At 14:06 17-12-2002 -0500, Jean-Louis Couturier wrote:

I'm sorry you feel that way. When I learned English, I found that there are
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.
Then imagine what a extremely comprehensive world view the Dutch must have -- by the time we are 14 years old, we have learned Dutch, English, German and French (and at some schools: Spanish).


Jeroen -- who, 20 years later, speaks Dutch and English fluently, has only a basic grasp of German remaining, and has even forgotten how to curse in French (which was one of the first things I learned in French class).


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