Languages, words

[wispfox]

English has insufficient words. Even considering how many words there are (mostly synonyms), there are not enough.

For those who know Spanish:

Why are 'conocer' and 'saber' both 'to know' in English? Hello, _really_ different meanings! ('To be aquainted with someone' and 'to have knowledge about something/one')

Or... 'ser' and 'estar', being 'to be'? ('to be, on a permanent basis' - like, for example, 'I am myself', or 'to be, on a temporary basis' - like, 'I am well')

Or... 'picante' and 'caliente', as 'hot'? (spicy hot vs temperature hot - seriously, I tend to try to use 'picante' _all the time_. But not everyone knows Spanish)


Why do we say that we _are_ hungry, rather than (as in Spanish) we have hunger? (or cold, or hot, or sleepy, or thirsty, or...)

I _do_ use 'have' that way often enough, because that makes more sense in my head. If y'all ever wondered why my grammar is so strange, combine not thinking in words, and knowing two different languages, where my brain often tries to pick the grammar that is closest to how I think or the ideas came out of my head. :)

Comments

[opalmirror.livejournal.com]

And my final point... knowledge of two languages makes us personally richer, since it shows us two models of expressing our world and our thoughts. Rather than our only tool being a hammer, we now have a hammer and a saw. Try explaining that to the people who think the hammer is the only tool they need....

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I try to explain nothing to people who only know one language, at least as far as languages go, because they tend to get confused. :)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

That they do. But they can also have insight, particularly about English if they're English majors. Give them some credit. :)

I couldn't find an online copy of the humor essay I was searching for about the travails of raising a bilingual child (French and English and something about a shirt). Instead, I give you jokes! (http://www.sw.vccs.edu/Judkins/Humor.htm)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

/me blinks.

My initial sentence was horribly confusing - I meant to say that I did not tend to talk about language differences (between languages) to those who don't know other languages, because it confuses them.

But anyway. Yes. Credit as due - even those who don't know other languages still might be interested in such. Bad me!

(mmm. Jokes.)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

My point was that even people who don't understand other languages can make interesting points about English. :) That's all.

Some of them are interested in other languages too, but most people interested in other languages would have learned another language already if they were seriously interested.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

people who don't understand other languages can make interesting points about English

Oh, goodness, yes! No argument there. :)

Also - I'd been saying 'know' rather than 'understand', because I only understand English and Spanish, but I also have bits of Latin in my brain. :)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

Saber y Conocer y Comprender! Oh mi mente! :)

[opalmirror.livejournal.com]

What do you call someone who knows three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who knows two languages? Bilingual.

What do you call someone who knows one language?

American.

(also from my High School German Teacher, Sid Stuller).

Factoid of the day

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Kids who learn a second language early in life and become fully bilingual have a much easier time abstracting concepts from words, and, as a result, end up with higher average analytical/mathematical intelligence than monolingual kids.

Re: Factoid of the day

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

This does not surprise me, although I'm not sure I knew it before.