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Language Learning is much easier nowadays | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5345 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes  Speaks: Spanish* | Message 17 of 25 12 July 2012 at 4:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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There are many advantages afforded by the internet, that is for sure. Easy access to audio-visual content is of course unprecedented, and of exceptional worth to the language learner. However there are many negatives as well, and it could be argued that these outweigh the former.
For one, internet is destroying language. After centuries of movement towards standardization, the democratization of views and contributions allowed by the internet places the greatest erudition on a level field with the most vulgar and defective expression, and is drowned by its profusion. If we go by what we encounter on internet forums, the Spanish language no longer exists. The drive towards the lowest common denominator is of course not limited to language itself, as the quality of views and ideas and the very way they are approached by writers and readers, with deliberate exposition and careful reflection replaced by quick glossing, is severely degraded as well. And even this becomes a trifle by comparison when we consider the monstrous prospect of ebooks and digital distribution with its concomitant regional restrictions that confine culture and ideas to their own country or geographical area. At no time since the Renaissance would access to meaningful knowledge and culture be more restricted and impaired than it would be under modern ebook technology. Carlos Fuentes, the great Mexican writer, said he could not envisage himself reading a novel on an electronic device. There is an intimate relation between a good reader and a paper book that can simply not be substituted by technology. Looking into the future, I almost envy him having passed away before an uncouth, savage generation successfully takes away that last vestige of graceful civilization, the paper book. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6943 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 18 of 25 12 July 2012 at 5:17pm | IP Logged | ||
I know Amazon locks its e-book distribution geographically. Is that true of many other ebook vendors? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5345 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 19 of 25 12 July 2012 at 5:45pm | IP Logged | ||
Yes. Take a look at El cuervo blanco, a fascinating biography by a Colombian novelist of one of the greatest philologists of the Spanish language, Rufino José Cuervo. At the bottom of the page you can find the following disclaimer: "Geoblocking.Este e-book ha sido incorporado por Libranda a los sistemas de promoción y distribución suscritos con la Librería Nacional (www.librerianacional.com), con disponibilidad de venta únicamente en Colombia. Si usted está ubicado fuera del territorio colombiano nuestro sistema no le permitirá hacer la compra de este e-book." Ebooks are a perverted monstrosity. Anyone purchasing an ebook is supporting a future where you can no longer read books from other countries and languages with any degree of freedom. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6943 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 20 of 25 12 July 2012 at 6:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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The US residents can buy it on Amazon - link. I have found that some of the German books available on Amazon.de but not on Amazon.com can be bought from the US at other online vendors in Germany.
I do find the geographic restrictions highly annoying as a matter of principle, but I still don't have a clear picture of how much of a limitation they are in practice when one wants a particular book. Edited by frenkeld on 12 July 2012 at 6:02pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5345 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 21 of 25 12 July 2012 at 6:25pm | IP Logged | ||
What about a student of Spanish from Japan, Poland or India? Even among Hispanic nations, the legal availability of titles in Spanish in ebook format published in one country for readers of another is crippled. This is what I get when I click on your link: http://s10.postimage.org/892lc50fd/Clipboard01.jpg And yes, you can usually find something in your target language on ebook format. A minuscule, negligible portion of what a language has to offer and is still available (for how long?) as paper books - certainly, for me at least, not worth the investment of learning it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6943 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 22 of 25 12 July 2012 at 7:47pm | IP Logged | ||
This book is published by Alfaguara, whose books are sold by many online vendors. One would have to see if one of them will allow purchase from a particular country. Ebooks are a handy learning tool because of electronic dictionaries, but one does have to be aware that many good books are still only available in paper format, so reading only ebooks can be limiting. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5009 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 23 of 25 13 July 2012 at 4:14pm | IP Logged | ||
I disagree, there were many reasons. Two main kinds: First was the question: "Why?". Yes, people in my in country in past (the generation of my granny) had it much worse because they were really lucky if they went abroad even few times in their life (and had little choice where to) but even without these limits and in our times, how many of us could afford to go to five countries at least every two years to stay motivated for studying five languages? And it would be the cheapest and easiest way to get new books etc as well. The second is "how" and the difference here is huge. Sure, English speakers would be relatively fine because for such an amount of people, there would still be enough courses at least for large languages. The rest of us would need to choose the languages based on the appropriate shelf in a bookshop. And the offer wouldn't widen much because with less access to new cultures, there would be less demand for many languages. I agree there are serious drawbacks in today's internet, for example the restrictions on ebooks. But this is not caused by the ebook itself. The monsters of today's fun industry, and governments not suporting rights of their citizens against this industry, are fully to blame. As long as we have 70 years long copyleft, as long as nightmares like ACTA or SOPA have good chances of being accepted, as long as the industry beliefs punishments to teenage pirates are the solution instead of changing the ways of the business, we are in serious danger of having our worlds narrowed to just a selection of books/movies/languages we are allowed to have access to. Ebook itself is an innocent thing. You may or may not like it, you may choose to read a thick textbook in a tram on it but not use it for the real jewels or the other way around if you wish, but it doesn't want to limit you, quite the opposite. Restrictions on culture are nothing new. It is nothing born out of the internet, quite the opposite. The internet removed the "natural" censorship and selection process and there are some who dislike it and see it as a threat to their business, politics etc. And the "quality loss" because of all the new "writers" etc? Sorry, but this is far from truth, or rather it seems truth if you only thing of today!s situation. Yes, everyone can publish on the internet instead of storing their rubbish in the drawer. Sure, why shouldn't they if it pleases both the "writers" and their fan public? What we are missing here is a site of publishers dedicated to ebooks, dedicated to publishing good quality ebooks. If things don't go wrong, in a decade or two, there will be well known publishers (just as we know in paper now), who will do the job of finding good new authors and they will make an ebook of it (with prints on demand ideally). The main differences will be 1.price, because an ebook will be much cheaper 2.speed, because you will be able to buy online a book you want without the need to travel for it 3.more space in many appartments because many people will have only their favourites printed 4.ecology, because today, trees are dying not only for the treasures like Shakespeare but as well for a lot of books noone will read twice, a lot of manuals, lot of adds and marketing rubbish. The "waste" won't disappear but moving part of our reading to ereaders might be the only option for the future. At least if you still want books available for as many billions people as possible. Edited by Cavesa on 13 July 2012 at 4:15pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5009 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 24 of 25 13 July 2012 at 4:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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Addition to the last paragraph: another added speed (and more important than just your
comfort of a customer) will be faster publishing of ebooks because of the shorter process between the writer and reader. Among the groups who will benefit the most from this will be students. There are textbooks that are being promised to students two or three years before the book finally gets available because the publisher takes time (and by than, it is just an old book like the ones before). Another asset will be more good books published because it will be easier, the publisher won't risk so much by putting faith in new authors or things valued only by a minority (such as good poetry). Sure, there will be more bad books published as well but I guess the % will be quite the same as today. Ebook is not perfect, nothing is. But it is a tool that could contribute a lot to our society. Unless we let it become our limit. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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