French fluency so I can be more competent should I emigrate to Canada or France someday, something I have seriously considered.

[ila]

I've picked up a few books and audio CD's to try to brush up on my French. I took three years of French in high school, but I don't remember a whole lot of it, and I was NEVER good at hearing the language spoken.

I'd like to try to gain some French fluency so I can be more competent should I emigrate to Canada or France someday, something I have seriously considered.

I took French for six years in school and never really learned very much. A lot of the fault lies in the method of teaching languages in school. I learned more French in a few months out in the working world than I ever learned in the classroom. My hat is off to anyone that can learn any second language.

[The Conquistador]

I took French for six years in school and never really learned very much. A lot of the fault lies in the method of teaching languages in school. I learned more French in a few months out in the working world than I ever learned in the classroom. My hat is off to anyone that can learn any second language.

Oh no! Our polar bear has become a frog!



Just kidding! ;)

[ila]

Oh no! Our polar bear has become a frog!



Just kidding! ;)

Nope, not really. I can barely speak any French at all.

[shadows]

Nope, not really. I can barely speak any French at all.

I got 50% in Grade 9 and then that was it for me since it was no longer mantatory to take.;)

[Leccapiedi]

nessuno parla italiano?
nobody speaks Italian?

[Kakariko]

watashi wa nihongo chotto o hanashimasu.

[sesame]

I took French for six years in school and never really learned very much. A lot of the fault lies in the method of teaching languages in school. I learned more French in a few months out in the working world than I ever learned in the classroom. My hat is off to anyone that can learn any second language.What will you opine about someone who can speak 5 other languages besides vernacular? Eh, eh, eh, Monsieur Papa Bear? :p

[SweetCheaks]

My first language is German but I prefer to speak English. I tried to learn Russian when i was younger but i screwed up :(

[shadows]

My first language is German but I prefer to speak English. I tried to learn Russian when i was younger but i screwed up :(

You can speak two languages. That is still pretty good!:respect:

[rockabilly]

I'm fluent in Elvish and Klingon.

[smc]

I'm fluent in Elvish and Klingon.

Then you need to get out more. :lol:

[rockabilly]

Then you need to get out more. :lol:

I gotta hit the conventions and bring home an Elven maiden.

I wanna be the "Lord of her Ring". ;) lol

[smc]

I gotta hit the conventions and bring home an Elven maiden.

I wanna be the "Lord of her Ring". ;) lol

Yeah, I remember when I had my first beer. :lol:

[SweetCheaks]

You can speak two languages. That is still pretty good!:respect:

Thanks to you, sir.
But I think English and German arent?t that hard to learn. There are languages like Japanese, Mandarin...you have to learn the "letters", the speech and the gestures. Thats a lot to handle :)

[smc]

Thanks to you, sir.
But I think English and German arent?t that hard to learn. There are languages like Japanese, Mandarin...you have to learn the "letters", the speech and the gestures. Thats a lot to handle :)

I have long argued with my students and others that German is the easiest language for English speakers to learn. In America, most young people think it is Spanish. But English is a Germanic language, and approximately 60% of English derives directly from Germany. I found it very easy to learn German and now speak and read fluently.

[ila]

I have long argued with my students and others that German is the easiest language for English speakers to learn. In America, most young people think it is Spanish. But English is a Germanic language, and approximately 60% of English derives directly from Germany. I found it very easy to learn German and now speak and read fluently.

I do agree with you, smc. I found German very easy to pick up. The sentence structure is so similar that I was able to form correct sentences without having to think about it. It didn't take long for me to be able to think in German and when speaking or listening to German I never had to mentally translate between English and German to carry on a conversation.

Of all the dialects in German I like the Vorarlberg, Austria dialect the best. It is very easy to understand and native speakers speak slowly and clearly, enunciating their words.

[Tread]

I have long argued with my students and others that German is the easiest language for English speakers to learn. In America, most young people think it is Spanish. But English is a Germanic language, and approximately 60% of English derives directly from Germany. I found it very easy to learn German and now speak and read fluently.

Did you compared it to Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish (also Germanic based), but the grammar could be more similar to English.
Or only compared with World languages, witch wouldn?t exclude Dutch.

[smc]

Did you compared it to Dutch, Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish (also Germanic based), but the grammar could be more similar to English.
Or only compared with World languages, witch wouldn’t exclude Dutch.

I read Dutch, which is in the West Germanic sub-group of Germanic languages, and thus most closely related to German and English. I find Dutch difficult to speak because of the odd, rounded vowel sounds; whenever I try, I sound really off. I also read Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish with varying degrees of proficiency, and can speak Swedish after I'm in Sweden for a few days (or my Stockholm friends visit). These are Germanic languages in the sub-group of North Germanic languages, also known as Nordic languages.

I would say from my own experience that Danish is the easiest of the North Germanic languages, because Danish strikes me as the closest to German of these particular languages, both grammatically and syntactically. Of the North Germanic languages, Danish and Swedish share a similar sub-sub-group generally called East Scandinavian. Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese are in the West Scandinavian branch, further removed from the original German.

Icelandic is an interesting case, because while it is Germanic in vocabulary, it has an inflectional grammar that's like Latin and even more like Old English.

You can probably tell that languages are of great interest to me. :)

[ila]

I read Dutch, which is in the West Germanic sub-group of Germanic languages, and thus most closely related to German and English. I find Dutch difficult to speak because of the odd, rounded vowel sounds; whenever I try, I sound really off. I also read Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish with varying degrees of proficiency, and can speak Swedish after I'm in Sweden for a few days (or my Stockholm friends visit). These are Germanic languages in the sub-group of North Germanic languages, also known as Nordic languages.

I would say from my own experience that Danish is the easiest of the North Germanic languages, because Danish strikes me as the closest to German of these particular languages, both grammatically and syntactically. Of the North Germanic languages, Danish and Swedish share a similar sub-sub-group generally called East Scandinavian. Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese are in the West Scandinavian branch, further removed from the original German.

Icelandic is an interesting case, because while it is Germanic in vocabulary, it has an inflectional grammar that's like Latin and even more like Old English.

You can probably tell that languages are of great interest to me. :)

I read once that up to the widespread use of printing presses, when spelling was becoming standardized, that Dutch used to be considered a dialect of German.

I don't want to start an argument here about which is considered a language in its own right as the Dutch will claim, and rightly so, that Dutch is a language and not a dialect. There is also Frisian which I have heard some Dutch say is a dialect, but the Frisians will say that it is a language. I once saw a program on German television in which everyone was speaking Frisian. At first I thought that I was listening to English.

[smc]

I read once that up to the widespread use of printing presses, when spelling was becoming standardized, that Dutch used to be considered a dialect of German.

I don't want to start an argument here about which is considered a language in its own right as the Dutch will claim, and rightly so, that Dutch is a language and not a dialect. There is also Frisian which I have heard some Dutch say is a dialect, but the Frisians will say that it is a language. I once saw a program on German television in which everyone was speaking Frisian. At first I thought that I was listening to English.

I have had the same experience with Frisian. It sounds very much like English. I won't take a position on the Dutch language or dialect question, but direct your attention -- just to muddy the waters -- to the question of Flemish. :rolleyes:

[Tread]

Frisian is spoken in Netherlands, German and Denmark, and is close to Scots.
Wouldn?t that make Dutch and Danish as easy as German to learn? (if you didn?t leaned German first)

I for one had always problems with languages, I wish they were more logic and simple, but that would make them less interesting.

[ila]

I have had the same experience with Frisian. It sounds very much like English. I won't take a position on the Dutch language or dialect question, but direct your attention -- just to muddy the waters -- to the question of Flemish. :rolleyes:

You are muddying the waters, smc. I have known and worked with a great many Dutch and Flemish people. I would say that Flemish is only slightly different than Dutch, not even enough of a difference to call it a dialect. My Dutch friends, in my experience, would agree with me. My Flemish friends would disagree. I really don't want to take a side on this question and as I have a great deal of respect for all of the Dutch and Flemish friends that I have. I have been to both Holland and Belgium and I liked both countries. I did however often find Dutch and Flemish hard to follow.

[ila]

Frisian is spoken in Netherlands, German and Denmark, and is close to Scots.
Wouldn?t that make Dutch and Danish as easy as German to learn? (if you didn?t leaned German first).......

I can't see that Frisian is close to Scots. Frisian is a Germanic language and Scots belongs to the Celtic family.

[shadows]

I feel like such a troglodyte reading through this thread.:blush:

[smc]

You are muddying the waters, smc. I have known and worked with a great many Dutch and Flemish people. I would say that Flemish is only slightly different than Dutch, not even enough of a difference to call it a dialect. My Dutch friends, in my experience, would agree with me. My Flemish friends would disagree. I really don't want to take a side on this question and as I have a great deal of respect for all of the Dutch and Flemish friends that I have. I have been to both Holland and Belgium and I liked both countries. I did however often find Dutch and Flemish hard to follow.

That was my point precisely. I didn't express an opinion but only pointed a light on the Dutch/Flemish question. My experience is also the same with Dutch and Flemish people viz. how they would characterize their languages.

[smc]

I feel like such a troglodyte reading through this thread.:blush:

I am resisting the temptation to write this post in a language other than English. Here, shadows, are some possible new avatars for you, offered with my best wishes. :lol:

[SweetCheaks]

I once saw a program on German television in which everyone was speaking Frisian. At first I thought that I was listening to English.

Frisian sounds very similar to English. I can speak it too, but I prefer to speak Westphalian. Has anyone of you heard Saxon so far? Its the funniest German dialect :)

[smc]

Frisian sounds very similar to English. I can speak it too, but I prefer to speak Westphalian. Has anyone of you heard Saxon so far? Its the funniest German dialect :)

"Funniest" is definitely the right word for Saxonian, although my friends in Dresden would not appreciate that characterization.

The last time I was in Germany, I visited them and late one night we were on Theaterplatz, in front of the Semperoper or the Zwinger museum (I can't remember for sure). There was a guy dressed as one of the Saxony kings, doing a street show. He had torchbearers and even his "wenchy" mistress by his side. He was doing a comedy show about Bavarians. He explained how he had sent his ambassadors to Munich to help them, and they reported back to him about the Bavarians: "they are rolling in the muddy streets all the time, fighting," and "they drink their beer out of barrels with handles on them." I was in Dresden with another friend, from Munich, and she had to help me understand the thick Saxonian of his speaking (she also taught at the university in Dresden, part-time, and had come to understand the dialect quite well). It was really funny: as she helped me with the parts I couldn't understand, and realized the insults, she became more and more agitated until she shouted out something in Saxonian that was a real insult to the king. One of his guards came at her with his lance, menacingly, and then everyone cracked up laughing!

[Tread]

I can't see that Frisian is close to Scots. Frisian is a Germanic language and Scots belongs to the Celtic family.

I?m ungifted in speeches, for me, a middle strong dialect sounds like a different language, so I can only say what people told me or ask the internet. I even can?t remember if I ever heard someone speaking (Lowland) Scots.

answers.yahoo.com (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071226070122AAYfihI)

Wikipedia Frisian_languages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_languages)

?
The Frisian languages are the most closely related living European languages to English, although Scots is sometimes considered a separate language rather than a dialect of English, which would make Frisian the second most closely related.
?
Frisian is the language most closely related to English and Scots, but after at least five hundred years of being subject to the influence of Dutch, modern Frisian in some aspects bears a greater similarity to Dutch than to English;
?

mamalisa.com (http://www.mamalisa.com/world/frisia.html)

Frisian is the closest language to English after Scots. Some people consider Scots a dialect of English. Considered thus so, Frisian is the closest language to English.

[smc]

I’m ungifted in speeches, for me, a middle strong dialect sounds like a different language, so I can only say what people told me or ask the internet. I even can’t remember if I ever heard someone speaking (Lowland) Scots.

I think ila's two points, both of which I agree with, are that a) Frisian sounds like English, and b) it is not considered a part of the Germanic family but is a Celtic language. These classifications are made on a basis that takes the sound of the language into consideration only marginally, if at all.

[ila]

I can't see that Frisian is close to Scots. Frisian is a Germanic language and Scots belongs to the Celtic family.

I?m ungifted in speeches, for me, a middle strong dialect sounds like a different language, so I can only say what people told me or ask the internet. I even can?t remember if I ever heard someone speaking (Lowland) Scots.

answers.yahoo.com (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071226070122AAYfihI)

Wikipedia Frisian_languages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_languages)


mamalisa.com (http://www.mamalisa.com/world/frisia.html)

When I referred to Scottish I actually meant Gaelic which is not accurate since lowland Scots is descended from Old English. Gaelic is part of the Celtic languages, but is not called Scottish. Rather it is often referred to as Scottish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, and Highland Gaelic. Reference is here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic

[shadows]

I am resisting the temptation to write this post in a language other than English. Here, shadows, are some possible new avatars for you, offered with my best wishes. :lol:

While those are very nice pictures and worthy of consideration for Avatarhood, I will be sticking with the one I am currently using.;):)

Thanks for the funny pics, though.;):respect:

[smc]

While those are very nice pictures and worthy of consideration for Avatarhood, I will be sticking with the one I am currently using.;):)

Thanks for the funny pics, though.;):respect:

I see. You think the cute troglodyte works better for you? :lol:

[shadows]

I see. You think the cute troglodyte works better for you? :lol:

Yep.:p;):p

[smc]

Yep.:p;):p

You're a a good little H?hlenmensch, shadows. (Just trying to get us back to languages.)

[Tbone]

They say English can be confusing, but some just say....

English is a Stupid Language (A Poem)

Lets face it
English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England
French fries were not invented in France.

We sometimes take English for granted
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fingers don't fing.
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught.

If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways
How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day
And as cold as hell on another

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)

That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this poem
It ends.

[smc]

I thought some of our language enthusiasts might find this interesting.

Riding home on the T yesterday (the T is Boston's trolley system), I had occasion to help an elderly couple with some directions. I could tell they were lost. The man asked the driver for help a couple of times, in English, but wasn't really getting the information he needed. Then he would carry on the conversation with his wife. I could tell they were speaking another language (which sounded Germanic), but I couldn't hear it very clearly until I moved to the front to offer some assistance.

When I asked the man if he needed some help, the accent of his reply immediately told me he had been speaking Yiddish. So, I spoke Yiddish to him. His wife chimed in, and after I helped them with directions I sat and spoke to them for another 15 minutes before they got off the trolley. It turned out that the wife did not speak English (or barely), and they had lived in the United States for nearly 20 years! This is highly unusual.

[Tread]

I don?t find this unusual. I can?t speak for USA, but I guess you?ll find more of long time barely English speaking people in the immigrant quarters. In the case of Boston the most would be Italian or Spanish speaking.
Mostly they are female, married, don?t work, under average income household, and in my experience some kind of religious.
You don?t need to speak well to buy the usual supplies. For doing the paperwork or dealing with authorities, the husband, children, or a friend have to assist.
They don?t integrate and stay most of the time in the quarters, this is because it seems to be an exception, but I?m sure there are quite a lot of them.