I'd like to see Prof Arguelles post here. He wouldn't get the hush-hush reverence of a site like Learning Languages, but he could get some honest opinions about languages.
Are You Educated Enough?
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<<"Most of the world's most brilliant intelligentsia, writers, statesmen,etc.. were monolinguals
"
Yes, look at Bush for example.>>
What do you mean? Bush is bilingual. Thanks for proving my point.
"
Yes, look at Bush for example.>>
What do you mean? Bush is bilingual. Thanks for proving my point.
If you want to read about Prof. Arguelles and his personal story, google
"Finnish Zulu Arguelles" and it should be the first entry in the search engine. He is featured every Sunday at "Learning Languages" or "How-to-Learn-Any-Language". You can join and write him there if you wish.
I find his story believable, interesting and his style of writing, chilling.
You can also find comments about him or his language quotes on blogs like "Japanese for Life".
"Finnish Zulu Arguelles" and it should be the first entry in the search engine. He is featured every Sunday at "Learning Languages" or "How-to-Learn-Any-Language". You can join and write him there if you wish.
I find his story believable, interesting and his style of writing, chilling.
You can also find comments about him or his language quotes on blogs like "Japanese for Life".
<<Bush is fluent only in English, and still many people doubt it.>>
No, President Bush speaks Spanish fluently too and is very proud of the fact.
No, President Bush speaks Spanish fluently too and is very proud of the fact.
That's news to me. Curiously I never heard him speaking Spanish appart from short phrases, which don't make him bilingual of course.
Perhaps you could start a thread about President Bush and Spanish. You could include the following:
1. Tex-mex Spanish or European Spanish
2. Uses Voseo (yes or no)
3. How he learned Spanish-in School, Pimsleur, private tutor, Nanny as a child
4. Use of subjunctive tenses (yes or no)
5. How his vocabulary compares to his word choice in English
6. Gringo accent or "Native"
7. Whether or not Prof. Arguelles would mistake him for a Mexican
1. Tex-mex Spanish or European Spanish
2. Uses Voseo (yes or no)
3. How he learned Spanish-in School, Pimsleur, private tutor, Nanny as a child
4. Use of subjunctive tenses (yes or no)
5. How his vocabulary compares to his word choice in English
6. Gringo accent or "Native"
7. Whether or not Prof. Arguelles would mistake him for a Mexican
<<No, President Bush speaks Spanish fluently too and is very proud of the fact. >>
Are you sure that's not Jeb Bush, who does seem to be fluent in Spanish, (as far as I can tell)?
I seem to recall statements in two Spanish language interviews some years ago that cast doubt on his fluency. The first was Bush said that he didn't want to say too much in Spanish, so as not to mangle a such a beautiful langauge. The other was where he said that if the interviewer asked unexpectd questions in Spanish, he might not understand them too well.
Are you sure that's not Jeb Bush, who does seem to be fluent in Spanish, (as far as I can tell)?
I seem to recall statements in two Spanish language interviews some years ago that cast doubt on his fluency. The first was Bush said that he didn't want to say too much in Spanish, so as not to mangle a such a beautiful langauge. The other was where he said that if the interviewer asked unexpectd questions in Spanish, he might not understand them too well.
Okay, let's put a little halt on this. Jeb Bush is married to a Spanish speaker. George Bush, the current president, speaks "some Spanish".
In 2006, Fox News (but probably NOT just Fox News) reported this:
"The president can speak Spanish but not that well," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "He's not that good with his Spanish."
This was in relation to whether President Bush would be able to sing the National Anthem (whether the US or Mexican song I don't know) in Spanish.
In 2006, Fox News (but probably NOT just Fox News) reported this:
"The president can speak Spanish but not that well," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "He's not that good with his Spanish."
This was in relation to whether President Bush would be able to sing the National Anthem (whether the US or Mexican song I don't know) in Spanish.
>>>A well-educated Easterner “should” know: a) Classical Chinese, b) Mandarin, Japanese, & Korean, c) English, and d) Greek or Pali or Persian<<<
I’ve read this long ago. I don’t speak any of the above except Mandarin. I can’t write Classical Chinese. I don’t know Japanese and Korean. My English is… you see? I don’t even know the Chinese names of the most famous Greek gods. I know virtually nothing about the Muslim world, nor about its languages.
By Chinese standard, a highly educated person who “excels” in languages should be 1) speaking English fluently or 2) speaking English fluently and knowing some others. Virtually nobody except those in the foreign language department knows anything beyond (broken) English.
>>>Arguelles supposedly speaks 26 languages. That's kind of impressive. Actually after a person learns four languages, then they start to get much easier. I can't even tell you how easy they get, who would believe me!<<<
Then I shall be able to know what it means to learn multiple languages after I learn French, after my second (English), third (Mandarin but second-best) and fourth (German) language.
This is just meant to speak for people of “the letters”. There’s simply no point of asking even the majority of Arts students to learn Latin or Greek or Arabic or Classical Chinese simply because they are all classical and the students shall be linguistically cultured. I do, however, think it'd be nice enough to learn these languages cleverly (through using meaningful texts; I guess that's what the happy Latin student would do), which would, then, be worth the time that you could otherwise spend on other subjects.
While the idea quoted might be well stupid in your own view, on the other hand, I’d be very disappointed with a scholar, who is going to become a professor in any subject, such as linguistics, to speak English rather poorly, when he is already teaching in a university where English is official. This marginal bilingual DOES teach, but his linguistic ability is going to be an obstacle.
I’ve read this long ago. I don’t speak any of the above except Mandarin. I can’t write Classical Chinese. I don’t know Japanese and Korean. My English is… you see? I don’t even know the Chinese names of the most famous Greek gods. I know virtually nothing about the Muslim world, nor about its languages.
By Chinese standard, a highly educated person who “excels” in languages should be 1) speaking English fluently or 2) speaking English fluently and knowing some others. Virtually nobody except those in the foreign language department knows anything beyond (broken) English.
>>>Arguelles supposedly speaks 26 languages. That's kind of impressive. Actually after a person learns four languages, then they start to get much easier. I can't even tell you how easy they get, who would believe me!<<<
Then I shall be able to know what it means to learn multiple languages after I learn French, after my second (English), third (Mandarin but second-best) and fourth (German) language.
This is just meant to speak for people of “the letters”. There’s simply no point of asking even the majority of Arts students to learn Latin or Greek or Arabic or Classical Chinese simply because they are all classical and the students shall be linguistically cultured. I do, however, think it'd be nice enough to learn these languages cleverly (through using meaningful texts; I guess that's what the happy Latin student would do), which would, then, be worth the time that you could otherwise spend on other subjects.
While the idea quoted might be well stupid in your own view, on the other hand, I’d be very disappointed with a scholar, who is going to become a professor in any subject, such as linguistics, to speak English rather poorly, when he is already teaching in a university where English is official. This marginal bilingual DOES teach, but his linguistic ability is going to be an obstacle.
">Anyway, Prof. Arguelles thinks that the educated Westerner ought to know Latin & Greek, English and at least French, Spanish or German, Russian, and Persian or Arabic or Sanskrit or Hindi or Chinese.<"
I think likewise; as I am a linguist. I'm barely learning the essentials of Arabic & Greek. I'm currently 22 years old. I command English & Spanish fluently with native enunciation. I've learned Latin (so-so comprehension) as a pastime language, however, I can easily - at times - decipher Latin vocabulary via my knowledge of the Romance languages. I know Italian too, to an extent.
What about learning the History of world languages? Eh? And their unconscious influence in our modern-day languages? English preferably. Wouldn't that be more informative, practical and easier to learn?
i.e.
sankirt: asta
old-greek: este
latin: est / pater
spanish: es / esta
german: ist
english: is
Note: Begin with the clay tokens of Mesopotamia and work are way through the ages to our present-day.
I think likewise; as I am a linguist. I'm barely learning the essentials of Arabic & Greek. I'm currently 22 years old. I command English & Spanish fluently with native enunciation. I've learned Latin (so-so comprehension) as a pastime language, however, I can easily - at times - decipher Latin vocabulary via my knowledge of the Romance languages. I know Italian too, to an extent.
What about learning the History of world languages? Eh? And their unconscious influence in our modern-day languages? English preferably. Wouldn't that be more informative, practical and easier to learn?
i.e.
sankirt: asta
old-greek: este
latin: est / pater
spanish: es / esta
german: ist
english: is
Note: Begin with the clay tokens of Mesopotamia and work are way through the ages to our present-day.
addendum>
i.e.
sankirt: asta
old-greek: este
latin: est
spanish: es / esta
german: ist
english: is
i.e.
sankirt: asta
old-greek: este
latin: est
spanish: es / esta
german: ist
english: is
>>>I think likewise; as I am a linguist. I'm barely learning the essentials of Arabic & Greek.<<<
Which area do you concentrate on? Just because learning languages has become my pastime, I'm now sort of into fields like ??diachronic study??, second language acquistion (like reading Krashen), phonetics... certain such fields are probably linked to the "ideas". By linguistics one won't be learning "in detail", but then, before the discussed academy could come into existence, few are going to study multiple languages as a major. I feel compelled to at least dabble with a language (i.e. to read it), when it's often beneficial to be able to compare multiple languages to study certain subjects, such as morphology.
Which area do you concentrate on? Just because learning languages has become my pastime, I'm now sort of into fields like ??diachronic study??, second language acquistion (like reading Krashen), phonetics... certain such fields are probably linked to the "ideas". By linguistics one won't be learning "in detail", but then, before the discussed academy could come into existence, few are going to study multiple languages as a major. I feel compelled to at least dabble with a language (i.e. to read it), when it's often beneficial to be able to compare multiple languages to study certain subjects, such as morphology.
My understanding is the George Bush can get by on some Spanish, but is hardly fluent. Jeb Bush, his brother, is fluent.
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