[Black Wolf]

Apparently, Spanish recently overtook English as the worlds most spoken language - which I can't really accept as there're more people in China than south America, and a crapload of english speaking foreigners, but, well, it's (supposed to be) a fact.

[Knight Templar]

Yeah, but anywhere of consequence?

[Black Wolf]

Beyond the Black Stump.

[Knight Templar]

Around the rock and in the rabbit hole?

[vyper]

With a rocky and in the rabbit's hole perhaps.

[kasperl]

Originally posted by Rictor
you're taking *counts* 3 foreign languages? Wow, just....wow.

Since Canada is officially bilingual, I had to take French from around Grade 3 to Grade 9. After all that time, I couldn't put together a proper sentence other that "My name is...". Some friends of mine lucked out and could take their own languages as a credit, so for example a German learning how to speak German and getting a credit. I guess no one like Serbia...

I can't imagine what it must be like to take 3 foreign languages. How can you even be reasonably expected to learn that?

anon: tell it to 1.3 billion Chinese, several hundred million Latin Americans and I don't even know how many Arabs.

4, if you count Latin, though I don't have to speak that.

And for the love of god, it isn't my choice. Every physicist, or anyone going to University, has to speak one language fluently, and read/write or read/understand 2 others.

And I'm getting another French test, and a German one, back today. The French thingy is the last one this year, and the German one is 20% of my grade......  

[Black Wolf]

You know what? That's gay. Our physicists don't have to know anything other than English, and I assume it's the same almost everywhere else. Drop the crappy languages, and go to some uni somewhere else, without all the language requirements.

[kasperl]

I need those langauges to get my high-school diploma.....

Miind you, this is the hardest level of high-school there is, but I am not about to kill of my chance at uni in this country just because of two nasty langauges. And, as long as I don't fail this year/these 2 weeks, it's the last I'll ever see from them.

[Knight Templar]

Maybe you should smoke some dope. It is Holland, and I bet you'll find you'll be speaking foreign languages with enhanced profeciency. Whether they are the ones you want or not, only experimentation will tell.

Or you could find a new country to be schooled in. You could probably graduate from American Highschool three times now.

[kasperl]

With the idiotic requirements you guys set? Easily.

As for mariuhana, 1) I hate smoking, 2) It ain't available (legally)<18, and 3) I need to be pepped up, not stoned.

Also, I just got the news I passed French. I got a 4,2 for German though, which is pretty damn bad.  I've got Latin tomorow, and starting Friday a whole week of hell, with 2 exams and sometimes an extra test each day.

[Knight Templar]

I say potato, you say potahto. I say super pumped and ready to speak five plus languages, you say stoned.

And I suppose they are idiotic, but we're not the ones failing German, now are we?

[kasperl]

You're not the ones taking German, are you?

As for the US education system, I've read interviews with MIT profs saying that your 3rd year Uni stuff is our high-school stuff, for some subjects. And I am not ready to speak 5 languages, I can only speak Dutch and English, and babble the tiniest bits of French and German. So far, only 2 I can speak and 2 I can semi-understand. Latin I can only read using a dictionary, and Greek, well, I can read the script easily, but I only had one year of it, so I've lost any understanding I once had.

And I  am sorry to say my English accent leans more to the American than to the British.

[Knight Templar]

- My point exactly.

- Right. Who needs education when you have Tomahawk Missiles?

- Is that a bad thing?

[kasperl]

- Meh, the point was that it is hardly a good thing to comment on someone else's failure if you have not tried it yourself.

- You might need some to learn how to build them efficiently without importing scientists.

- Yes, indeed it is.

[Knight Templar]

- Well the real point is, we've learned from your mistakes. Or something of the sort.

- We don't need no stinking import scientists!

- Oh? Why is that?

[kasperl]

- Lowering the limits is hardly a true way to up the number of graduee's, is it?

- Dunno, take a close look at some of the research teams.

- Because the US accent, in all honesty, sounds ugly.

[Knight Templar]

- Guess it works for some of us. Go figure.

- You look. They probably know how to speak English, so

- Which one?

[kasperl]

Never mind the first 2 questions, you won't yield anyway.

The southern ones in particular, though even the accents I heard between Chicago and Seatle (4 weeks in an RV, 'twas nice), were terrible compared to the British I hear when on holiday in England or Scotland.

[Knight Templar]

Yeesh. You can't judge our accents by the south. Or New York. Don't know what Chicago sounds like...

You should come to California. The new fad is to talk like the Governator.

[kasperl]

Now that would be worth hearing......

Really, the southern accents I only know from the movies. The northern accents, well, it isn't that bad, but hardly perfect.