Language+Learning

toc **There is a long-standing saying told about the people of the United States that is a sad reflection on our culture and education:** //What is a person who knows three languages//? - //**trilingual**//. //What is a person who knows two languages//? - //**bilingual**//. //What is a person who knows only one language?// - //**American**//.

 //"Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.//" You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once. (Czech proverb) **It is said that the best and easiest time to learn another language is before you become an adult...** **but it's never too late!** =Languages= ||= [|Chinese] (Mandarin) ||= [|Spanish] ||= [|Hindi] ||= [|Arabic] ||= Urdu ||= [|Greek] ||= [|German] || or Good Day! ||= Ni hao (Nee HaOW) **你好** ||= ¡Hola! (OH-lah) ||= Namaste (Nah-mah-STAY) **हैलो** ||= Al salaam a'alaykum (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom) **مرحبا ** ||= Aadaab (Ah-DAAB) ||= Kalimera (Kah-lee-MEH-rah) (GOOT-en Tahk) || or I am ... ||= Wo-duh ming-d'zih ... (Woh teh ming tsuh) **我的名字是** ||= Me llamo ... (May YAH-moh) ||= Mera naam hai (MEH-ra nahm hi) **मेरा नाम _**__**है**__ ||= Ismi ... (ISS-mee) **اسمي هو** ||= Meraa naam ___ hay. ||= To honoma moo... (Toh HO-no-MA MOO) (Ich HI-sah) || (Coh-moh tay YAH-mahs) ||=  ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   || (Moo-choh GOOSE-toh) ||=  ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   || =Alphabets= 26 letters, based on  the [|Latin alphabet]. Written from left to right. The most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. Evolved from a variety of the [|Greek alphabet], and was initially developed by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. ||= **[|Pinyin]** [|Written Chinese] //has no alphabet.// Currently the most commonly used system for translating //spoken// Mandarin is Pinyin. Based on [|characters] (symbols representing words and ideas rather than sounds). Full literacy in the Chinese language requires a knowledge of approximately 3,000 - 4,000 characters :) ||= **[|Spanish Alphabet]** 27 letters, based on the [|Latin alphabet] with an additional letter, eñe (ñ). Although the letters (k) and (w) are part of the alphabet, they appear mostly in [|loanwords.] Some letters are marked with accents (á, é, í, ó, ú, ü). [|Inverted question and exclamation marks] (¿¡) are also used in writing. ||= **[|Hindi -] [|Abugida] Alphabet** 48 basic letters plus additional [|diacritics] (similar to accent marks). Written from left to right. Does not have capital vs. lowercase letters. Can be recognized by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that connects them together. ||= **[|Arabic Alphabet]** 28 basic letters. Written and read from **right to left**, in a cursive style. The second-most widely used alphabet around the world. ||= **[|Urdu Alphabet]** **[|Nasta'liq script.]** ? # of letters. (Controversy over the total and correct number of letters in Urdu alphabet has been raging for over 200 years!) Written and read from **right to left**, it is a modification of the Persian and Arabic alphabets. ||= **[|Greek Alphabet]** 24 letters. Shows each vowel and consonant with a separate symbol. Descended from the [|Phoenician alphabet]. Its letters are today used as [|symbols in mathematics and science], as names of stars, in the names of fraternities and sororities , and for other purposes. ||= **[|German Alphabet]** 26 letters, based on <span class="wiki_link_ext"> the [|Latin alphabet]. Additionally uses three letters with [|umlauts] and one [|ligature]: (ä, ö, ü ) [|ß] (called //eszett// (sz) or //scharfes S//, sharp s) ||
 * You can be the generation that turns this around so that we are not the target of a joke, but world-class leaders in communication!**
 * = English (American)
 * = == Hello! ==
 * Καλημέρα** ||= Guten Tag
 * = == My name is... ==
 * το όνομά μου είναι** ||= Ich heisse ...
 * = == What is your name? == ||=  ||= ¿Cómo te llamas?
 * = == **Nice to meet you.** == ||=  ||= Mucho gusto.
 * = **How Are You?** ||=  ||= ¿Como Esta? ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||
 * = **[|English Alphabet]**
 * [|Devanāgarī script.]**
 * Note: **Urdu, Greek, and German were chosen to list here because we have members of our wiki who are "experts" in these languages and they can share their knowledge with us. Chinese, Spanish, Hindi - Urdu, and Arabic were chosen because they are consistently listed in the top 5 future languages of the world. Eventhough we offer [|French] as an Encore course at LDMS, I just couldn't fit it in the chart. (No offense Mrs. Gleason!)
 * Note: **Urdu, Greek, and German were chosen to list here because we have members of our wiki who are "experts" in these languages and they can share their knowledge with us. Chinese, Spanish, Hindi - Urdu, and Arabic were chosen because they are consistently listed in the top 5 future languages of the world. Eventhough we offer [|French] as an Encore course at LDMS, I just couldn't fit it in the chart. (No offense Mrs. Gleason!)

=[|The Future Global Language Election]=
 * Take Part in the World's First Global Election of Languages! -** http://www.freewebs.com/international-languages/

=Related Links=

[|Discovery Student Adventures]
==
 * Visit the link to explore the world virtually, or i****n person! Pack your curiosity and go!**

Flags of the World
[|Flag of the World]
 * Did you know there are actually //World// Flags?** Check out the links below for more info.

[|World Unity Flag]

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">National Standards = =<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> From the [|National Standards for Foreign Language Education] & [|The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Standard 4.1:** Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the languages studied and their own.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Standard 5.1:** Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Standard 5.2:** Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.

= References = http://www.vistawide.com/languages/top_30_languages.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/bythenumbers/2004-02-26-future-language_x.htm http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=7540 http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm http://www.ipl.org/div/hello/ http://www.iconspedia.com/ http://www.icondrawer.com http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hindi.htm || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">
 * =[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png width="50" height="39"]]= || [|Google Translate] http://translate.google.com/?hl=en&sl=en&tl=ar#

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