Why Is Spanish So Damn Insignificant?

[MrWhereItsAt]

Bring down English? If there's one thing we should both agree on is that no language is going to bring down English. At least not in the short term.

If you ignore the literary contributions of Spanish, mentioned by Seeker in this thread for example, then fine, by your defintion Spanish is insignificant.

But why in Sheol is a literary definition of significance even necessary? Does the fact that many English speakers know nothing of the literary ineritance of the language make it less important to them? Of course not - a language is as significant as the amount of usage it gets - read, spoken, written or as a less commonplace academic tool. And what's to say that a language has no great works of literary art? Just 'cause they aren't well known outside of that language, does that make, say, Finnish literature inferior to Shakespeare? (Apologies if I offend any Finns here - it is meant as a hypothetical example - I know nothing about Finnish, so any comments I make about it are pure speculation) I hardly think so. How much Spanish literature have you read? Probably less than you have in the original. I suspect you know even less about it than I do, which is very little indeed. All I know is about the huge contribution Spanish has had to modern English.


And why are you afraid of Spanish? What riot are you talking about?

[Wiglaf]

And why are you afraid of Spanish? What riot are you talking about?

You said:

"Love it or deny it, Spanish is here to stay. And I am quite looking forward to the day that many monolinguals (especially Americans) need to learn it for daily life."

But why in Sheol is a literary definition of significance even necessary?

Because if we all were intelligent enough to realize just how much English, Greek and Latin kick the living crap out of Spanish, there'd be more books from people who would otherwise have fallen into a trap of only being able to communicate worth a damn in spoken conversation, a much improved tourism industry since having to take a class to check out another country is no longer a requirement, and just generally a more united, sound world.

How much Spanish literature have you read?

There is no (decent) Spanish literature. You will not find any depth in it. The language is broke in that it is only worthwhile in spoken conversation, and that's it. Yet you people expect it to dominate other countries and spread spread spread all through America?

Whatever.

[LTEC!]

Originally posted by Wiglaf


You said:

[There is no (decent) Spanish literature. You will not find any depth in it. The language is broke in that it is only worthwhile in spoken conversation, and that's it. Yet you people expect it to dominate other countries and spread spread spread all through America?

Most probably none that you know of. The US Board of Education has real problems with students learning English, why would they bother letting them know there are in fact other worthwhile languages to learn?

[Apocalypse]

Even though I have many reason to hate Spanish, I must say that there are significant works that are written in Spanish. People have named some already. Wiglaf, just be quite a learn a foreign language. I feel sorry for all those europeans who have had to learn English as a second language and I think it should be common courtesy to learn one of their languages, whether it be Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, etc.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by paiktis22
The world's lingua franca is english.

Ironically, lingua franca litterally means "French language." The world's French language is English.

[MrWhereItsAt]

I'm not wanting Spanish or any language to take over anything, Wiglaf - it is just the trend in the US that Spanish is becoming more and more noticeable, especially as more and more Spanish speakers immigrate. This is not some "Revolution" against any "Evil", or anything so black and white, but what may in fact be a necessity one day. In many countries of Europe, it is imperative to learn multiple languages. It gives you the means to communicate with many others, and a look at another culture that is quite frankly impossible if you don't know the language.

Latin, Greek and English "kick the living crap out of Spanish"? Where did this pearl of wisdom come from? I don't claim to know Latin or Greek, but English is a mass of illogic, borrowed terms and sheer confusion for anyone who tries to learn it. Yeah, I kinda like that in my language, but it hardly makes it "superior".

My greatest fear with English is the sort of dominance you allude to - a world where everyone speaks English, thus negating any need for any other language. How can you learn the finer points of ANY culture without the language as part and parcel? You can't. You may well think Spanish literature is lacking, but I really can't take you seriously if you deny Spanish and Hispanic culture . The dance, song, cuisine, history, personality, architecture, religion and identity of Spanish is phenomenal, and is intrinsically linked to the language. All cultures are. To deny the importance of Spanish and other cultures is ridiculous, and I hope you aren't this way inclined.

And you didn't even answer my question about whether you have read any Spanish literature. You seem to ignore that and just assume that it is "broken", and somehow the fact that you think so makes it unimportant. Are you arguing about something from a position of total ignorance?

WTF?

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I'm still looking forward to Giancarlo posting in this thread.

Oh my, can you imagine? Should we PM him or something? I'm going to go get some popcorn.

My advice still remains, Wiggums. Medical help. Lots of it.

[KrazyHorse]

Wiggy's already pissed off Giancarlo on more than one occasion.

[MrWhereItsAt]

So I take it this isn't an inspired conclusion that has suddenly been reached after much careful thought but a continuation of an old thread that has frustrated those who tried to put across their POV?

Ah well. It was fun whilst I was deluded into thinking my posts were being taken seriously.

[Giancarlo]

Krazyhorse you guessed right. So based on wiggy's scale that Spanish is insignificant, I guess english even more so. Wiggy what have you been smoking today? Have you even attempted looking up literary works by Spanish authors?

Now, take this bull**** and shove up it your ass, because I am sick and tired of trolls. These aren't funny, and are downright offensive.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt
Ah well. It was fun whilst I was deluded into thinking my posts were being taken seriously.

Your posts being taken seriously? By Wiggy?!?!

The only thing that deserves to be taken seriously in regard to Wiglaf is his serious medical condition: Cranial-Rectal Impaction.

[KrazyHorse]

How can you respond seriously to a claim like "Spanish is insignificant and has never produced anything worthwhile"?

[Bereta_Eder]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


Ironically, lingua franca litterally means "French language." The world's French language is English.

ahahahahaha And even more ironically, it is true

[Giancarlo]

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/iberian/Spanishauthors18th.html

That link just made you look like an ******* wiggy, those are Spanish authors from just the 18th century. I would shut up if I were you.

[MrWhereItsAt]

KrazyHorse - I'm drunk. That's how.


Won't make that mistake again.

G'night Wiggy. Happy trolling.