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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (66775)1/18/2003 3:42:45 PM
From: carranza2  Read Replies (2) of 281500
 
I've always wondered how it is that English, with all its minefields, has somehow managed to ascend to the top of the linguistic heap. Spanish is infinitely simpler. With very few exceptions, a Spanish word is spoken in much the same way as it is written. What you see is what you get.

As a result of receiving my elementary education in Mexican schools, I had to teach myself to read English. I recall my frustrations vividly--since they refer more or less to the same thing, why isn't the "wild" in "wilderness" not pronounced the same way as the adjective "wild"? Why is the noun "lead" not pronounced in the same manner as the verb "to lead?" These were the kinds of things that kept my 8-10 year old mind in a spin as I taught myself to read English after having learned the beautifully simple and direct Spanish language. I now pity my poor parents, who were the recipients of many unanswerable questions on the subject.

Why is diplomacy conducted in French? I suspect it is so because its purring sounds and tones somehow soften and diminish the harsh messages which are often delivered. Can't imagine anyone conducting diplomacy in German or some other equally metallic language.

I suppose that someday we will simply exchange binary bits of data instead of actual sounds. Our great-great-great-great grandsons will really think we were a hoot.
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