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Friday, December 21, 2018

My Multi-Language Dream For Europe, Singapore And The World

Problem
Every day we struggle to understand somebody. Friends and family mumble, or the background noise or echo confuses an already unclear message. The telephone operator confuses us from the first word by rushing the company name.

Answers
Long ago a man called Zamenho, born in Bialystok which was then in Russia but is now Poland, saw this problem in his city where several languages were spoken. He spoke several languages. He devised a new simple language which is now called Esperanto. It has only sixteen rules. Where can you learn it? At one university in England. Esperanto is the second language taught in schools in Hungary.

Esperanto is also a culturally neutral language.

Over in America, a man called Webster wrote a dictionary and school workbook to help students and immigrants learn English. He simplified the spelling. If you want to learn elegant English, which sounds lovely, learn British English. However, if you want simplified spelling, learn American.

Now, my dream. Marketing and tourism are helping teachers and learners. When I sit on a train, I read the emergency and exit instructions.

What is my dream for the UK and Europe?

Wales
In Wales I can read Welsh and English on the train. They have just (2018) ended the toll on the beautiful bridge for entering Wales, which welcomes drivers. I
 love the sound of Welsh, and Welsh male voice choirs. Probably the most often heard song for tourists is the Welsh national anthem.

Welsh and Scottish Songs
So the easy answer would be to teach everybody in England the words of Auld Lang Syne and 100 Scottish words and the Welsh national anthem and 100 Welsh words and phrases in primary school.

I regret I have to admit that Welsh and Scottish are minority languages and not a lot of use worldwide, although everybody likes to sing the Scottish song, Auld Lang Syne.
What about some more widespread languages?

European Languages. (to be continued.)

Could We All Be Bilingual?
Yes, if governments insisted on it. It is done in Canada.

Canada
Canadians speak French and English in the capital, Ottawa. being bilingual is a requirement for government jobs.

Why stop at two languages?

Chineasy - learn Chinese on YouTube



Singapore flag. Hear four languages in announcements on the MRT train system.
Singapore
Singapore has four languages, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, English, Tamil. Not many people speak all four. However, most people speak two, with a smattering of one or two more.

Lee Kuan Yew, first prime minister and founding father of Singapore, had a vision of every child in Singapore being bilingual.

To learn languages for free online, use Duolingo.



Use Grammarly.
grammarly.com

Travel Tips
Singapore Airlines: 

Author

Travel writer and photographer, Angela Lansbury.  
Teacher and tutor of English and other languages.Please bookmark and share your favourite posts and websites.


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