Re: French native speakers and foreign languages
- From: Lee Sau Dan <danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 09:57:58 +0800
"Marc" == Marc Frisch <marcfrisch@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Marc> That's not the whole truth though, among the young Alsatian
Marc> is rarely spoken. I've met maybe a dozen Alsatians in their
Marc> mid-twenties who don't speak Alsatian, but no one who
Marc> actually speaks it. They may have picked up some words or
Marc> expressions from their grand-parents, but with their parents
Marc> they speak French. As with other minority languages in
Marc> France such as Breton, it's a dying language... (especially
Marc> as there is hardly any effort to revive it).
In Strasbourg and Colmar, I can find one or 2 books in Alsatian. But
they're way too expensive. 12 Euros for a pretty think (50-page)
book. :(
However, on the TV stations "France3", they do have a time slot on
weekends (Sunday afternoon, if I remember correct) during which the
programmes are in Alsatian (subtitled in French). They even have
dramma programmes!
Marc> However, they learn German quite well, because it's
Marc> traditionally the first or second foreign language at school
Marc> and they cross the border to buy cigarettes...
Oh! I didn't know that cigarettes were cheaper in Germany. :)
Marc> And most (young) Dutch I meet don't speak another foreign
Marc> language than English. To my mind, most young people today
Marc> think that English is THE world language and knowing it well
Marc> is absolutely sufficient.
>> Necessary but not sufficient. Why is Mandarin gaining
>> popularity as a L2?
Marc> Is it really? Where?
In the US and UK, at least. These countries are having a shortage of
Mandarin teachers, and want to import them from China.
Marc> It sure does. I can only speak for mathematics and I think
Marc> there not too many people left that do not publish in
Marc> English except some Russians. And their work is usually
Marc> quickly translated to English, because otherwise it will not
Marc> get noticed internationally. The point is that the time you
Marc> spend on learning a language is time lost for your research.
I don't think so. The human brain hates to work on the same thing for
prolonged periods of time. Yes, sometimes you want to concentrate on
something -- even when there is no pressures of deadlines. But you
can't do that 365 days a year. You need to relax: playing sports,
learning an instrument, etc. Learning a language can be as relaxing
as these activities.
Marc> I like learning foreign languages, and I'm currently trying
Marc> to learn another, but I consider it to be a pastime, which
Marc> will not have too many benefits for my professional life.
It can turn out to be useful later. Who knows!? What that
opportunity comes, you would be regreting that you didn't work hard
enough.
--
Lee Sau Dan 李守敦 ~{@nJX6X~}
E-mail: danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee
.
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