language rant
2002-08-05 - 6:29 p.m.
Warning: much talk of languages.
So, I was thinking about languages, and how each has its own quirks and oddnesses that trouble those trying to learn that language, and sometimes native speakers too.
But which quirks are just irritating any way you look at them, and which also have redeeming qualities once you get to know them?
Mark Twain wrote an excellant rant about the German language. Having taken German for two years, I fully agree that having female, male, and neuter gender assigned to every noun is an annoying quirk. It doesn't seem to have any redeeming value to me, and seems a bit random... "Woman" is female, but "Girl" and "Wife" are neuter.
I think the best-known quirk of Japanese is how you write it. In class you will learn of three types of writing: two phonetic alphabets, and one adapted from Chinese, kanji. However, the Roman alphabet (the same used in English and many other languages) is also commonly used. With Japanese writing I do find a redeeming value--it's pretty and expressive, and you learn vocabulary while you learn to write.
There's also the fact that Japanese is broken up into syllables. When you write a word phonetically, you use one symbol for each syllable. To-yo-ta is three symbols long, while se-n-se-i is four. By the way, "n" is the only consonant that can appear by itself. Foreign borrow words are approximated using Japanese syllables, like fa-i-to for fight (which in Japanese usage is to give it your all, and generally does not involve violence).
Try this rant about the Japanese language, but be sure to read the disclaimer at the bottom. It's by a Japanese major, and it's a joke, but it's fun.
English is the most full of quirks of any language I have studied. I'm glad I learned it first, because having studied other languages, I find it totally insane. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that it's cobbled together from so many other languages with their own rules and quirks.
You have to memorize how to pronounce things in English. To, dew, two, and coo all rhyme. Through, bough, and thought sound nothing alike.
What languages have you studied? What oddnesses turn out to be sweet once you get to know them?
