and I feel happy to pick up words and phrases of different languages, as it makes me happy, and it makes the other person happy too, to hear a word in his language.

This seems sweet of you. To me languages have instead been at first a solitary study. But with the passing years they brought me closer to the people who spoke them.

find the deeper things that bind us all, instead of seeking out the superficial things which divide us. And it is amazing to find these common roots in languages as well.

Yes, this brotherhood among people is what should count more. I hope a sort of common sense will prevail over intolerance.

The common roots in Indo-European languages, for example. My Greek and Latin teacher, Panichi, tormented us with an extremely difficult Greek grammar he had written, where each Greek word was analysed in its common root with Sanskrit. We became pale whenever he called us at his desk.

I’ve always been against any form of linguistic purism. India is a good example of coexistence of many languages and peoples. The biggest democracy in the world. It is admirable how you have succeeded in this. After independence not many people thought you would make it.

I want to share my thoughts about learning new languages with you.

I don’t suffer from any language narcissism, unlike many people everywhere, and I feel happy to pick up words and phrases of different languages, as it makes me happy, and it makes the other person happy too, to hear a word in his language. More than half of my life has been spent meeting new people and strangers, and I have tried to find the deeper things that bind us all, instead of seeking out the superficial things which divide us. And it is amazing to find these common roots in languages as well.

I know Hindi and Bangla well, but I don’t find any language superior! They are for communicating. One should not take a language too seriously, unless one is in the business of the literature of that language! 

In North-Central India, where I have spent 25 years of my life, people have the false idea that Hindi is the purest language, and all other languages are just minor languages. They feel surprised when people don’t speak it well, or even make fun of them. Or they quote that Hindi is our national language (which is not true) and everyone should give up their languages and know it well!

It is sad that due to aggressive promotion of French in France, many other local dialects and languages have died. India is a living proof that a language doesn’t have to be the binding force or identity of a nation. Many languages can survive side-by-side and a pluralistic nation can survive too.

Yes, pretty obvious! Thanks for the good idea. I just ordered a copy of the French edition of the comic book story, Asterix and Obelisk!

Mor: Really? I can’t believe it!

This is off-topic, but since you are musical, I think you will enjoy this post and the links:

http://iamyouasheisme.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/i-am-not-crazy/

MoR: A funny thing really, and interesting. I posted a comment at your blog, Lichanos.

Sometimes I struggle through a few pages, then give up

Well, I don’t know if there’s any graded texts in French too. There were/are many in English and I think I would have given up too if I hadn’t any graded (and good) texts in English. I can understand, starting with Flaubert or Balzac can be off-putting. And one shouldn’t though look up too many words in a dictionary, I believe. Too boring. It’s better to read and read: wider words comprehension will arrive gradually, through words context.

Yes, it’s so much easier for students today. I don’t think the idea of a ‘progress’ in science, society etc. is totally wrong, maybe it’s just discontinuous. I mean, if I only had television in many languages as I have now! When I was a teenager there was only one movie theatre in Rome, Il Rubino, that projected movies in English once a week. And it was so darn frustrating! I understood one word in one thousand! While people in Tunisia and Albania understand very well Italian because they have been watching Italian television since decades.

I admire your dedication and perseverance. I don’t have it myself. I love French literature – Balzac, Flaubert, Stendhal – but I read them only in English. Sometimes I struggle through a few pages, then give up, exhausted. Once in a while I will read a short poem by Baudelaire or Rimbaud. I can get by in France or Quebec, and I improve rapidly with practice, but I am by no means fluent. To my shame, I am nearly mono-lingual. (I don’t play an instrument either, and I call myself educated!!)

The little French I know I learned in high school. I credit Madame Schmidt, a wrinkled little old Alsatian lady for teaching me. Somehow, I have retained it all these years. I think it’s because sometimes, for amusement, I try to converse with myself in French, or imagine I am meeting a French person – perhaps a beautiful woman! – and I rehearse and work out the problems of conversation.

My daughter was telling me recently how hard she is working in her French class in college. “I had to read five pages of Balzac, and it took me two hours!” I told her that sounds about right – keep at it! Nowadays, it’s so much easier for students anyway. I recall pondering idiomatic phrases that I could never figure out. I knew each individual word, but the meaning escaped me. I’d have to look in a translated text if I had one, or wait to speak to the professor. Today, on the Internet, you can get the meaning of practically any phrase. I guess there IS progress sometimes.

Ciao!

That poor father really bewildered us. I was with my future wife in that little shop. I believe the worse evil would have been communism, although the topic is big. I was a communist for only a couple of years, like the majority of students here in 68. Then I understood it was nothing but a fanatical faith, like many other fanatical faiths. I’m glad we escaped that, also thanks to the CIA, ironically. Another long story. Yes, many young people gave their life (or totally messed it up).

Thank you very much Paul. And I also love the presence of people from many different countries. This is one main reason why I blog in English.

PS
This is the link to that poor young Greek man who killed himself. He was born in 1948, exactly my age:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostas_Georgakis

Good day, good night and good morning to all. I’ll reply tomorrow with ease, since I have to write something on the language tools as promised. Falcon be patient, you usually write too much and write things complicated, and Reema has priority, since she commented first. UPDATE: I have replied above to both.

Ciao Paul, Canadian friend. And pls allow me again, since you might know something about the story of this *Greek man* from Corfu. Hope I’m not obsessing you – you can start reading after the Corfu picture – because I like you visiting my blog.