Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Wisdom vs Knowledge

13»

Comments

  • #102
    realitykeeper
    Registered Users Posts: 4,138 ✭✭✭realitykeeper


    Farmer Pudsey wrote: »
    Yes but it took 1200 years after the fall of the roman empire before it began to fail.
    The difference is technology. Back then it took years to reproduce a document and send it 1000 miles. Now it takes seconds to lap the planet.


  • #103
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    realitykeeper wrote: »
    Why bother when technology will enable the whole world to use the Irish language within a few years.
    Ok, we're beyond ridiculous at this point. English is on the way out, but Irish is on the brink of becoming a global language?

    I'm out.


  • #104
    An Coilean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,285 ✭✭✭An Coilean


    Godge wrote: »
    English has been spoken as a first language for centuries, that makes it a native language.

    Otherwise the only native speakers are Ogham speakers.

    Culture evolves, it is not fixed. The Gaelic culture of dancing at the crossroads speaking Irish has evolved into an Irish culture heavily influenced by American and Anglo-Saxan cultures with English speaking being to the fore. In fact, you are also seeing increasing cultural influences from Europe with the eating of pasta and the drinking of wine becoming norms that were completely absent from the Ireland of 30/40 years ago.


    Gaelic culture 'evolved' into modern Irish culture to about the same extent as a mouse evolves into the kitten of the cat that ate it.


  • #105
    An Coilean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,285 ✭✭✭An Coilean


    djpbarry wrote: »
    I actually thought you were going to make an interesting point, but I stopped reading when I got to this.

    You've got to be kidding, right? You think the standard of English in Ireland is so high that there's no point teaching it anymore?

    First of all, it's not a foreign language - English is the native language of pretty much every Irish person.

    Secondly, English is rapidly becoming, if it has not already become, the lingua franca of the planet. If a non-native English speaker can't communicate effectively through English, they're going to find opportunities limited in a lot of industries.


    Two things, while English is the native language of a sizable majority, it is not fair or indeed smart to ignore those for whom it is not their native language.

    Also, English either as a first or second language is known by only a fraction of the worlds population, it is not the lingua franca of the planet, there will never be a lingua franca of the planet.


  • #106
    Farmer Pudsey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,326 ✭✭✭Farmer Pudsey


    An Coilean wrote: »
    Two things, while English is the native language of a sizable majority, it is not fair or indeed smart to ignore those for whom it is not their native language.

    Also, English either as a first or second language is known by only a fraction of the worlds population, it is not the lingua franca of the planet, there will never be a lingua franca of the planet.

    Wake up and smell the coffee English is the most used second language in the world as in it is used across the buisness world. French and Spanish have higher no of people using it but these tend to be more concentrated in regional area's. It also happen to be the second primary language. It going to be around for a while.


  • #107
    realitykeeper
    Registered Users Posts: 4,138 ✭✭✭realitykeeper


    Farmer Pudsey wrote: »
    Wake up and smell the coffee ...
    Indeed you should. The status of English is for the most part what you say it is but that will not continue to be the case. Seismic changes tend to be sudden and devastating but all seems fine just before the quake. What I am saying is that the English language will be a secondary casualty, the primary one being the economies of the western world.


  • #108
    An Coilean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,285 ✭✭✭An Coilean


    Farmer Pudsey wrote: »
    Wake up and smell the coffee English is the most used second language in the world as in it is used across the buisness world. French and Spanish have higher no of people using it but these tend to be more concentrated in regional area's. It also happen to be the second primary language. It going to be around for a while.


    I am not saying that English is not a widely spoken language, I am simply pointing out that despite being widely spoken, it is still only known by a fraction of the worlds population and as such is not a ''world lingua franca''. There is no world lingua franca and there never can be.

    As for it being around for a while, I believe current linguastic theory suggests that what we would call English will probably last for another 150 - 200 years after which time the various branches of it will diverge so that instead of an English language, we will have an English family of languages, much like the various branches of Latin diverged into the family of romance languages over time.


  • #109
    Godge
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21,727 ✭✭✭✭Godge


    An Coilean wrote: »
    Gaelic culture 'evolved' into modern Irish culture to about the same extent as a mouse evolves into the kitten of the cat that ate it.

    In your example, there is no mouse now, only the fond memory of how nice it tasted. A bit like Irish.


  • #110
    An Coilean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,285 ✭✭✭An Coilean


    Godge wrote: »
    In your example, there is no mouse now, only the fond memory of how nice it tasted. A bit like Irish.


    Oh don't worry, there are still plenty of little baby mice running around the place. The Tom & Jerry relationship between the languages will continue for another few generations yet.


Advertisement