Linguistics revisited

[porphyry]

Remember my recent post about the creationist theory of languages? This new development shows that satire really is impossible (Tom Lehrer realized this after Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize).

Comments

[benicek.livejournal.com]

Is it not more REASONABLE to claim that a god created all life and culture spontaneously? How can you be so UNREASONABLE you blind fool??!

LOL.

I left this comment: "Nobody was speaking French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Romanian in the time of Christ. Did these languages evolve from Latin or were they created spontaneously by the Christian god?"

Esperanto!

[brian-barker.livejournal.com]

I regret that the much neglected language, Esperanto did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize. At least nine British MP's nominated this global language, for the Prize.

Within a short period of 121 years Esperanto is now placed within the top 100 languages, out of 6,000 worldwide according to the CIA factbook. It is the 17th most used language by Wikipedia, and it is in active use by Facebook and Skype.

Solid arguments for Esperanto can be seen on the Youtube video, by Professor Piron, a former translator at the United Nations.

If you have time please check http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LV9XU

Re: Esperanto!

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Why not just use Latin?

Re: Esperanto!

[benicek.livejournal.com]

I've got to admit, Esperanto sounds nice, but the fact that it has to be translated into English for it to capture a youtube audience perhaps underlines its weakness. I've never met anyone who could speak it.

Lingual diversity

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it seems as if fundamentalists speak their own set of 7000 different languages. I love to inform them that "logos" means reason and oratory. That always causes them to suffer a mild shock.

Fundies

[benicek.livejournal.com]

On the topic of fundamentalists, I was just watching 'Jesus Camp'. I didn't realise that the kids featured were from your state, making it sort of 'local culture' for you, I suppose.

It maybe wasn't quite as scary as I expected. All that shaking and crying must be fairly cathartic for the kids is some ways. Weird that they deny the existence global warming as a matter of principle (why?) . Got to admit though, putting Harry Potter to death sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

Re: Fundies

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

I've always meant to see that film.

It is illogical for them to deny global warming. The text that they use to support it are ones like 'be fruitful and multiply' or 'they shall have the earth for their possession.' And then there are the stewards in the parables who run their master's property into ruin and then get forgiven and rewarded more than the careful ones. Their basic idea seems to be that they have the right to damage the earth in any way they please, and it doesn't matter anyway since the whole thing is going to be rolled up like a scroll anyway and then they will get a new heaven and a new earth. Since that is the real reason they want to be able to act without restraint, they rather childishly insist that they aren't doing and can't do any real damage.

Re: Fundies

[benicek.livejournal.com]

I see. This anti-environment thing must be very convenient for the right-wing interests they support. Too convenient to be a coincidence I think. There's a strange section in the film where they produce a life-size cut-out of George W Bush and lay their hands on him. Shudder!

Incidentally, I notice that the entire US presidential campaign has moved to your town. Are you a nest of swingers there?

Re: Fundies

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

That is amazing that you should notice that you should notice that since I certainly have taken no notice of it. We actually live right across the river in Obama's home state, so there is no political activity here at all.