Re: Saying Nyet To Russian


"ladzius" <2130-690@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1133857734.832414.115950@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
if it's selectiveness and vainglory you're after, learn Albanian, or
Klingon

L.


"ka plah!"

honestly, i only learned of the 2% statistic after i started russian
language studies. please don't be bitter or hate me because of it. if i
could, i'd learn estonian too!


the captain wrote:
> i have read in the past that in north america only 2% of students learning
> a
> foreign language choose russian. but even this makes me feel proud. i am
> in
> a special, select group of students.
>
> "Eugene Holman" <holman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:holman-0512051839400001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > In article <dn1nsu$5dm$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "J. Anderson"
> > <andersons6@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >> "Eugene Holman" <holman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> >> news:holman-0512051630380001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>
> >> > Posted with no comment.
> >>
> >> Why? Of course we know that Russia and all things Russian are extremely
> >> dear
> >> to you, but isn't this commercial announcement just a tiny bit
> >> exaggerated?
> >
> > Russia and all things Russian are *not* extremely dear to me. I have
> > been
> > pleased to watch the relatively positive developments that have been
> > taking place in post-Soviet Russia, and I am happy that I acquired a
> > fluent command of Russian at an early age. These facts do not make me a
> > Russophile, even if in this forum anyone who does not have wet dreams
> > about
> > Mongol hordes overrunning Russia and boiling Vladimir Putin in oil
> > qualifies as one.
> >
> > The "commercial announcement" was to remind people such as Gintautas
> > that
> > Russian is not only one of the world's major languages, but also that it
> > is spoken in more places and enjoys more prestige than probably ever
> > before in its history. It is the official, co-official, or lingua franca
> > language of several countries, and is spoken and used by minorities and
> > immigrant communities in several more. An insular language limited to
> > the
> > Soviet Union, Israel, and viable émigré communities in Paris, New York,
> > and a few other cities as recently as twenty years ago, Russian is now
> > in
> > process of becoming dissociated from Russia and evolving into a truly
> > international language of business, tourism, science, and the arts.
> > People
> > who ignore this rapid and sudden change in its dynamics do so at their
> > own
> > risk, say, among others, salespeople and hotel personnel in Helsinki,
> > Espoo, Jämsä, and Lappeenranta.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Eugene Holman


.

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