American Lingo

[Leticia_g]

My regarded opinion on linguistics rests on the premise that there's nothing more beautiful than romantic poetry or prose recited in the Classic Castilian Spanish while holding a long stem rose between one's teeth ... in the style of Casiodoro Reina from way back then, before the hill got dusty. Unfortunately, there's not too many of us who can even differentiate a false cognate from a preterite conjugation. Hence our need to meticulously study that linguistic tangled web we weave... The ENGLISH LANGUAGE!.

English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven humans can speak it. More than half of the world's books and three quarters of international mail is in English. Of all the languages, it has the largest vocabulary - perhaps as many as TWO MILLION words. Nonetheless, let's face it - English is a wild, crazy and unpredictable language. That's bad... er, I mean, good ... that is to say... e.g. great ... really... Awe, never mind.

What about words like "rough","tough," "though" and "through" (or is it threw)? They all end the same way but are pronounced differently just to antagonize us Puerto Ricans and other denizens of the Foreign Kingdom. Oh, there's also "now," "know" and "how" and "low" and "bow" and "bou" ... ad liberum, ad liberum, to all eternity ... per secular saeculorum. AAAARGH!

¡Oye... What about English muffins? They weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meese? One index, two indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through the annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

¡Oye...sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?

¡Mira... How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was discombobulated, Grunted, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who ARE spring chickens or who would ACTUALLY hurt a fly?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all).

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it! ¡AY CARAMBA!

[Ysa]

How've you been? It's been a while since my last post here, but I really wanted to comment on this. Some of my friends and a few acquaintances that have learned the English language, have often inquired as to why there are so many words to just describe a simple thought? Or why are there so many words in the English language that can have a variety of meanings, depending on how they are used in a sentence. I can certainly tell you, "I'm no expert in the language myself...and it's my NATIVE TOUNGE!" LOL!

Ysa!

[Lorelei]

And I have to try to teach my students this. I'm always saying, "Boys and girls, this is one of those (spelling) words that just doesn't play by the rules." But, half of them don't play by the rules. It's no wonder we have the problems we do. But on the bright side. At least we only have 26 characters in our alphabet. We could be like the Chinese and have to learn about 10,000!

[Ysa]

Not only would we have to learn the "Chinese Alphabet", we would also have to be careful in the pronounciation of most of the words...one of my close friends speaks Cantonese and has said that there are words in the language that can take on a whole different meaning if the tonation is altered even at the slightest degree.

Ysa

[yautiawoman2]

Dear Compas de Puerto Rico. Com

The best way to learn a language when one is not familiar with the subject or cultural content is to start by reading stuff that is easy, like cartoon.

In a way, a new problem in a new cultural paradigm is like reading a "Chinese Picturegraph" (there is no Chinese Alphabet, each picture has a whole meaning, and you need to memorize each picturegraph, that is the way the Chinese Language works when it is in writing). Also many Japanese and Koreans and even Vietnamese use the same pictures to mean the same thing, so they may not understand each other when they speak but they can read each others' picturegraphs.

I am attaching a communication from my favorite professor, Dra. Liliana Cotto, she has developed a set of cartoons to go along with her "Sustainable Development Project of Vieques", try and read this in Spanish, translate it into English, get as much information as you can and tell me what was this all about?

8 de marzo de 2002
Presentación de caricaturas
en Vieques


El Proyecto Universitario de Divulgación de las Guías para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Vieques tiene como objetivo divulgar las guías de desarrollo sustentable preparadas por el Grupo de Apoyo Técnico y Profesional para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Vieques (GATP) en colaboración con los viequenses. Estas son ideas o recomendaciones para que la población viequense continue con su rol protagónico en la construcción del futuro de la Isla Nena.

Como parte de este proyecto se ha elaborado una serie de caricaturas o folletos de historietas ilustradas para promover la discusión de las Guías propuestas por el GATP. Los primeros números tratan sobre: participación ciudadana, salud y ambiente, vivienda, problemas sociales, liderato democrático y economía. Fueron preparados por profesores y profesoras del GATP, jóvenes universitarios de Vieques y otros profesionales. Los primeros dos números ya están disponibles.

Las caricaturas se pondrán a la disposición de los y las viequenses y sus organizaciones de forma gratuita. Para los compañeros y compañeras de la Isla Grande se solicitará un pequeño donativo por ejemplar. Además, estamos estimulando que organizaciones de la Isla Grande obtengan ejemplares que luego distribuyan en Vieques como parte de un esfuerzo organizativo. Los donativos recaudados por estos ejemplares constituirán un fondo inicial para proyectos de organización comunitaria y desarrollo sustentable de la Isla Nena.

Dada la importancia de este proyecto queremos que participe de la presentación de este producto, esfuerzo de jóvenes universitarios viequenses y profesionales colaboradores. Dicha actividad será llevada a cabo el viernes 15 de marzo a las 7:00 p.m. en el Faro de Punta Mulas en Vieques.

Agradecemos su participación y esperamos poder juntos continuar con la construcción de un Vieques diferente.

Solidariamente,

Liliana Cotto
Directora
Proyecto de Divulgación de las Guías para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Vieques






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Pa Vieques, el primero de abril.

To the National Summit on the 13th of April.

Urgent: See:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bieke_pr/

or see

http://www.viequessummit.org/

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE, QUE SE VAYA LA MARINA!!!!!!

VENCEREMOS :0,,,,,,:0<,:0:0)!!!!!!

SINCERELY YOURS, LA YAUTIA DE LA AMAZONA

[Leticia_g]

Thank you for commenting Ysa, sorry it took me so long to answer. I haven't really been posting for a while.

This is a very interesting subject. I remember trying to teach my mom some English and it would really confuse her because of the many meanings of one word or when words pronouce a certain way could actually be two different words. My mom is a tough cookie and even though she was older she did learn the language.

I am doing well thank you, things at home are interesting to say the least.

Regards to you and much respect always!

[Leticia_g]

I also believe that cartoons are the best way to teach even adults. I used to teach English as a Second Language and I would use picture or cartoons from the newspaper to get my point across. I mainly taught adult education. When a person doesn't understand a language pictures are the best way, then of course actually practicing it. I feel the old way of repetition is a good way of learning.

Thanks for your input.

Much respect!