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| carrobin |
 Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:46 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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Never heard of Chesbro. Darn, another author to check out. I've only just got round to Laurell K. Hamilton.
I'll try to find "The Power of Babel" too. As an editor by profession and writer by preference, I've always been intrigued by language, and glad I was born to speak English because it's wicked twisty even for those of us who speak it from the start. (Just check out some of the articles I work on here at the magazine--yes, there's plenty of work for us copy editors.) |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:55 am |
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Marta's English is quite good, though sometimes she does say things in a correct but rather old fashioned and proper way that is rarely heard today. I love that. She always wants me to correct her English, and I do, but I also tell her that I love the way she writes and speaks, because it is so charming. When she has a lot of things to do, it is, "I have pending many tasks."
I have a great admiration for people who learn English. It has to be the most difficult language using our alphabet. If I were born in a non-English speaking country I would never be able to become fluent in English. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:12 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Tutoring my dyslexic student bough, bow, bow tie, thigh, my, through, threw, spout, soup......Every one of these decodings is a challenge for this bright woman. We often joke, Spanish-speaking dyslexics have it easy. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:30 pm |
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| As you know, yam, Spanish is an easy language to learn as languages go. There are so many complications in English that Spanish doesn't have that it is ridiculous. I am very poor at learning languages, but Marta keeps telling me that I am very good at it. She is completely wrong of course, and I tell her that Spanish is quite easy. And believe me I don't know Spanish very well either. What fools a lot of people, is for some reason my foreign enunciation is usually very good. This was always a problem for me in France, because I would speak to a French person and because my enunciation was so good they would think I was fluent in the language and would speak like they were talking to Frenchman and I would have no idea what they were saying. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 12:50 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| My friend David had trouble when he visited Italy because people thought he spoke Italian--not because he was speaking any Italian, but because he used his hands so much while talking. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 1:40 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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carrobin wrote: My friend David had trouble when he visited Italy because people thought he spoke Italian--not because he was speaking any Italian, but because he used his hands so much while talking.
The late mathematician Howard Eves used to call a certain kind of proof "an Italian demonstration," i.e. you wave your hands. |
_________________
I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:00 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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yambu wrote: jeremy wrote: ....It seems that lots of modern grammaticians reject their predecessors' insistance on imposing rules for Latin, e.g. not splittting infinitves, on English. You can't split a Latin infinitive, but I'm sure you know that. Or is that your point?
Yes. |
_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it. |
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| tirebiter |
| Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:09 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4011
Location: not far away
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| WashPost had a lovely review today of the second Ripley book by Patricia Highsmith, Ripley Underground. It reminded me that the first three Ripley books (there were five) represent about the best trilogy I can think of for holiday reading. The Ripley's are all about DREAD and GUILT and PSYCHOSIS, and though that sounds like a horrible thing, they're three of the most entertaining books I've read. Tom Ripley is the most charming psycho ever, and Highsmith was a twisted (sadly) genius. I think there was a high-class edition of these three about 5 years back-- the best stocking-stuffer I can imagine for some discerning reader you know... |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:23 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:38 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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The lecture in Sta. Fe I attended last night with the photojournalist Reza and the author Sebastian Junger was fantastic.
Boy, do I ever kick myself for not buying an autographed copy of the Junger book, _Murder in Belmont_. It sounds creepy and like a real page turner. There's a Boston strangler connection.
Here's the entry about Junger from wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Junger
Junger is spending most of his time now with the troops. He spent the last year with a unit (forgive my terminology as I'm not a military buff) in Afghanistan where 1/3 did not come back. His insights into what our policy might be in Iraq and Afghanistan was fascinating. A plea was made to the Sta Fe audience to get the word to Obama to listen to Junger (it's possible if someone can get the word to Bill Richardson, I'd imagine).
Reza (an Iranian photojournalist who was first got into trouble w/ authorities in Iran when he was in elementary school!) showed his amazing photos. He works for Nat'l. Geographic. He gives them story ideas and says the lead time between his submission of ideas and published stories is 2 years. He lives in Paris. His book was for sale at $75 (too much for me). |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 3:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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http://tinyurl.com/6gaun2
Mo: "A Death in Belmont" sounds fascinating and you can get it on Amazon.com for less than 11 dollars. That's the link I provided above. Also check out their used book sellers. I've gotten a few books that way. |
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| tirebiter |
| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:27 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4011
Location: not far away
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 3:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Care to share?  |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:05 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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Don't bother. It sucks.
My dyslexic student of two years is now at the point where she needs to begin reading for pleasure. I got her some Sue Graftons - audio books plus text. I've never read any, but I scanned one and it looks pretty good. I'm hoping she'll get hooked.
Me, I'm enjoying Walter Isaacson's Einstein. I think I may finally be able to grasp special and general relativity for more than a day. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:49 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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