When I first read Welsing’s statement and posted it I was in total agreement with him and still am but….. I thought further about it today and of some of the younger people who somehow believe that those same previously known as derogatory labels aren’t demeaning at all but complimentary in today’s society. Even Oprah proclaimed herself to be a hoe when she lost a bunch of weight. If something is bad, it’s good. If a booty stank, that’s wonderful.
I heard it all Yesterday, when I was conversing in Spanish with two friend, a very polite youngster asked me "Where did you learn Spanish?" I told him it was my language....and his reaction was as follow "It can't be; you have blue eyes, you are white." One more time we could appreciate the total lack of information that is hurting USA.
I understand the sentiment but to be fair, U.S. exposure to the Spanish speaking population is overwhelmingly that of a darker skinned people with dark hair and brown eyes. When I think back of the contents of our history textbooks, I do not recall any that I read which gave a total description of Spanish explorers with the possible exception of their beards. I might venture to write that even most seniors cannot converse about the neighboring countries that Spain has and the various histories, dominant physical descriptions and migrations of the peoples in those countries. Fun Fact: Not many seniors know that anyone from any culture can have blue eyes. It’s a rarity perhaps but two brown eyed parents can have a child with blue eyes. It’s a given that this generation is having educational problems in that educators have this idea that children have to be indoctrinated instead of giving them the tools to want to learn facts. That said, I would wager that a major population of those who are supposed to be teaching the young, namely senior citizens, cannot even give the names of 30 states in the United States. Heck there are folks out there that believe all Africans are black.
Family and I lived in Miami for 16 years. I was acquainted with several blue-eyed blondies whose first language was Spanish. I also remember our touristy week in Spain. There were some with blue eyes and blond heads. I have to wonder how much Germanic-Gothic blood flows in that country. There are Gothic place names there, and several Spanish given names are derived from Germanic sources.
And, northern Spain features about 3% of the population with red hair and some even play the somewhat musical instrument….bagpipes. The thing I was driving at though is that information of who might have this or that feature in relation to their primary language isn’t really something that is taught in the United States unless of course one is heavily vested in Anthropology and World History. My goodness, when I was a young lad I thought it was a strange thing when I first met a “colored” man with a British accent.
This 'lack of information' brings up something I rant about: lack of teaching foreign languages. When I declared my undergraduate major to be German, it no longer counted as the 'foreign language requirement.' During my last two undergraduate years I took classes in Russian, and out of curiosity Russian History. I still like to keep up with things Russian (along with things Austrian, German, Danish, Norwegian, and since wife and I visited Japan a 2 years ago, things Japanese.)
I’m not even sure if it’s available any longer but there was a foreign exchange program for students who completed 1- 2 (?) years of a foreign language. e.g. A German student studying English could change places for the school year with an American who was studying German. I have truthfully never seen it in action but from what I understand, the overall results were fairly good. A student not only got to use the language he or she was studying but also experienced the culture and got to know some of the history of a given country and city.
My elder son and wife have been hosting exchange students for some years. They've had some from the Netherlands and Belgium. This year they have a girl from Berlin. I studied abroad myself, Austria, and found it to be a life changing experience. You should consider doing it.
It’s good to know that the program is still alive and doing well ! As far as me going abroad, I’m not the traveler I used to be but on the other hand, my wife seems to have picked up that bug and will probably be going to the Netherlands sometime in the not too distant future.
The Netherlands is a most interesting country. You'll find that everybody speaks English, so there won't be a problem there. BUT DO THIS!!!!!: Google 'learn Dutch online' and many online lessons will come up. Choose one and spend an hour each afternoon or evening. You'll find that the language is very much related to English. You likely won't be able to converse with the natives, but you will be able to read the billboards and newspaper headlines. Here's a sample of something in Dutch. Bet that you recognize it: Onze Vader in de hemel, laat uw naam hierin geheiligd worden, laat uw koninkrijk komen en uw wil gedaan worden op aarde zoals in de hemel. Geef ons vandaag het brood dat wij nodig hebben. Vergeef ons onze schulden, zoals ook wij hebben vergeven wie ons iets schuldig was. En breng ons niet in beproeving, maar red ons uit de greep van het kwaad. laat uw naam hierin geheiligd worden, laat uw koninkrijk komen en uw wil gedaan worden op aarde zoals in de hemel. Geef ons vandaag het brood dat wij nodig hebben. Vergeef ons onze schulden, zoals ook wij hebben vergeven wie ons iets schuldig was. En breng ons niet in beproeving, maar red ons uit de greep van het kwaad.
Interesting indeed. Of course it is The Lord’s prayer but it was more of the German influence that gave me the keys to the primer. My younger brother spent about 5 years in The Hague and is now living in Germany and now Yvonne’s daughter works in “Nederland” and apparently has a good contract for a few years. I’m sure my wife will peruse your advice and possibly bone up on the language before she leaves to spend some time with her daughter and see the sights.
In the reading of it that’s very true but when I listen to someone speaking Dutch there’s a definite difference in the pronunciations of the same words. Ich in German comes out as Ik in Dutch for an example. Anyway, we’d best get back on topic and to education and the reasons why our young ones aren’t learning. Nice conversation though.
About a millennium and half ago the “High German Sound Shift (google same)” took place. The main part of it is that 'p' changed to 'f', 't' changed to 's' or 'ts', and 'k' turned to the 'ch' you mentioned in 'ich.' English -German” 'help' helfen', 'water' 'Wasser,' 'sit' 'sitzen', 'book' Buch' (Nouns are always capitalized.) There! I got to pretend being a teacher again!!!
Maybe the dumbest generation were the Baby Boomers,they allowed the communist to infiltrate our nation and destroy it from within. Our grandparents may not have been so complacent or tolerant of the intolerable things that came about. My " if it feels good do it " generation raised these kids of wealth and so who is to blame? Looks like we will be "doing it in the road" alright,but not what we thought it would be. Some of our oarents were a little Bohemian Maynard G.Cribbs types but not many as us Boomers.