At 18:07 2002-12-16 -0600, rob wrote:
Its just that to most of the rest of the world, the artificial constructions and great lengths taken to "keep french pure" are a bit humorous.
"keep french pure", is that a quote you got from somewhere or is that your opinion? I'd rather say that I like it to be meaningful.
There is no more reason for French to disappear than German or Portuguese.The end result is that French will end up being a forgotten language eventually. (Except for the bits that have been assimilated into other languages.) The days of French being in a position of dominance are pretty much gone, having been replaced for the most part by English. Eventually English will be replaced by a more useful language. Its just the way of things.
I agree that it is no longer dominant, but is not dying. As for English, I view it
as the language of trade. It's what is used when two people have different first
languages. I predict that in a generation or two, most of the world will have
English as a second language. Since most speakers of the language will not
master it, it will run the risk of being dumbed down basically becoming a pidgin.
I'm sorry you feel that way. When I learned English, I found that there arexponent Two years Of High School French.........Wasted Maru rob
words, idioms and proverbs which do not exist in French and which communicate
ideas which simply did not exist for me previously. Not only is the reverse also
true, but learning _any_ language will result in a more comprehensive view of the
world. Syntax alone leads to associations between words, i.e. ideas, which
one could not have imagined before.
Jean-Louis
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