Los hispanohablantes de mierda tienen problemas de cerebro. Aunque no soy de ninguna manera a favor del francés que también es un idioma muerto que me produce repugnancia, es obvio que los idiotas hispanohablantes carecen de la capacidad de la razón. ¿Es que no ven que la gran mayoría de los hispanohablantes ni siquiera viven en casas? Ni siquiera saben leer, viven entre basura y bajan a las cloacas para buscar comida. Entre esta gentuza el trabajo es algo inusitado que provoca carcajadas, los que trabajan legítimamente son considerados inferiores. El único oficio respetado es el de narcotraficante. La corrupción es tan fuerte y constante en América Latina (y España también) que los senadores norteamericanos deberían buscar una excusa para arrasar militarmente ese continente. Los políticos siempre dicen en sus discursos que quieren eliminar la pobreza, pues ya, ahora se les presenta la oportunidad de hacerlo! ¡A aprovecharla! Unas bombas sobre la Ciudad de México y ya quedan eliminados 30 millones de pedazos de pobreza.
French, the second global lingua franca
Spanish is only a lingua franca in Castilia! No place for this language being spoken in the world!
Catalan language in Barcelona + Metropolitan Area
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
The Catalan Language
Some silly person started cooked up a bizarre story that many people seem to take as fact. "A long time ago," it starts, "there was a Spanish king who spoke with a lisp. To make him feel better, everyone spoke with a lisp also. And that's why 'Barcelona' is pronounced 'Barthelona'."
Yike! Where does one start? It's only the "c" and the "z" that are pronounced as "th" in Castilian – an "s" is still an "s". The other, tiny, insignificant little issue is that in Barcelona (and the rest of Catalunya) the language is not Spanish, but Catalan. And besides, few people in Catalunya has ever tried to make the king of Spain feel better about anything. They see themselves as a separate nation. That hackneyed, old story can be dismissed as pure myth-understanding.
Catalan is a romance language, like French or Spanish. In other words, it's descended from Latin. Its closest relative is Provençal, which is spoken in the south of France. Catalan is part medieval, part quite-different, and definitely not a dialect of any other language. It's always been distinct, and Catalans were some of the first people to drop Latin and use the vernacular. Tirant lo Blanc, considered to be the first modern European novel, was written in Catalan.
Catalunya was a major seafaring nation, and in the Middle Ages, the use of Catalan was second only to Arabic in the Mediterranean. It's still spoken in modern-day Sardinia (the result of conquest), and even appears on signs. Other conquests, by the way, included Corsica, Sicily and Albania (though they soon left Albania because they didn't know what to do once they had it.)
After the integration of Catalunya into Spain, the Catalans still spoke their language, but were under pressure to pick up Castilian. While they did pick up Castilian, they never dropped Catalan. The lowest point came recently, when Franco tried to ban Catalan altogether. It was still spoken at home, and needless to say, when the old Caudillo finally croaked there was a lot of dancing in Barcelona.
The Catalans have always regarded their language as part of their identity, and that's why it's held on so stubbornly. When Gaudí was introduced to the king of Spain, he spoke to the king in Catalan. He proved a point, even if the king didn't get it. Nowadays, some Catalans prefer to speak English with foreigners rather than Spanish, which they know perfectly. Again, a point.
Catalan has a unique phonology. It preserves the "f" from Latin, where Spanish changes it to "h". "Horno" in Spanish is "for" in Catalan (like the English word "furnace"), and bakery signs all over Barcelona say "for de pa". Where Spanish words end either with a vowel or the consonants "n", "l" or "r", Catalan words end with any consonant they choose, mainly because final vowels have been dropped.
The telltale giveaway of Catalan is the consonants, which seem to have more voicing. The plural definite article, "els" is pronounced "ellllzzzz", with a hearty "l" that makes you worry the speaker is swallowing their tongue. There are various pronunciations of the "ll" sound, which, as in Spanish, is pronounced like the letter "y". It sounds simple enough, but when one of these is in front of an "s", all bets are off. Only a native Catalan would even attempt it.
Finally, the "j" sound sounds like a "j", as in "jar". There's a Catalan tongue twister that goes:
Setze jutges d'un jutjat menjen fetge d'un penjat
or
Sixteen judges on a tribunal eat the liver of a hanged man.
This promethian epic must be the most succinct ever composed in any language, but you have to admire its lyricism. It was so inspirational that there was a rock group from the 70's who called themselves Setze Jutges. There are a lot of very earthy and entertaining little proverbs, some of them a little raucous. Robert Hughes gives a very good account in his book, Barcelona, which is excellent reading in any case.
A good illustration is the local versions of all the biblical names. Jordi is George, the patron saint of Barcelona. At least 109% of male Catalans seem to have this name. Joan is John (no, Joan Miró wasn't a woman!), Antoni is Anthony, Josep is Joseph, though the kicker (to my mind) is Lluís.
At this point people are totally bilingual in Catalan and Spanish. Because the two languages are so related, linguists have found Catalan bilingualism an interesting study. Where Spanglish combines two very distinct languages, in Catalan and Spanish it's easy to borrow without knowing that you've done it. And the languages are so close in daily use that it's interesting to observe how and when people switch.
WHEN I GOT TO BARCELONA I WAS DELIGHTED THAT PEOPLE SPOKE TO ME IN CATALAN, AND WAS MORE DELIGHTED STILL WHEN I UNDERSTOOD MOST OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. I'VE ALWAYS THOUGH THAT CATALAN SOUNDS REALLY COOL. I KEPT ASKING MY FRIEND JORDI TO TEACH ME CATALAN, BUT HE KEPT INSISTING THAT I SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING PRACTICAL LIKE FRENCH. (WHY LEARN GERMAN, GOES THE SAME ARGUMENT, IF THE GERMANS SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH? YOU CAN READ EVERYTHING IN TRANSLATION!).
I suppose he's right, but it's a crime that there's not enough time in the world for all of the interesting things, or that my brain isn't big enough to fit it all into the time allotted. If either of those objects suddenly become moveable, I can see a potential project.
Some silly person started cooked up a bizarre story that many people seem to take as fact. "A long time ago," it starts, "there was a Spanish king who spoke with a lisp. To make him feel better, everyone spoke with a lisp also. And that's why 'Barcelona' is pronounced 'Barthelona'."
Yike! Where does one start? It's only the "c" and the "z" that are pronounced as "th" in Castilian – an "s" is still an "s". The other, tiny, insignificant little issue is that in Barcelona (and the rest of Catalunya) the language is not Spanish, but Catalan. And besides, few people in Catalunya has ever tried to make the king of Spain feel better about anything. They see themselves as a separate nation. That hackneyed, old story can be dismissed as pure myth-understanding.
Catalan is a romance language, like French or Spanish. In other words, it's descended from Latin. Its closest relative is Provençal, which is spoken in the south of France. Catalan is part medieval, part quite-different, and definitely not a dialect of any other language. It's always been distinct, and Catalans were some of the first people to drop Latin and use the vernacular. Tirant lo Blanc, considered to be the first modern European novel, was written in Catalan.
Catalunya was a major seafaring nation, and in the Middle Ages, the use of Catalan was second only to Arabic in the Mediterranean. It's still spoken in modern-day Sardinia (the result of conquest), and even appears on signs. Other conquests, by the way, included Corsica, Sicily and Albania (though they soon left Albania because they didn't know what to do once they had it.)
After the integration of Catalunya into Spain, the Catalans still spoke their language, but were under pressure to pick up Castilian. While they did pick up Castilian, they never dropped Catalan. The lowest point came recently, when Franco tried to ban Catalan altogether. It was still spoken at home, and needless to say, when the old Caudillo finally croaked there was a lot of dancing in Barcelona.
The Catalans have always regarded their language as part of their identity, and that's why it's held on so stubbornly. When Gaudí was introduced to the king of Spain, he spoke to the king in Catalan. He proved a point, even if the king didn't get it. Nowadays, some Catalans prefer to speak English with foreigners rather than Spanish, which they know perfectly. Again, a point.
Catalan has a unique phonology. It preserves the "f" from Latin, where Spanish changes it to "h". "Horno" in Spanish is "for" in Catalan (like the English word "furnace"), and bakery signs all over Barcelona say "for de pa". Where Spanish words end either with a vowel or the consonants "n", "l" or "r", Catalan words end with any consonant they choose, mainly because final vowels have been dropped.
The telltale giveaway of Catalan is the consonants, which seem to have more voicing. The plural definite article, "els" is pronounced "ellllzzzz", with a hearty "l" that makes you worry the speaker is swallowing their tongue. There are various pronunciations of the "ll" sound, which, as in Spanish, is pronounced like the letter "y". It sounds simple enough, but when one of these is in front of an "s", all bets are off. Only a native Catalan would even attempt it.
Finally, the "j" sound sounds like a "j", as in "jar". There's a Catalan tongue twister that goes:
Setze jutges d'un jutjat menjen fetge d'un penjat
or
Sixteen judges on a tribunal eat the liver of a hanged man.
This promethian epic must be the most succinct ever composed in any language, but you have to admire its lyricism. It was so inspirational that there was a rock group from the 70's who called themselves Setze Jutges. There are a lot of very earthy and entertaining little proverbs, some of them a little raucous. Robert Hughes gives a very good account in his book, Barcelona, which is excellent reading in any case.
A good illustration is the local versions of all the biblical names. Jordi is George, the patron saint of Barcelona. At least 109% of male Catalans seem to have this name. Joan is John (no, Joan Miró wasn't a woman!), Antoni is Anthony, Josep is Joseph, though the kicker (to my mind) is Lluís.
At this point people are totally bilingual in Catalan and Spanish. Because the two languages are so related, linguists have found Catalan bilingualism an interesting study. Where Spanglish combines two very distinct languages, in Catalan and Spanish it's easy to borrow without knowing that you've done it. And the languages are so close in daily use that it's interesting to observe how and when people switch.
WHEN I GOT TO BARCELONA I WAS DELIGHTED THAT PEOPLE SPOKE TO ME IN CATALAN, AND WAS MORE DELIGHTED STILL WHEN I UNDERSTOOD MOST OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. I'VE ALWAYS THOUGH THAT CATALAN SOUNDS REALLY COOL. I KEPT ASKING MY FRIEND JORDI TO TEACH ME CATALAN, BUT HE KEPT INSISTING THAT I SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING PRACTICAL LIKE FRENCH. (WHY LEARN GERMAN, GOES THE SAME ARGUMENT, IF THE GERMANS SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH? YOU CAN READ EVERYTHING IN TRANSLATION!).
I suppose he's right, but it's a crime that there's not enough time in the world for all of the interesting things, or that my brain isn't big enough to fit it all into the time allotted. If either of those objects suddenly become moveable, I can see a potential project.
Catalan in Barcelona + Metropolitan Area
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
Catalan is dissapearing very fast in the Capital of Catalonia.
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
Catalan is dissapearing very fast in the Capital of Catalonia.
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
<< WHEN I GOT TO BARCELONA I WAS DELIGHTED THAT PEOPLE SPOKE TO ME IN CATALAN, AND WAS MORE DELIGHTED STILL WHEN I UNDERSTOOD MOST OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. I'VE ALWAYS THOUGH THAT CATALAN SOUNDS REALLY COOL. I KEPT ASKING MY FRIEND JORDI TO TEACH ME CATALAN, BUT HE KEPT INSISTING THAT I SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING PRACTICAL LIKE FRENCH. (WHY LEARN GERMAN, GOES THE SAME ARGUMENT, IF THE GERMANS SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH? YOU CAN READ EVERYTHING IN TRANSLATION!). >>
I wonder why Jordi didn't insist Castellano/Spanish instead of French. Surely, Castellano/Spanish is not a practical language like French.
Too ironic since Catalonia isan integralpart of Spain.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I wonder why Jordi didn't insist Castellano/Spanish instead of French. Surely, Castellano/Spanish is not a practical language like French.
Too ironic since Catalonia isan integralpart of Spain.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Catalan in Barcelona + Metropolitan Area
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
<< WHEN I GOT TO BARCELONA I WAS DELIGHTED THAT PEOPLE SPOKE TO ME IN CATALAN, AND WAS MORE DELIGHTED STILL WHEN I UNDERSTOOD MOST OF WHAT THEY WERE SAYING. I'VE ALWAYS THOUGH THAT CATALAN SOUNDS REALLY COOL. I KEPT ASKING MY FRIEND JORDI TO TEACH ME CATALAN, BUT HE KEPT INSISTING THAT I SHOULD LEARN SOMETHING PRACTICAL LIKE FRENCH. (WHY LEARN GERMAN, GOES THE SAME ARGUMENT, IF THE GERMANS SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH? YOU CAN READ EVERYTHING IN TRANSLATION!). >>
I wonder why Jordi didn't insist Castellano/Spanish instead of French. Surely, Castellano/Spanish is not a practical language like French.
Too ironic since Catalonia is an integral part of Spain.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I wonder why Jordi didn't insist Castellano/Spanish instead of French. Surely, Castellano/Spanish is not a practical language like French.
Too ironic since Catalonia is an integral part of Spain.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Catalan in Barcelona + Metropolitan Area
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
Catalan speakers 27,8%
Spanish speakers 53,8%
http://www.vozbcn.com/2009/06/30/7683/uso-castellano-barcelona-dobla/
Fairlingua Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:35 pm GMT
French language is the only one with English to be spoken in every part of the world (1). After decolonisation, former French colonies (except Algeria - 22 millions francophons) decided freely to create a network of French speaking countries, mainly focused on culture and education.
Little by little, this network has been built despite anglo-saxon plan to promote their unique global language. The French internet is the 6th of the world. Americans and Chinese begin seriously to learn French to make business with Africa. French litterature became strong and dynamic "world litterature in French language", Quebec has secured more or less it's French language and attract people directly from all parts of the world. Countries from East Europe decided to promote French language while having strong links with USA. In Russia, French language was always the "elite language" as well as in South America. More and more countries want to belong to Francophonia.
French language, develops year after year. while remaining juridical and diplomatic language in the EU. In European Union or in Canada, it is difficult not to know French (but not strictly impossible) for somebody who lives in Bruxelles or Ottawa. (The 3 capitals of EU are in French speaking territories. Ottawa is in the other side of Quebec boundary).
France is the first touristic country of the world (80 million of people visit France each year). If you want to see paintings from Italy in Louvre, build an Airbus, if you launch a satellite from French Guyana, if you love wine or fashion, if you are working on nuclear fusion world project, you will have difficulties or miss big opportunities because of your poor French.
If you just want to travel, French is one of the six languages to learn to be understood everywhere in the world.
To summarize, it's possible to live without French language but knowing it will really help you all your life long. It's a very good long term investment!
The second global language (lingua franca) in the world
According to a very serious study, French is the second of the 6 global languages of the world (chinese is becoming intercontinental one due to it's massive diasporas). Another study gives sames results as most useful languages for travellers and a third one the same concerning socio-economic and cultural influence of languages. Whoever you are, whatever you do, French language is a good investment.
Source :
George Weber: The Worlds 10 Most Influential Languages. In Language Today (Vol. 2, Dec 1997); I would personnaly put Spanish on the same level than French.
Where French is useful to travel (+ Canada + Morocco - Algeria - Tunisia (understood everywhere), + Lebanon + often in Israel + 1/4 of caraibs, but without Vietnam - rather Chinese or English). As French is a language for elites, you can find easilly people speaking French in South America as soon as the social status become higher. My experience is that it is learned more by women as language of culture or "beautiful language" than by men (rather english or german to make money). It's just from experience, not a statistic. Now French is popular in Central Asia.
Why learning French :
» Language of institutions
» Language of culture
» Language of science
» Language of economy
» Videos (high speed connections)
http://www.fairlingua.com/why_french.html
=======================
What a MM picece!
MM= Mental Masterbation!
French language is the only one with English to be spoken in every part of the world (1). After decolonisation, former French colonies (except Algeria - 22 millions francophons) decided freely to create a network of French speaking countries, mainly focused on culture and education.
Little by little, this network has been built despite anglo-saxon plan to promote their unique global language. The French internet is the 6th of the world. Americans and Chinese begin seriously to learn French to make business with Africa. French litterature became strong and dynamic "world litterature in French language", Quebec has secured more or less it's French language and attract people directly from all parts of the world. Countries from East Europe decided to promote French language while having strong links with USA. In Russia, French language was always the "elite language" as well as in South America. More and more countries want to belong to Francophonia.
French language, develops year after year. while remaining juridical and diplomatic language in the EU. In European Union or in Canada, it is difficult not to know French (but not strictly impossible) for somebody who lives in Bruxelles or Ottawa. (The 3 capitals of EU are in French speaking territories. Ottawa is in the other side of Quebec boundary).
France is the first touristic country of the world (80 million of people visit France each year). If you want to see paintings from Italy in Louvre, build an Airbus, if you launch a satellite from French Guyana, if you love wine or fashion, if you are working on nuclear fusion world project, you will have difficulties or miss big opportunities because of your poor French.
If you just want to travel, French is one of the six languages to learn to be understood everywhere in the world.
To summarize, it's possible to live without French language but knowing it will really help you all your life long. It's a very good long term investment!
The second global language (lingua franca) in the world
According to a very serious study, French is the second of the 6 global languages of the world (chinese is becoming intercontinental one due to it's massive diasporas). Another study gives sames results as most useful languages for travellers and a third one the same concerning socio-economic and cultural influence of languages. Whoever you are, whatever you do, French language is a good investment.
Source :
George Weber: The Worlds 10 Most Influential Languages. In Language Today (Vol. 2, Dec 1997); I would personnaly put Spanish on the same level than French.
Where French is useful to travel (+ Canada + Morocco - Algeria - Tunisia (understood everywhere), + Lebanon + often in Israel + 1/4 of caraibs, but without Vietnam - rather Chinese or English). As French is a language for elites, you can find easilly people speaking French in South America as soon as the social status become higher. My experience is that it is learned more by women as language of culture or "beautiful language" than by men (rather english or german to make money). It's just from experience, not a statistic. Now French is popular in Central Asia.
Why learning French :
» Language of institutions
» Language of culture
» Language of science
» Language of economy
» Videos (high speed connections)
http://www.fairlingua.com/why_french.html
=======================
What a MM picece!
MM= Mental Masterbation!
Catalonia (Spain)
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
Balearic Islands (Spain)
Understands: 733,466
Can speak: 504,349
Andorra
Understands: 75,407
Can speak: 61,975
Northern Catalonia (France)
Understands: 203,121
Can speak: 125,621
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
Balearic Islands (Spain)
Understands: 733,466
Can speak: 504,349
Andorra
Understands: 75,407
Can speak: 61,975
Northern Catalonia (France)
Understands: 203,121
Can speak: 125,621
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language
<< What a MM picece!
MM= Mental Masterbation! >>
What a MS piece!
MM= Mental Sodomy!
MM= Mental Masterbation! >>
What a MS piece!
MM= Mental Sodomy!
Recession of Catalan in the last 5 years:
2003
People who had Catalan as mother tongue in 2003:
2.177.800 38,70%
In 2008
2.186.000 34,60%
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_catal%C3%A1n
2003
People who had Catalan as mother tongue in 2003:
2.177.800 38,70%
In 2008
2.186.000 34,60%
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_catal%C3%A1n
Catalonia (Spain)
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
Balearic Islands (Spain)
Understands: 733,466
Can speak: 504,349
Andorra
Understands: 75,407
Can speak: 61,975
Northern Catalonia (France)
Understands: 203,121
Can speak: 125,621
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
Balearic Islands (Spain)
Understands: 733,466
Can speak: 504,349
Andorra
Understands: 75,407
Can speak: 61,975
Northern Catalonia (France)
Understands: 203,121
Can speak: 125,621
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language
<<Catalonia (Spain)
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
>>
And? Even an Andalusian or a Portuguese can understand Catalan because it's very easy to pick up words here and there for a Spanish/Portuguese speaker. Catalonia has 7 millions, so there are 2,5 millions who can't speak Catalan. LOL. On the other hand everbody speaks Spanish in Catalonia.
Understands: 5,837,874
Can speak: 4,602,611
>>
And? Even an Andalusian or a Portuguese can understand Catalan because it's very easy to pick up words here and there for a Spanish/Portuguese speaker. Catalonia has 7 millions, so there are 2,5 millions who can't speak Catalan. LOL. On the other hand everbody speaks Spanish in Catalonia.