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  #41 (permalink)  
Old 11-23-2007
sailaway21 sailaway21 is offline
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SemiJim has answered SailingDog's fulminations quite well. That the Dog finds ample opportunity to utilize foreign languages within these United States probably indicates more about the Dog than the several states. you can go a long way in any direction hearing nothing but English.

This is not a moral argument, as Giu points out, it is an argument of utility. Dog's lament of the passing of history via the spoken word might be lamentable were it not for the written word, in english, which most of these cultures have mastered. The degree to which their language is perpetuated is a matter for their culture and,perhaps, the Smithsonian. the reason for the decline of other languages is not some corporate or government enforcement of the language code, although one could wish, but the individuals making an examination of the marginal utility of each language. English has become the superior language for the widest forms of communication. It is not inherently better or worse than any other language. A small part of the explanation may have something to do with the reasons why educated observers are glad we're not all speaking German. If French military prowess had not evaporated with the final exile of Napoleon, who knows, we might all be speaking French yet today.

And, as stated, language tends to be a use it or lose it skill. Regardless of country of origin, most people learn language(s) to the degree found necessary. English is still not commonly spoken within Japan, until you encounter the international business class and then it's universally spoken. An insular country such as Japan finds no need for wide-spread use of English, although that will change as well as the popular culture becomes more international.

Back in the day I used to love going into the Manila Hotel where they always had a Filipino band playing and singing American oldies, and doing a damn fine job of it too. Rarely did any of them actually speak English to any degree of intelligibility. I've heard the same was true in the hey-dey of the Japanese kareoke bars.

Most seamen develop what could be referred to as a bedroom knowledge of other languages. (g) And the ability to communicate "piss off" in a native tongue is always highly prized. Even in this area though the triumph of English as the international language asserts itself, as the likely response to a carefully crafted expletive in the native language is most often the universally understood, "F*** Off". (g)
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  #42 (permalink)  
Old 11-23-2007
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jerryrlitton jerryrlitton is offline
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Ahh English can be such a colorful language. A lot can be said just by the tone. I do have an example here that even a non English speaker would have no doubt of the meaning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEFiqVLY5DI

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  #43 (permalink)  
Old 11-23-2007
tigerregis tigerregis is offline
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where are all you etymologists, when I have to put screws in the ceiling of my boat?
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  #44 (permalink)  
Old 11-23-2007
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AjariBonten AjariBonten is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tigerregis View Post
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where are all you etymologists, when I have to put screws in the ceiling of my boat?

We're all busy cleansing our Soles ..... LOLOLL
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  #45 (permalink)  
Old 11-23-2007
tigerregis tigerregis is offline
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AB, do you mean "floors"?....LOL2U2
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