Does anyone like the English Language?
I get the impression that English is the most studied language, but not the most admired.
Almost everyone I know learns english purely for utilitarian reasons, and none of them enjoy it. I've never heard anyone swoon over the aesthetic beauty of English, like many people do with other languages (french/italian).
I agree, and as a native speaker of English I must say I have never really found my language to be particularly aesthetically pleasing. In addition, allegedly high quality writing in English usually just consists of a bunch of esoteric Latinate words which don't really add much substance to anything...
I will admit, that I find it the most attractive language... Being an English speaker, however, I am biased...
french or italian should have taken over america instead, so that people all over the world could learn french or italian instead of stupid english!!!!!!!!!!!
<<so that people all over the world could learn french or italian instead of stupid english!!>>
Why is english stupid? Expound....count the ways, if you will.
Although I'm sure you're just trolling, I ask this seriously, because I think the sentiment you express is extremely common. People either have utter contempt for english as a language, or just find it be boring, uncultured and/or unsophisticated; its learned simply as a means of communication but not regarded highly by anyone.
What about english causes this perception?
English has already surpassed french as an international language, but doesn't have any of the prestige that french has had. What gives?
The reason there is no prestige is because not only is it widely spoken by the rich, but also by the middle class and even a large proportion of the poor in many countries. Also, the cultural associations most people think of with regard to English are Hollywood and American pop culture, rather than Shakespeare for example. On the other hand, French is usually associated with more traditional and 'prestigious' hallmarks of French culture, whether such association is accurate or not...
It should be noted however, that surely just as many English learners do learn it for enjoyment as other people learn other languages, but these people are drowned out in the hordes of people who learn it for utilitarian reasons. It seems as though everyone enjoys learning French for the simple reason that if you didn't enjoy French you wouldn't learn it. There would be no adverse consequences of just giving it up on the spot. English however cannot be avoided. And forcing a subject on someone will often lead to an irrational hate of the subject in the same way many students hate maths.
I don't really feel one way or the other about English. It's my native language, and it mostly just feels neutral to me. I don't feel any strong emotional attachment.
I'm a Spaniard and I love the English language, how it sounds, its grammar, spelling, everything, so you've already heard of someone. On the other hand, after years of being force to study French at school, I ended up hating it. Due to the appalling learning methods in the eighties, I was able to read high French literature, but not to hold a simple conversation. Now in my thirties I've decided to learn a foreign language and I've picked up English. I don't agree that most people learn English for utilitarian reasons, most people study English for utilitarian reasons, but most people I know that actually learn English, did enjoy it.
About Hollywood and American pop culture, well, here English is associated for the most part with England, always has been, you know, Margaret Thatcher, the Big Ben, bowler hat, umbrella and fog, pirates and other criminals, hordes of pissed guiris in the Spanish streets and things like that. On the other hand, French is no longer associated with rich people, it is rather associated with poor people who emigrated to France after the Spanish War and later on.
English or not is an issue about legislation. How can we say this language is the legal language and that language isn’t? This issue has been talked for so many years, now, I find out a new solution. My answer is that if a language can help its speaker to enjoy the maximum information during life time, then this language is the only legal language for all human being. To be such a language, the English need a reform. Now I will explain why this language is wasting the time or life of its speaker.
Do you know that a Chinese Mandarin speaker can split every English syllable into four different syllables? In that way, it is easy for a Chinese speaker cheating. For instance, in the magic, when a Chinese speaker asks his Chinese mate in front of you, “What is this?” as he picks up a playing card. In this case, you thought that one ask another “What is the card?” but in fact the speaker telling his colleague what is the card already. For a Chinese can use four different tones to pronounce each syllables, he use “What1” telling his friend “This is spade.” “What2” telling his friend “This is heart.” and so on. Now let us check the second syllable in the sentence of “What is this?” It is ‘is’. It could also be pronounced in four different ways. We regard them as 1,2,3,4. Finally, the syllable “this” can be pronounced in four ways too. Then put ‘is’ and ‘this’ together it should be 1,1=1, 1,2=2, 1,3=3, 1,4=4, 2,1=5, 2,2=6, 2,3=7 and so on. By this way, the speaker tell hie friend the card is spade 9 or club 12 while a English speaker thought the first Chinese ask question to his friend.
From that example you may understand, in everyday speaking, an English speaker at least wasted 3/4 information signals. Once we regard the life is important, then we have to improve this language.
Here, I no mean to say that the Chinese language is the best.
Language is an aesthetically pleasing language. Very regular and logical in my my opinion (the spellings notwithstanding).
Sorry, I meant to say 'English is an aesthetically pleasing language'.
"Here, I no mean to say that the Chinese language is the best."
What are the remaining 3/4 of information hidden in the sentence above?
English has produced some of the finest gangsta rap the world has ever seen.