Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Martin- I had always heard that the Chinese language, or more properly, languages, were almost totally dependent on intonation and inflection to determine the context- that a staement, a question and an exclamation might be pronounced and spoken the same, but relied on intonation for actual 'meaning' I had also heard that English, rich in word borrowed from every conceivable language, use position and tense to clarify meaning... It is not until you sit at a keyboard, and try to convey something other thatn a simple declaritive that you realize the 'human' quality of the spoken word! In the same vein, I imagine that email to, from and between Chinese speaking people might be even harder! Maybe Dr. Yao might weigh in on this- are we Westerners hard to comprehend? I think too, and I am doubly guilty, being impusive and with a sometimes too sharp tongue, that we forget that English is not the native or even second language of many of our members, and I often type away, totally oblivious to that fact. I often don't consider the limitations, or the different phrasing that someone else may have learned, but I don't use! I know that English is very 'relaxed'- in that I can read Guido's posts in their charming Italianate syntax, and it still makes sense ( Basically, you can butcher the english language and still be understood!) However, how many of the members are often lost because we use a syntax or sentence structure strange to them? ( I recall Latin- words in any order you want, but watch those ending!) If I come across to any of our friends as unclear- DON"T HESITATE to ask me to clarify! I won't be offended, and maybe I'll learn something in the process! Sorry for the long post, but I know I have ruffled a few feathers ( oops- there I go again!) and would hope that anyone feeling slighted, or offended let me know! Ciao!, Arrivederci, Au revoir, Auf wiedersehen, Erin go Bragh, Al aikem salaam, Hasta la vista, and Shalom! Dan (Writing skill better than a trained Chimpanzee? Well, call me a Monkey's Uncle!)