If you could meet one person from the past...

I would go for someone in the very recent past - Bobby Moore, if only to talk about how he sees football as it is today. And it has changed a hell of a lot since the time of his passing around 14 years ago.

A bit of a background to the man for those who don't know. He was a footballer (obviously) from the 60's to early 70's. He captained both West Ham and England and is quite possibly one of 'Arry's heroes (the draw he has with the West Ham faithful, even to this day, young and old, is quite astonishing). It could be fair to say he was the "Beckham" of his day in as much as he was very much in the public eye (he and his wife), to a certain degree he was also a fashion icon (although George Best and some of the trendy Chelsea players of the time were just as much, or more so, looked upon this way), he was softly spoken but very commanding on the pitch and lead by example and he rarely gave up. He was sadly taken from us due to bowel cancer at a relatively young age (aged 51).
 
Hi, Perun. :) How are things?

To maintain the relevancy of the topic, I'd like to bring back John Ritter. Just to go out and have a quiet pint with.
 
on a personal level i would like to meet my father who died on september 28th and tell him i miss him  :( but with the game we're playing i would like to meet Brian Bóru (he was the high king of Ireland from 1002 til 1014) he died in the battle of clontarf which he won and while in a tent he was killed by fleeing soldiers. His life would make a brilliant Maiden song i always thought
 
MarkC said:
on a personal level i would like to meet my father who died on september 28th and tell him i miss him  :(
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That's very recent. My condoleances to you and I wish you strength in this time of grief.
 
MarkC said:
on a personal level i would like to meet my father who died on september 28th and tell him i miss him  :( but with the game we're playing i would like to meet Brian Bóru (he was the high king of Ireland from 1002 til 1014) he died in the battle of clontarf which he won and while in a tent he was killed by fleeing soldiers. His life would make a brilliant Maiden metal song i always thought
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http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=96053

:P
 
Gaeltacht Mael Mórdha is a better album, in my opinion, if you want some gaelic miotal trom*.




*Heavy metal for all of you lucky bastards that never had to learn a dead language for 14 years, and never use it in real life. Ever.
 
Hunlord said:
Gaeltacht Mael Mórdha is a better album, in my opinion, if you want some gaelic miotal trom*.




*Heavy metal for all of you lucky bastards that never had to learn a dead language for 14 years, and never use it in real life. Ever.
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Learning a second (or third, whatever) language regardless of practicality is always an asset. Always.
 
Onhell said:
Learning a second (or third, whatever) language regardless of practicality is always an asset. Always.
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Sorry, but no.

This language isn't spoken in everyday life in Ireland at all, except by extremely small places in the country, which are very few and far between. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that learning a language is a waste, I love French and want to be fluent one day. I just hate that I had to spend fourteen years of my education learning something that has no impact on my life, I thought was a terrible sounding language, will never use again and that was taken into account for my exams. People may harp on about it being a part of the Irish culture, but I'd rather be able to appreciate my culture in a different way, and not have it forced down my throat.


Sorry for hijacking the thread.
 
Hunlord said:
Sorry, but no.
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I said REGARDLESS of practicality (that includes cultural value or lack thereof), so sorry, but yes. Learning a second language is like learning all that useless math in high school. When will the average citizen use calculus, triginometry or algebra in their daily lives? Most likely never, but the effects it has in their rationaliztion process are enormous, just like the effects the second language has on your FIRST language. I suggest you read Confessions of an English Opium Eater. This dude had to learn Greek, NEVER used it outside of school, but the way it enriched his English prose (among other effects) was undeniable.
 
Onhell said:
I said REGARDLESS of practicality (that includes cultural value or lack thereof), so sorry, but yes. Learning a second language is like learning all that useless math in high school. When will the average citizen use calculus, triginometry or algebra in their daily lives? Most likely never, but the effects it has in their rationaliztion process are enormous, just like the effects the second language has on your FIRST language. I suggest you read Confessions of an English Opium Eater. This dude had to learn Greek, NEVER used it outside of school, but the way it enriched his English prose (among other effects) was undeniable.
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Onhell, nearly every word in the English language has a root in either Latin or Greek, which is why the person you mentioned could write in a better style.  The same goes for every Romance language (Italian, French, Spanish etc.), while the Teutonic/Nordic language group have major similarities, and quite a few similarities with the Classics.

Irish has no tangible relation to Latin, Greek or English (save the odd direct borrowed phrase, vis a vis, laziness), and I doubt that many links between it and French exist anymore (sure, Gaelic and Celtic were similar, but I'm not too sure whether the Frankish influence obscured those - maybe Perun can cast light on this?).

Essentially, any benefits that come from learning the Irish language are not due to being able to relate the language to other languages (e.g. with the Classics, you can expand your vocabulary and pick up other Romantic languages quite easily).  The only real advantage is in the way you approach a language, and in the way you learn, which could be what you were driving at.
 
it doesn't matter what root the language has! We're talking about working your mind! excersicing your brain! Saying a second language is useless is like saying going up the stairs is useless... So you see it doesn't matter what language you learn, just like it doesn't matter what shoes you're wearing the point is you are excersing your brain or conditioning your body. C'mon folks, you're bright people, you got the posts to back that up, do I have to spell it out for you even more?
 
Most languages are related. It's pretty interesting to find links between languages.

The English language belongs to the western sub-branch of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. The closest relatives to English after Scots are the Frisian languages, which are spoken in the Northern Netherlands and Northwest Germany. Other less closely related living West Germanic languages include German, Low Saxon, Dutch, and Afrikaans. The North Germanic languages of Scandinavia are less closely related to English than the West Germanic languages.

Many French words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from Norman and French, via Anglo-Norman after the Norman Conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries. As a result, a large portion of English vocabulary is derived from French, with some minor spelling differences (word endings, use of old French spellings, etc.), as well as occasional divergences in meaning, in so-called "faux amis", or false friends.

I can tell you that the word "cookie" comes from Dutch. Here some more: List of English words of Dutch origin.
Here a list of French phrases used by English speakers, Dutch linguistic influence on naval terms, & here way more lists of English words of international origin.
 
Forostar said:
Many French words are also intelligible to an English speaker (though pronunciations are often quite different) because English absorbed a large vocabulary from Norman and French, via Anglo-Norman after the Norman Conquest and directly from French in subsequent centuries.
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You can also say that, in past, French had the same role than English has nowadays. But now, the opposite occurs, what Quebec inhabitants can't stand and are always trying to find a translation. Sometimes, it gives funny words like "pourriel" wich means spam.

Forostar said:
(...) as well as occasional divergences in meaning, in so-called "faux amis", or false friends.
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Like for "Actually" that looks like "Actuellement" which means "at present". And... they're both adverbs !

I agree with Onhell, even if a language you had to learn is useless in every day life, or seems to be, each language reflect a particular way of thinking. So what a language can bring you is to help you open your mind.
 
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