I speak four, if you need to check their correctness you are invietd to dinner in LA, or Durban, or venice, or Paris
hasta pronto, speranza On Thu, 18 Jun 2009, Donal McEvoy wrote:
--- On Thu, 18/6/09, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx <Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx> wrote:I never met ANYONE who spoke TWO languages correctly.This thesis is different from the original claim the Dutch do not speak two languages, even if they speak one in- or less correctly. But even here, as many English will admit, an educated Dutch will often speak and understand English more "correctly" than most English. This seems to refute even the second claim. What is perhaps of interest is what happens when people are bi-lingual: do they somehow 'translate' from one prioritised language to the other or do they simply switch without need to 'translate', for example? I suggest that both happen and that perhaps the second occurs when a certain level of mastery/fluency/absorption happens. In a way it is a matter of what language we naturally reach for in our circumstance, and we reach often instinctively and without reflection. There is a true story of a (German?) spy interrogated by the Belgians(?). Not only had the spy to show mastery of the Belgian language so his interrogators could have no scintilla of evidence that he was not Belgian but also master the idiom and manner of a Belgian peasant, since being one was his cover story. For days he was severly interrogated, and despite all suspicions not a scintilla of evidence to confirm those suspicions emerged from his linguistic behaviour. Finally his weary interrogator pushed his papers across the table and looked with an exasperated smile, saying the alleged spy was now free to go. The spy collected his papers and went to the door and as he got there the interrogator called out 'Viel Gluck!'. 'Danke' said the spy, who was executed. (Nationalities may have been altered to protect the innocent, or because memory fails). Actually that story is not the one, I must have been thinking of 'The Great Escape': the true story involves the spy being smoked out by calling out 'Feuer!' so that his response showed he immediately understood. But given JLS's points about cognate languages, and how we might understand meaning by the situation, this might seem a dubious kind of test by which to deem someone worthy of execution. For clarifcation only:McEvoy from EireHe's from Northern Ireland (Eire usually only denotes the Republic).I was told there is a crazy man in Ireland who was taught Gaelic as a first-language and almost died in the attempt.This would doubtless be because of the ruthless and murderous suppression of Gaelic learning by the English. (Or perhaps the learning was accompanied by murderous drinking sessions). Donal Glad to see Mike enjoyed Across the Green Mountain ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
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