There's a great article about the uselessness of studying Chinese.
Tom Send a noteboard - 30/08/2015 03:31:13 PM
The takeaway line from the whole thing is this:
Having never studied a day of Spanish, I could read a Spanish newspaper more easily than I could a Chinese newspaper after more than three years of studying Chinese.
He's right, too. I wasted four years of formal education on Chinese and, although I can get around in China pretty well, I still can't read the Chinese classics without a facing page translation, and I have to look up tons of characters. And I pick up languages easily. After 2 years of the same level of training with Russian, people over there didn't realize I was a foreigner and I never had to use a dictionary.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World, by Nicolas Ostler
- 25/08/2015 07:17:36 PM
863 Views
IDK, it seems fairly straightforward to me.
- 27/08/2015 02:57:19 PM
511 Views
I see your point - like I said, not quite sure if he succeeds in his purpose
- 27/08/2015 08:43:47 PM
520 Views
It's an interesting book but I don't agree with all his points
- 28/08/2015 06:07:46 PM
528 Views
Makes sense
- 29/08/2015 03:29:27 PM
537 Views
There's a great article about the uselessness of studying Chinese.
- 30/08/2015 03:31:13 PM
621 Views
Guess I should've known you'd already have read it.
- 31/08/2015 01:06:27 PM
554 Views
I wouldn't call spoken Chinese "easy". "Easier", yes, but not "easy".
- 31/08/2015 03:37:55 PM
530 Views