tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post1962494917416886163..comments2023-09-28T12:28:57.598+03:00Comments on Grahnlaw: My Europe Week: EU lingua franca?Ralf Grahn http://www.blogger.com/profile/02156293782163802007noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-28544160936871827152010-05-19T18:52:40.937+03:002010-05-19T18:52:40.937+03:00Grahnlaw.
Where did you receive the information t...Grahnlaw.<br /><br />Where did you receive the information that "Esperanto fans are very few" I agree with Bill Chapman that serious attention should be given to Esperanto.<br /><br />Your readers may wish to have a look at the following video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670 <br /><br />A glimpse of the Esperanto language can be seen at http://www.lernu.net :)Brian Barkerhttp://www.esperantolobby.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-38455861895547130462010-05-18T18:55:25.654+03:002010-05-18T18:55:25.654+03:00Bill Chapman,
There are reasons to argue for esp...Bill Chapman, <br /><br />There are reasons to argue for esperanto, and its fans are dedicated, but very few.Ralf Grahn https://www.blogger.com/profile/02156293782163802007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-4765617575049258412010-05-18T18:19:54.697+03:002010-05-18T18:19:54.697+03:00I'm surprised that there has been no mention h...I'm surprised that there has been no mention here yet of Esperanto - a language I have used as a lingua franca for my contacts in Europe for many years.<br /><br />One great advantage of Esperanto is that is (almost) no one's mother tongue. (There are a few native speakers, the product of marriages between people weith different mother tongues. <br /><br />I should like to see more use made of Esperanto both because of its own intrinsic value and because it can serve as a useful introduction to language learning. Four schools in Britain are using Esperanto as a tool for language awareness under a progeramme called Springboard.Bill Chapmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-9266761322499088112010-05-13T22:20:55.699+03:002010-05-13T22:20:55.699+03:00"Do you mean a language learnt alongside the ..."Do you mean a language learnt alongside the mother tongue?"<br /><br />Yes, I mean. In my view, it would be ideal if one language were, that everybody in Europe would very well know and that would speak at his child together with the mother tongue from its first days. One parent would speak a respective mother tongue and the other parent would speak the common European language. Thus, every person in Europe would be bilingual. Is it unrealistic?citizen of Europehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16351547139010003857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-92179264214425359012010-05-11T15:22:05.217+03:002010-05-11T15:22:05.217+03:00citizen of Europe,
Do you mean a language learnt...citizen of Europe, <br /><br />Do you mean a language learnt alongside the mother tongue? <br /><br />Babies have a capacity to learn different languages (in bilingual homes, for instance), but at a practical level and to encompass all, it could be organised when children start in daycare. <br /><br />My choice would be English as one of the (at least) two foreign languages everyone learns. <br /><br />As good Europeans, all Brits would learn two foreign languages as well.Ralf Grahn https://www.blogger.com/profile/02156293782163802007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-68897806464335557172010-05-11T13:18:44.392+03:002010-05-11T13:18:44.392+03:00And would'nt be the best to have some common l...And would'nt be the best to have some common language that everyone would learn from its first "days" directly from its parents - something like a "paternal language"? (I know, it is a very daring idea, but unfeasible?)citizen of Europehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16351547139010003857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-20225833851966085482010-05-07T21:56:45.430+03:002010-05-07T21:56:45.430+03:00Slartibartfas,
If I have understood correctly, c...Slartibartfas, <br /><br />If I have understood correctly, children learn languages most effortlessly before they reach school age, so actually starting in kindergarten would be a good idea. <br /><br /><br />I believe that it is better to start learning a language with any teacher than not at all, but I suspect that the lack of native speakers as teachers has to do more with teachers' unions and bureaucratic impediments than with looking for optimal outcomes for the pupils.Ralf Grahn https://www.blogger.com/profile/02156293782163802007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6406430766424642773.post-22624767067758694122010-05-07T21:03:28.831+03:002010-05-07T21:03:28.831+03:00Elementary schools in Austria are starting English...Elementary schools in Austria are starting English classes already right from the very start. If the aim would be to go beyond that you'd have to start already in the kindergarten.<br /><br />There are not a lot of native speakers working as foreign language teachers though. While this might be nice, I don't think it is so incredibly important for anything other than to learn a more accent free language. <br /><br />How is it like in other member states?Slartibartfasnoreply@blogger.com