A few years ago my wife was picking weeds from a flowerbed at out summer cottage. She found this rock wich after washing it turned out to be a stone tool.
It was shaped like a chisel. The tip was slightly curved and sharpened while the other end was rough.
That thing is thousands of years old.
Stone age is concidered to have ended here about 3500 years ago.
I read Treasure Island about a year ago. Wonderful book. I too read it in a strange language - 18th century English. I was able to follow along surprisingly well. ;)
In the 1970's, aged 21, I plucked up the courage to go to my very first CHE meeting in a local pub in Boston. CHE stood for Campaign for Homosexual Equality, and they were the only organised group at the time who would hold discos, or just get-togethers. The very first man to speak to me was my old Grammar School French teacher! I reminded him that he'd confiscated/stolen a full pack of cigarettes form me when I was 16. He apologised and bought me a few pints of beer as compensation...
A little about him. He was in his late forties, rotund, and nicknamed "Chunky Chambers, the man with the pineapple balls" I don't know why, and didn't want to find out! But at school, his worst feature was that he couldn't speak without spluttering and spraying all over the front row of pupils! It was only after about my fourth pint, when I started to feel tipsy, that he felt the need to put his arm around me 'to stop me falling over'. He then suggested that I go back to his place for a coffee
...to sober up. I looked at him with his ever-wet and slobbery mouth, and saw the wink in his eye. My mind raced, and I panicked. I stumbled and half-fell out of the door, making my excuses as I went. It wasn't him being chunky that bothered me. It was something that rhymed with it that I was worried about!
Anyway, after that long and rambling essay, back to your video. Across the road from where I live in Northampton is a Country Park which holds the site of an iron age settlement. In the local museum are artifacts gleaned from there. I am always amazed at the craftsmanship that went into their tools and jewellery, made so long ago. For the same reason, I find your Babylonian script tablet amazing. When we imagine how many generations have come and gone since, it makes you think indeed!
@RobNorthampton Ah yes, my own conscience of past severities as a school teacher suggests that I might have to buy several pints if justice were done. But I hope your old French teacher is as happy as you are.
Hi Michael, I really enjoyed this, I must get a copy of the GOOD books and start applying myself again to learning Italian, I see that Gillian has been in touch too.
Shame about Babylonian. Yes I am so lucky to be returning to Le Marche on Friday I am a bit worried it will be too hot... will have to have a few drinks to cool down don't you think? Penny xx
@penweaver1 I was in Sicily this time last year. Temperature never below about 38 degrees - but it was truly grand. Buon viaggio! I shall expect a video here when you return.
@TheBlanchet1 Very well indeed, thanks. Lucky old Penny, I say. I'm off to Rome with P & A in September by which time I hope to be able to say more Italian!
I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn Gaelic when I was at school, but sadly, I got "taught" French from a strongly-accented French women who frankly just simply couldn't teach. I don't think I can even count to 10 in French any more.
Loved the cuneiform tablet - a real piece of ancient history - awesome!
Modern foreign language teachers haven't improved in the slightest then! I thought I was ignorant and found languages difficult. But after spending 3 months working in France I now have a rather large vocabulary. Far more than 7 years of languages at school had ever taught me.
You're certainly correct about losing languages over time. My mother, a Welsh speaker since childhood can barely speak a word of it these days! Sad really.
In my school it was a matter of pride to be able to endure French classes and to emerge from it utterly unable to utter a single French word. Such immunity to continental culture indicated that you were truly British and truly manly.
Also, in my school, the title of this video would be pronounced "It makes ya fink", always to be post-fixed with an emphatic "dunnit".
You've actually made remember that I wanted to learn one of the Chinese dialects :O I've wanted to learn a lot of languages, but eh... ADHD makes it a bit difficult to complete a task that requires prolonged focus like that xD
Though I have succeeded in picking up bits and pieces of Japanese, hardly enough to get through a conversation... pretty much, just enough to introduce myself, and crudely order a bowl of rice topped with grilled eel.
Is it really true about Navarro ?? I know it was used by Americans as a communication code for WWII but I didn't know it was locked to adult brains. Why is that?
@iom6666 I believe that children have an inexplicable capacity that we lose after the age of 10. My nephews went to Belgium for a few weeks when they were very young and they astounded their parents by speaking very good Flemish after a matter of days just by playing with other children. How is it done? I just don't know.
« During World War II, the language was used as a code in the Pacific War by bilingual Navajo code talkers to send secure military messages over radio. This had the advantage of being an extremely fast method of encrypted communication. The code was never broken by the Japanese, who were mystified by the sounds they intercepted. »
There is nothing more pathetic than a north American TV show/movie trying to place a French sentence filled with grammatical and syntax mistakes when it is actually understandable.
I always enjoyed movies with subtitles. If i am not as interested to learn languages as Michael, I enjoy catching the “singing” tone of foreign languages.
I had only one good French teacher. Too bad for me his daughter was attractive and we had other classes together including my French class. Well he put two and two together and I did not do very well.
That is a good exercise. Translating back and forth must be very helpful. I'm gonna give it a try with French. I do find vocabulary is my downfall.
You're right about forgetting what you don't use. I've studied English, Swedish, French, Russian, Italian and Latin at one time or another, and the only ones left are English (due to my profession) and Swedish (because I hear it fairly frequently). Still, having studied the other languages sometimes helps figuring out the meaning or spelling of an unfamiliar word, so the time used for studying those language was not wasted.
Managed to survive a drunken conversation/performance in French for about six French people in Dublin earlier this year - lost my heart to the girl who beckoned me over - kissed her three times on the cheek - typical it was when we were leaving for the ferry. Not bad for someone who failed French. Scots Gaelic is a wonderful language - have spent a little time in my life attempting Celtic languages - need to work on Cornish. Apart from that, Arabic is damn hard.
I had an absolutely hideous time in Grade 13 french. I live in a (theoretically) bilingual province and still manage only the barest of bare bones french.
Interesting. Complex language is one of humanity's greatest accomplishments. I remember recently hearing about a story relating to language. The details escape me at the moment, but the jist was that recently in Africa a community of blind or deaf (they might have been both), invented their own language in only a couple years. If you know what story I'm talking about and can clarify, I'd be greatly obliged. :)
In high school, I excelled in French, but couldn't grasp algebra to save my life. My algebra teacher called me in to his office, and as well as he was able, being a math teacher, he tried to get to the root of my problem in a sympathetic paternal manner. He asked me what I was good at in school, and I said, "language." His demeanor changed, and he said that if I could master a language I could certainly master algebra, and in a moment all his would-be sympathy evaporated!
Listen my friend; All languages have been modern at some point.
The ones that aren't are dead; Like the Norwegian Blue. The only reason I would find learning them would be if I were a scientist having to read original sources.
Still; Your language (accent) for some reason is absolutely like music to my ears.
And when you are abroad, you get more smiles if you try speaking like the "natives".
I got some beautiful hugs from some girls in Lithuania 3 years ago ;-)
I had an excellent and inspiring teacher of Spanish--in fact a Spanish teacher--in high school, so I stuck with Spanish all 4 years and into college. I took one year of high school Latin, which was great fun, but I quit 2nd year because the teacher had a screechy voice and a personality to match. At university I took 2 years of Russian and (they told me) was a top student. I enjoy languages because each one has its own way of chopping up and packaging ideas for serial transmission.
I wish that languages had been drilled into me when I was younger. When I was about 10 or 12 I was able to pick up languages pretty well, so I learned/am learning spanish pretty easily. But now that I'm 19, almost 20, I'm absolutely hopeless at learning new languages (which is unfortunate, because it has been a serious goal of mine to become fluent in spanish, french, and german before i die).
I'm learning Italian at the moment. I was in Florence last summer and i loved the culture. Plus the weather was something to envy. ringraziarla per il video. Take care my good sir (tip of the hat).
@tenneral - It is rather funky, yes. It's often hard to make a connection with an artefact as in general they have marks that give away that they were actually *used*, if you know what I mean?
Hehe, I know whatcha mean by Latin being mathematical. I took 4 years of Latin and we infrequently actually had classes where we "spoke" the language, always just translation. Sadly after 2 years of doing nothing with it, I've forgotten everything but the basics x)
@tenneral It would be interesting to know - I had a book of Sumerian - they started writing things for tax purposes so the earliest records are for the granary and mercantile transactions LOL
Well I do envy you the Greek. I would love to read the philosophers and literature in the original. Those interpreters of these texts can leave me in awe - they need to be experts in the language, history, and culture, and then to be good philosophers on top of that.
As for French, I can't remember learning much but I do remember my teacher at High School. Perhaps not for the right reasons but really, wow. She was gorgeous.
This video only further demonstrates the inadequacies of the American Public School system, at least the school I went to. Latin at 9 and Greek at 11! I can remember, during the last semester of my senior year, our English teacher had told us of some study that had been done which showed that an appalling percentage of U.S. College students lacked basic understanding of the English language, let alone Latin and Greek. We actually had to do sentence diagrams our senior year.
@Hockeygod98 I'm sure someone of your obvious intelligence can make up for lost time easily. The trouble is that at my age I have to beat off the tides of forgetfulness!
@tenneral You're too kind, but thank you. My browser's spellcheck feature prevents many embarrassing gaffs from going public. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
And I looked into the Pimsleur method; no Serbian or Cherokee unfortunately. I'm always looking to learn more Latin or Classical Greek though. I don't know much. But, as an aspiring author, and with English being the philological amalgam it is, having a better understanding of those languages would be an asset I think.
Also, my first introduction to Greek was a rather old book (old edition, not second hand) which would often introduce a grammatical context and say "Now, as you boys will know from Latin..." which I found infuriating, because, no I'm not, and no I don't.
@golddiggingants Yes, Reading Greek is thoroughly good and modern. My first two years consisted of translating sentences from English INTO Greek. At a young age, we regarded it as a game and it certainly hammered the grammar into us!
I wish I'd had an opportunity to start classical languages so young. I started Greek at 18 and will probably start Latin at 25- and Greek at least has been a real struggle for me. I'm just starting to get it now, but it's been a real uphill battle, with a lot of sweat and tears and fear of failure. In fact even now, if I don't get into my PhD programme it'll be because I fail Greek.
@golddiggingants Take courage! I've found there's a lot of Greek grammar which can safely be ignored. It's the vocabulary that needs the concentrated attention: & no doubt you've got your own strategy for sorting that one out.
C'est trés bizarre car depuis j'habite en France je parle cette langue correctement. J'ai une idée il faut coucher avec une française/français et aprés voila on se comprends!!!!!
@flyingfisbeefilms Bien sûr! Mais, comme vous le voyez, je suis maintenant trop vieux pour obtenir l'assistance d'un charmant jeune professeur (même une féminin) et je dois utiliser toute l'aide que je peux trouver!
I live in the only city on earth where you are likely to hear the following request made over the public address system in a hospital (or any other public building, for the matter of that):
If there is anyone who can speak Icelandic in the building, would they please make themselves known to the staff.
I heard this in a hospital (in English), and there is only one place on earth where one is a) likely to need such a person's help and b) likely to get a positive response.
Gimli Manitoba, Canada has the second-largest concentration of Icelanders on earth. Icelandic is still a spoken language there, and it is apparently undergoing something of a renaissance.
I heard it in Winnipeg (where I live), and it got me thinking. Where else?
PS: In Gimli they would probably not need to make such a request, as an Icelander is never far enough away to warrant a general distress call :-)
@tenneral WavegirlThinks got it, first try. Gimli Manitoba is the only place outside of Iceland where Icelandic is a spoken language. The 40-60 age group were something of a "blip" in that many of them let their knowledge of the language of the Sagas lapse, but in the last decade one sees the phenomenon of youngsters visiting the retirement home to brush up on the language of their grandparents. It's back in vogue and looks set to rebound after a period of decline.
For anyone with some spare time, look up the Navaho wikipedia website, the language structure is quite interessting, but very hard to comprehend.
And in support of tennerals sentiment about the difficulty of learning the language:
"During World War II, the language was used as a code in the Pacific War by bilingual Navajo code talkers to send secure military messages over radio. The code was never broken by the Japanese, who were mystified by the sounds they intercepted."
There's an amusing anecdote in one of Tony Hillerman's novels. Some Navojo speakers portrayed Comanche's in a Western -- apparently their unscripted dialogue comprised impolite conversation (sexual comments, iirc).
French, German, Latin and Ancient Greek - all made valient attempts to find a place within this mind of mine - the benefits of a classical education i suppose. French gained the greatest grounds as it had a head start on the others. The only language i wanted to learn was scots-gaelic but it wasn't taught and to some regret on my part as i now live back in the motherland. I will be taking scottish literature next semmester so i look forward to a baptism of fire. :)
@SpiritKeeper I eventually took my Highers at Stirling High School. Fortunately the man doing my spoken part of the exam was my own tutor: so no problems in getting an A grade - couldn't do it now to save my life!
@BohemianBlasphemy Very interesting and I've see some YouTube videos by people who have studied it. I guess it must be quite easy for anyone to learn.
5:12 YES
EJConrad 3 weeks ago
Hey Tenneral I'm attempting to learn both Latin and Classical Greek. I would appreciate any recommendation on any books that I may learn from.
fc007 5 months ago
The French teacher who had conversations with his mother creeps me out.
iCalintz 9 months ago
@iCalintz You cab imagine the sinister and nauseating effect it had on us youngsters!
tenneral 9 months ago
I love Scottish Gaelic! It's so beautiful!
that1weirdkid27 1 year ago
A few years ago my wife was picking weeds from a flowerbed at out summer cottage. She found this rock wich after washing it turned out to be a stone tool.
It was shaped like a chisel. The tip was slightly curved and sharpened while the other end was rough.
That thing is thousands of years old.
Stone age is concidered to have ended here about 3500 years ago.
I still have it.
Perhaps it's owner dropped it by accident?
That too makes you think.
BlizBob 1 year ago
I read Treasure Island about a year ago. Wonderful book. I too read it in a strange language - 18th century English. I was able to follow along surprisingly well. ;)
AncientAtheist 1 year ago
In the 1970's, aged 21, I plucked up the courage to go to my very first CHE meeting in a local pub in Boston. CHE stood for Campaign for Homosexual Equality, and they were the only organised group at the time who would hold discos, or just get-togethers. The very first man to speak to me was my old Grammar School French teacher! I reminded him that he'd confiscated/stolen a full pack of cigarettes form me when I was 16. He apologised and bought me a few pints of beer as compensation...
RobNorthampton 1 year ago
A little about him. He was in his late forties, rotund, and nicknamed "Chunky Chambers, the man with the pineapple balls" I don't know why, and didn't want to find out! But at school, his worst feature was that he couldn't speak without spluttering and spraying all over the front row of pupils! It was only after about my fourth pint, when I started to feel tipsy, that he felt the need to put his arm around me 'to stop me falling over'. He then suggested that I go back to his place for a coffee
RobNorthampton 1 year ago
...to sober up. I looked at him with his ever-wet and slobbery mouth, and saw the wink in his eye. My mind raced, and I panicked. I stumbled and half-fell out of the door, making my excuses as I went. It wasn't him being chunky that bothered me. It was something that rhymed with it that I was worried about!
Yes, I said it. I apologise. :-)
RobNorthampton 1 year ago
Anyway, after that long and rambling essay, back to your video. Across the road from where I live in Northampton is a Country Park which holds the site of an iron age settlement. In the local museum are artifacts gleaned from there. I am always amazed at the craftsmanship that went into their tools and jewellery, made so long ago. For the same reason, I find your Babylonian script tablet amazing. When we imagine how many generations have come and gone since, it makes you think indeed!
RobNorthampton 1 year ago
@RobNorthampton Ah yes, my own conscience of past severities as a school teacher suggests that I might have to buy several pints if justice were done. But I hope your old French teacher is as happy as you are.
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral A bit like me, he also smoked too much. He died of lung cancer at 58. By the same reckoning, that gives me about 5 years! :-(
RobNorthampton 1 year ago
Hi Michael, I really enjoyed this, I must get a copy of the GOOD books and start applying myself again to learning Italian, I see that Gillian has been in touch too.
Shame about Babylonian. Yes I am so lucky to be returning to Le Marche on Friday I am a bit worried it will be too hot... will have to have a few drinks to cool down don't you think? Penny xx
penweaver1 1 year ago
@penweaver1 I was in Sicily this time last year. Temperature never below about 38 degrees - but it was truly grand. Buon viaggio! I shall expect a video here when you return.
tenneral 1 year ago
Hi Michael, Gillian here. Penny pointed me in your direction. She is off back to Le Marche on Friday, not fair!" How are you? xxx
TheBlanchet1 1 year ago
@TheBlanchet1 Very well indeed, thanks. Lucky old Penny, I say. I'm off to Rome with P & A in September by which time I hope to be able to say more Italian!
tenneral 1 year ago
Another fascinating video....thanks, tennerel!
Hereticbooks 1 year ago
I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn Gaelic when I was at school, but sadly, I got "taught" French from a strongly-accented French women who frankly just simply couldn't teach. I don't think I can even count to 10 in French any more.
Loved the cuneiform tablet - a real piece of ancient history - awesome!
cailleacbhuer 1 year ago
Modern foreign language teachers haven't improved in the slightest then! I thought I was ignorant and found languages difficult. But after spending 3 months working in France I now have a rather large vocabulary. Far more than 7 years of languages at school had ever taught me.
You're certainly correct about losing languages over time. My mother, a Welsh speaker since childhood can barely speak a word of it these days! Sad really.
deftonesman1 1 year ago
i feel like i am back at school...it would have been great to have you as a teacher
reasonnotgod 1 year ago
@reasonnotgod Thanks, but I'm not sure I was ever as patient with my own pupils as the videos suggest!
tenneral 1 year ago
i can even speak me own language, no chance for another, no way. took spanish once, and failed! lol
DecentralizedByGuilt 1 year ago
Låt oss testa hur vass du är på främmande språk. Grym video!
FalleJr 1 year ago
@FalleJr Jag kommer att säga några italienska när jag har besökt Italien igen i september!
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral Most impressive! I also like Italy alot. I've visited Rome, Venice, Milano and Verona. What I like most about Italy is the awesome food.
FalleJr 1 year ago
@FalleJr Don't forget the wine too! I've not been to Venice but I'm off to Rome later this year.
tenneral 1 year ago
In my school it was a matter of pride to be able to endure French classes and to emerge from it utterly unable to utter a single French word. Such immunity to continental culture indicated that you were truly British and truly manly.
Also, in my school, the title of this video would be pronounced "It makes ya fink", always to be post-fixed with an emphatic "dunnit".
fluffymcdeath 1 year ago
@fluffymcdeath I'm glad the very low esteem we boys always had for French fluency remains unchanged in more modern schools!!! Vive la différence!
tenneral 1 year ago
You've actually made remember that I wanted to learn one of the Chinese dialects :O I've wanted to learn a lot of languages, but eh... ADHD makes it a bit difficult to complete a task that requires prolonged focus like that xD
Though I have succeeded in picking up bits and pieces of Japanese, hardly enough to get through a conversation... pretty much, just enough to introduce myself, and crudely order a bowl of rice topped with grilled eel.
Bttscks 1 year ago
To answer your question: Your brain polished up the synapses. Your neurons are quite polished already.
RustyTube 1 year ago
@RustyTube Thanks for the correction: neuroscience is one of a sea of things about which I am totally ignorant!
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral Most people are, so I would not worry about it. :)
RustyTube 1 year ago
Is it really true about Navarro ?? I know it was used by Americans as a communication code for WWII but I didn't know it was locked to adult brains. Why is that?
iom6666 1 year ago
@iom6666 I believe that children have an inexplicable capacity that we lose after the age of 10. My nephews went to Belgium for a few weeks when they were very young and they astounded their parents by speaking very good Flemish after a matter of days just by playing with other children. How is it done? I just don't know.
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral
from wikipedia:
« During World War II, the language was used as a code in the Pacific War by bilingual Navajo code talkers to send secure military messages over radio. This had the advantage of being an extremely fast method of encrypted communication. The code was never broken by the Japanese, who were mystified by the sounds they intercepted. »
That always fascinated me.
iom6666 1 year ago
There is nothing more pathetic than a north American TV show/movie trying to place a French sentence filled with grammatical and syntax mistakes when it is actually understandable.
I always enjoyed movies with subtitles. If i am not as interested to learn languages as Michael, I enjoy catching the “singing” tone of foreign languages.
Cheers
iom6666 1 year ago
The quickest way to learn a language: Meet a pretty girl from the country of your choice.
killroy42 1 year ago
I had only one good French teacher. Too bad for me his daughter was attractive and we had other classes together including my French class. Well he put two and two together and I did not do very well.
That is a good exercise. Translating back and forth must be very helpful. I'm gonna give it a try with French. I do find vocabulary is my downfall.
alowlyapprentice 1 year ago
I've recently been studying the Pimsleur Croatian course.
I too would heartily endorse it. Although I would prefer a little more written material in it.
Take Care and RAmen!
Ven
Venator70 1 year ago
You're right about forgetting what you don't use. I've studied English, Swedish, French, Russian, Italian and Latin at one time or another, and the only ones left are English (due to my profession) and Swedish (because I hear it fairly frequently). Still, having studied the other languages sometimes helps figuring out the meaning or spelling of an unfamiliar word, so the time used for studying those language was not wasted.
minitarinoita 1 year ago
Delightful!
ProfMTH 1 year ago
My French teacher was German. My German teacher was Russian and my English teacher was Italian. Consequently, I cant understand anything.
fantasy0coach 1 year ago
@fantasy0coach That's quite a polyglot experience you have there!
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral
Polyglot? Is that French for "bird poo".
See what i mean?
fantasy0coach 1 year ago
@fantasy0coach Yes: one of my pupils once commented that the name of the ancient Greek ruler of Samos, Polycrates, meant 'Parrot cages'!
tenneral 1 year ago
I tried to learn Italian with Rossetta stone, it was going quite well but I just lost interest. :( I want to start up again, actually.
Lpoolboy 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I have a degree in French and sadly, rarely get to use it. Shall we have a practice session?
vosogo 1 year ago
Managed to survive a drunken conversation/performance in French for about six French people in Dublin earlier this year - lost my heart to the girl who beckoned me over - kissed her three times on the cheek - typical it was when we were leaving for the ferry. Not bad for someone who failed French. Scots Gaelic is a wonderful language - have spent a little time in my life attempting Celtic languages - need to work on Cornish. Apart from that, Arabic is damn hard.
stevebritgimp 1 year ago
French actually gave me a better understanding of grammar and language mechanics of the english language.
claytonemoorejr 1 year ago
I had an absolutely hideous time in Grade 13 french. I live in a (theoretically) bilingual province and still manage only the barest of bare bones french.
I love the sound of Italian.
angryislander56 1 year ago
Interesting. Complex language is one of humanity's greatest accomplishments. I remember recently hearing about a story relating to language. The details escape me at the moment, but the jist was that recently in Africa a community of blind or deaf (they might have been both), invented their own language in only a couple years. If you know what story I'm talking about and can clarify, I'd be greatly obliged. :)
seanthedonconsidine 1 year ago
I love pimsleur.
Darw1n1st 1 year ago
@Darw1n1st Isn't it great? Why didn't they have this when I was in school?
tenneral 1 year ago
In high school, I excelled in French, but couldn't grasp algebra to save my life. My algebra teacher called me in to his office, and as well as he was able, being a math teacher, he tried to get to the root of my problem in a sympathetic paternal manner. He asked me what I was good at in school, and I said, "language." His demeanor changed, and he said that if I could master a language I could certainly master algebra, and in a moment all his would-be sympathy evaporated!
MikeOfKorea 1 year ago
Listen my friend; All languages have been modern at some point.
The ones that aren't are dead; Like the Norwegian Blue. The only reason I would find learning them would be if I were a scientist having to read original sources.
Still; Your language (accent) for some reason is absolutely like music to my ears.
And when you are abroad, you get more smiles if you try speaking like the "natives".
I got some beautiful hugs from some girls in Lithuania 3 years ago ;-)
skinnyjohnsen 1 year ago
@skinnyjohnsen Very nice comment: and congrats. on finding those affectionate Lithuanian girls.
tenneral 1 year ago
I had an excellent and inspiring teacher of Spanish--in fact a Spanish teacher--in high school, so I stuck with Spanish all 4 years and into college. I took one year of high school Latin, which was great fun, but I quit 2nd year because the teacher had a screechy voice and a personality to match. At university I took 2 years of Russian and (they told me) was a top student. I enjoy languages because each one has its own way of chopping up and packaging ideas for serial transmission.
juliuschas 1 year ago
Scottish French teacher.. reminds me of this episode of the Simpsons: watch?v=4rJAw-fuYHk
antonc81 1 year ago
When I learned Latin there was a whole movement to learn it as a spoken language. So we did not get the silent lessons.
TheTruePooka 1 year ago
I wish that languages had been drilled into me when I was younger. When I was about 10 or 12 I was able to pick up languages pretty well, so I learned/am learning spanish pretty easily. But now that I'm 19, almost 20, I'm absolutely hopeless at learning new languages (which is unfortunate, because it has been a serious goal of mine to become fluent in spanish, french, and german before i die).
ScientiaVeritasEtLux 1 year ago
@ScientiaVeritasEtLux As I say, try Pimsleur and it will be hard for you not to succeed famously!
tenneral 1 year ago
I'm learning Italian at the moment. I was in Florence last summer and i loved the culture. Plus the weather was something to envy. ringraziarla per il video. Take care my good sir (tip of the hat).
IzzySantino 1 year ago
Tis generally the way - a dodgy teacher turns one from the subject for a very long time it seems.
Personally I wish my school had had a latin program for 'special' pupils. That's state comprehensive for you :-( (even if it was/is a good one).
Woaaaah @ the tablet. Tell me you dug it up in the garden :D
Widgetas 1 year ago
@Widgetas No, it was something I inherited from an archaeologist-collector years ago. Pretty fascinating though, isn't it.
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral - It is rather funky, yes. It's often hard to make a connection with an artefact as in general they have marks that give away that they were actually *used*, if you know what I mean?
ps - I meant Latin not latin, of course :S
Widgetas 1 year ago
Hehe, I know whatcha mean by Latin being mathematical. I took 4 years of Latin and we infrequently actually had classes where we "spoke" the language, always just translation. Sadly after 2 years of doing nothing with it, I've forgotten everything but the basics x)
ScreechingInsanity 1 year ago
So is the tablet in Akkadian or in Sumerian as the Sumerians were declining in the 24th century BCE and the Akkadians were in the ascendency.
johncrwarner 1 year ago
@johncrwarner I can't answer this one: one day, I'll take it to the Ashmolean Museum for translation.
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral It would be interesting to know - I had a book of Sumerian - they started writing things for tax purposes so the earliest records are for the granary and mercantile transactions LOL
johncrwarner 1 year ago
@tenneral It says "Made in China" ;)
Great video, as always.
karablak1 1 year ago
Romanes Eunt Domus,or Romanus Ite Domum?
hunga224 1 year ago
@hunga224 or even Romani Ite Domum! Wasn't there something like this in the film, Life of Brian'?
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral 100% correct --you passed the latin test --as both the examples I gave were incorrect.
hunga224 1 year ago
Well I do envy you the Greek. I would love to read the philosophers and literature in the original. Those interpreters of these texts can leave me in awe - they need to be experts in the language, history, and culture, and then to be good philosophers on top of that.
As for French, I can't remember learning much but I do remember my teacher at High School. Perhaps not for the right reasons but really, wow. She was gorgeous.
ANIideas 1 year ago
This video only further demonstrates the inadequacies of the American Public School system, at least the school I went to. Latin at 9 and Greek at 11! I can remember, during the last semester of my senior year, our English teacher had told us of some study that had been done which showed that an appalling percentage of U.S. College students lacked basic understanding of the English language, let alone Latin and Greek. We actually had to do sentence diagrams our senior year.
Hockeygod98 1 year ago
@Hockeygod98 I'm sure someone of your obvious intelligence can make up for lost time easily. The trouble is that at my age I have to beat off the tides of forgetfulness!
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral You're too kind, but thank you. My browser's spellcheck feature prevents many embarrassing gaffs from going public. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
And I looked into the Pimsleur method; no Serbian or Cherokee unfortunately. I'm always looking to learn more Latin or Classical Greek though. I don't know much. But, as an aspiring author, and with English being the philological amalgam it is, having a better understanding of those languages would be an asset I think.
Hockeygod98 1 year ago
Also, my first introduction to Greek was a rather old book (old edition, not second hand) which would often introduce a grammatical context and say "Now, as you boys will know from Latin..." which I found infuriating, because, no I'm not, and no I don't.
I now primarily use Reading Greek.
golddiggingants 1 year ago
@golddiggingants Yes, Reading Greek is thoroughly good and modern. My first two years consisted of translating sentences from English INTO Greek. At a young age, we regarded it as a game and it certainly hammered the grammar into us!
tenneral 1 year ago
I wish I'd had an opportunity to start classical languages so young. I started Greek at 18 and will probably start Latin at 25- and Greek at least has been a real struggle for me. I'm just starting to get it now, but it's been a real uphill battle, with a lot of sweat and tears and fear of failure. In fact even now, if I don't get into my PhD programme it'll be because I fail Greek.
golddiggingants 1 year ago
@golddiggingants Take courage! I've found there's a lot of Greek grammar which can safely be ignored. It's the vocabulary that needs the concentrated attention: & no doubt you've got your own strategy for sorting that one out.
tenneral 1 year ago
C'est trés bizarre car depuis j'habite en France je parle cette langue correctement. J'ai une idée il faut coucher avec une française/français et aprés voila on se comprends!!!!!
flyingfisbeefilms 1 year ago
@flyingfisbeefilms Bien sûr! Mais, comme vous le voyez, je suis maintenant trop vieux pour obtenir l'assistance d'un charmant jeune professeur (même une féminin) et je dois utiliser toute l'aide que je peux trouver!
tenneral 1 year ago
I live in the only city on earth where you are likely to hear the following request made over the public address system in a hospital (or any other public building, for the matter of that):
If there is anyone who can speak Icelandic in the building, would they please make themselves known to the staff.
I heard this in a hospital (in English), and there is only one place on earth where one is a) likely to need such a person's help and b) likely to get a positive response.
Where am I?
Anekantavad 1 year ago
@Anekantavad
New Zealand. Had a similar thing happen to us. Luckily, we were hostin an Icelandic girl at the time, who helped out.
WavegirlThinks 1 year ago
@WavegirlThinks What a coincidence! Well, I live in the only place outside of Iceland where Icelandic is a spoken language.
Hint hint ...
Anekantavad 1 year ago
@Anekantavad
Gimli? Denmark? Norway? USA?
I'd say Faroe Islands but they speak Faroese, which sounds the same to me but which I am told by my Icelands friends is completely different.
WavegirlThinks 1 year ago
@WavegirlThinks Gimli. Brilliant.
Gimli Manitoba, Canada has the second-largest concentration of Icelanders on earth. Icelandic is still a spoken language there, and it is apparently undergoing something of a renaissance.
I heard it in Winnipeg (where I live), and it got me thinking. Where else?
PS: In Gimli they would probably not need to make such a request, as an Icelander is never far enough away to warrant a general distress call :-)
Anekantavad 1 year ago
@Anekantavad This is quite a puzzle. Can it be somewhere in Greenland - if they indeed have a hospital on that great big island?
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral WavegirlThinks got it, first try. Gimli Manitoba is the only place outside of Iceland where Icelandic is a spoken language. The 40-60 age group were something of a "blip" in that many of them let their knowledge of the language of the Sagas lapse, but in the last decade one sees the phenomenon of youngsters visiting the retirement home to brush up on the language of their grandparents. It's back in vogue and looks set to rebound after a period of decline.
Love your videos!
Anekantavad 1 year ago
Tenneral, You are an inspirational model of what it means to be a lifelong learner. I enjoy your vlogs v. much. Thank you.
nsouc 1 year ago
Nicely done Tenneral. Keep your mind fresh so it doesn't go to mush, there's too much valuable information in there.
Lazyintellectual4 1 year ago
penthekosiomedimnoi
Anekantavad 1 year ago
This exactly reflects my experience (only I was taught classical Arabic, not Latin). French was hopeless.
RadicalWhig 1 year ago
miss woody was a freak in my class
jimmypubeface23 1 year ago
For anyone with some spare time, look up the Navaho wikipedia website, the language structure is quite interessting, but very hard to comprehend.
And in support of tennerals sentiment about the difficulty of learning the language:
"During World War II, the language was used as a code in the Pacific War by bilingual Navajo code talkers to send secure military messages over radio. The code was never broken by the Japanese, who were mystified by the sounds they intercepted."
msh1044 1 year ago
@msh1044
There's an amusing anecdote in one of Tony Hillerman's novels. Some Navojo speakers portrayed Comanche's in a Western -- apparently their unscripted dialogue comprised impolite conversation (sexual comments, iirc).
musekiteer 1 year ago
@musekiteer This I can well believe! I wonder what their dialogue really meant!
tenneral 1 year ago
that guy seems young at heart
loosekarrott 1 year ago
At the risk of sounding repetitive; I absolutely love your videos. Please don't ever leave us :)
holyhell5050 1 year ago
@holyhell5050 Thanks . YouTube is a great rejuvenator (if such a word exists!)
tenneral 1 year ago
French, German, Latin and Ancient Greek - all made valient attempts to find a place within this mind of mine - the benefits of a classical education i suppose. French gained the greatest grounds as it had a head start on the others. The only language i wanted to learn was scots-gaelic but it wasn't taught and to some regret on my part as i now live back in the motherland. I will be taking scottish literature next semmester so i look forward to a baptism of fire. :)
SpiritKeeper 1 year ago
@SpiritKeeper I eventually took my Highers at Stirling High School. Fortunately the man doing my spoken part of the exam was my own tutor: so no problems in getting an A grade - couldn't do it now to save my life!
tenneral 1 year ago
So what's your opinion about Esperanto?
I was studying Esperanto, but right now I'm concentrating in Japanese.
BohemianBlasphemy 1 year ago
@BohemianBlasphemy Very interesting and I've see some YouTube videos by people who have studied it. I guess it must be quite easy for anyone to learn.
tenneral 1 year ago
@WiseMonkey888 Hello WiseMonkey. How come you see this video before I do?!
tenneral 1 year ago