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What is a useless language to you? | ||
Tags: Usefulness | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Kugel Senior Member United States Joined 6318 days ago 497 posts - 555 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 25 of 42 24 November 2010 at 4:26pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Learning any language independent of its culture from which it originated would simply be an intellectual exercise. If this is the case, which I think it is for many self-proclaimed polyglots, then the question of the usefulness of a language is an irrelevant question. Memorizing trigonometric identities or states' capitals would be just as stimulating.
For instance, why learn Ancient Greek if you have no interest in Theatre or Philosophy/Politics? Reading the plays and philosophy of Ancient Greece in your own native language is already a very time consuming endeavor, and unfortunately many completely blow it off, probably because they find it quite boring due to the fact that they haven't yet cultivated an appreciation for antiquity, and sophisticated arguments, or both. The same could be said for just about any language. What really profits someone who spends more time learning foreign languages rather than getting cultural and scientific literacy that should logically take precedence. Edited by Kugel on 24 November 2010 at 4:34pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| SamD Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6439 days ago 823 posts - 987 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Norwegian | Message 26 of 42 24 November 2010 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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There are probably hundreds of languages that I would personally find useless.
They are useless because there are no learning materials available. No learning materials are available because there are so few people who speak them. Those hundreds of languages include languages whose names I've never even heard. I'll probably never encounter anybody who speaks them or ever hear recordings of them or read anything written in those languages. Of course, there are other people who will find these languages very useful. These languages just aren't useful to me personally. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| jeeb Groupie Joined 4940 days ago 49 posts - 80 votes | Message 27 of 42 25 November 2010 at 4:40am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Hakka and Taiwanese are both Chinese languages. Linguistically, Taiwanese is a dialect of Min. (I understand politically Taiwan people don't want to be connected with China. I just talk about the nature of language itself) Mandarin is not the only Chinese languages. Hakka and Min branch languages are as "Chinese:" as Mandarin. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| markchapman Diglot Groupie Taiwan tesolzone.com/ Joined 5252 days ago 44 posts - 55 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: Portuguese | Message 28 of 42 25 November 2010 at 5:42am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I use the term Chinese as it's commonly used - in Chinese as well as English. When people in China or Taiwan want to say Mandarin they say Zhongwen [literally Chinese] or Putonghua/Guoyu [common/national language]. Taiwanese [or Southern Min - if you prefer] & Hakka are distinct languages. A Mandarin speaker [who has not studied them] will not understand when they are spoken. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Aineko Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 5228 days ago 238 posts - 442 votes Speaks: Serbian*, EnglishC2, Spanish Studies: Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 29 of 42 25 November 2010 at 7:01am | IP Logged | ||||||||
look, you really underestimate female ST fanbase :D. It is on my long term list (if you can argue in it about how TNG is better than TOS - I find it useful :D ). I'll get to it one day, once I'm done with languages whose literature I really liked in Serbian and want to read in the original. Edited by Aineko on 25 November 2010 at 7:04am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| jeeb Groupie Joined 4940 days ago 49 posts - 80 votes | Message 30 of 42 25 November 2010 at 8:17am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I am a Hakka person and I speak Cantonese. Hakka, Min, Cantonese, Wu and Mandarin are not mutually intelligible. However, they are all Chinese languages. Please don't let Mandarin steals the name of "Chinese". I know you are in Taiwan. It maybe better for you if people don't know that Taiwanese is a Chinese language.But please consider for other non-Mandarin languages. (I support the will of Taiwanese people. I just talk about language. American got independent from England but their language is still called English or American English. I don't think American will say they speak American.) Linguistically, "Chinese" should be parallel to the names like "Germanic"/"Romance"/"Turkic". Edited by jeeb on 25 November 2010 at 8:25am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| markchapman Diglot Groupie Taiwan tesolzone.com/ Joined 5252 days ago 44 posts - 55 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin Studies: Portuguese | Message 31 of 42 25 November 2010 at 8:53am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Jeeb, I didn't intend to upset you here. What you say about Chinese languages is correct, and perhaps Mandarin shouldn't steal the title of Chinese. However, for many people I meet it already has. Henceforth I will attempt to stop all linguistic robberies. However, the word 'Chinese' has two syllables, 'Mandarin' three. Therefore just from linguistic laziness it's easier to say the shorter of the two. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| jeeb Groupie Joined 4940 days ago 49 posts - 80 votes | Message 32 of 42 25 November 2010 at 10:01am | IP Logged | ||||||||
When will the World change? This book is written in 1887. 
The author answers the question that is still being mistaken nowadays. 
But I guess the World will never change. I read that Sarah Pallin said North Korea was their allies. Ignorance will never be wiped out. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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