tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post5068967205038473561..comments2023-10-09T21:49:57.366+09:00Comments on Page F30: How to properly ascertain the "value" of a languageMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-25110171789364212922011-03-07T14:00:59.944+09:002011-03-07T14:00:59.944+09:00[continued]Italian, language of a rich country in ...[continued]<br><br>Italian, language of a rich country in decline, and Portuguese, language of a poor country climbing in the ranks (and a more or less irrelevant rich country in decline), hold roughly the same "value".<br><br>It is true that I did not factor in language's ease of learning and similarity to other languages. I could, if I wanted to, using this list:<br><br>http://Matthttp://matthewschwartz.webs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-68980473720198108552011-03-07T14:00:59.038+09:002011-03-07T14:00:59.038+09:00Sure, I'd be very interested in seeing the ran...Sure, I'd be very interested in seeing the rankings. It looks like a fairly comprehensive look at the value of the languages themselves, and it would be interesting to take the data and factor in ease of learning + the ability to transfer to other languages. I had a fairly easy time learning Korean after first learning Japanese for example (Japanese took three years and Korean half that). I&#데이빛 / Mithridateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-43295630745616078242011-03-07T14:00:58.793+09:002011-03-07T14:00:58.793+09:00What about the value of language that comes from ...What about the value of language that comes from its beauty, its uniqueness? Or the culture it is connected to? If everyone chooses what language to learn based on its economic power, then what happens to powerless endangered languages?Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06783212430129841944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-76399950439187094372011-03-07T14:00:58.460+09:002011-03-07T14:00:58.460+09:00That's why the word value is in parenthesis, b...That's why the word value is in parenthesis, because the real value of a language doesn't come from its economic power alone. Personal interest trumps all other reasons.데이빛 / Mithridateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-38727853148396697952010-10-14T09:53:05.539+09:002010-10-14T09:53:05.539+09:00>If you want to make more money, invest your ti...>If you want to make more money, invest your time and energy directly into the skill that you provide.<br /><br />Nobody said learning a language is the key to making money. This is more for those who are learning a language anyway and for somewhat selfish reasons, and who don't want to learn one and then find out that another would have been much better for their field of work.<br /><br /Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-9482811455893605382010-10-14T09:27:41.769+09:002010-10-14T09:27:41.769+09:00These economic arguments are senseless. If you wan...These economic arguments are senseless. If you want to make more money, invest your time and energy directly into the skill that you provide. Learning a language is the most round about and inefficient way to increase your salary. Why not get good at your job? Has anyone actually gotten rich by learning foreign languages compared to investing time in their own business or becoming a qualified Bryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13164617843762806572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-53560568746178675172010-01-03T02:19:03.122+09:002010-01-03T02:19:03.122+09:00That's why the word value is in parenthesis, b...That's why the word value is in parenthesis, because the real value of a language doesn't come from its economic power alone. Personal interest trumps all other reasons.Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-31223659882249690312010-01-03T02:16:49.453+09:002010-01-03T02:16:49.453+09:00What about the value of language that comes from ...What about the value of language that comes from its beauty, its uniqueness? Or the culture it is connected to? If everyone chooses what language to learn based on its economic power, then what happens to powerless endangered languages?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783212430129841944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-90856527246150713642009-11-30T01:03:23.799+09:002009-11-30T01:03:23.799+09:00I learned Indonesian for a lot of reasons, many of...I learned Indonesian for a lot of reasons, many of which are similar to your article.<br /><br />First, it's the easiest non-Indo-European language for Westerners to learn - it has a sophisticated but simple and expressive grammar, it's written using a subset of the Roman alphabet, and it's (almost) completely phonetic (and the one irregularity, whether "e" is pronounced as Tom Ritchfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009479916609344352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-17814813551957206962009-11-29T22:40:53.289+09:002009-11-29T22:40:53.289+09:00Well, I sent it to your email address.
Make sure ...Well, I sent it to your email address.<br /><br />Make sure you open it in Microsoft Word; previewing it in HTML in Gmail screws up the formatting...Matthttp://matthewschwartz.webs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-66760010949000498882009-11-29T18:14:39.824+09:002009-11-29T18:14:39.824+09:00Sure, I'd be very interested in seeing the ran...Sure, I'd be very interested in seeing the rankings. It looks like a fairly comprehensive look at the value of the languages themselves, and it would be interesting to take the data and factor in ease of learning + the ability to transfer to other languages. I had a fairly easy time learning Korean after first learning Japanese for example (Japanese took three years and Korean half that). I&#Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-1654984253311954642009-11-29T17:51:28.443+09:002009-11-29T17:51:28.443+09:00[continued]
Italian, language of a rich country i...[continued]<br /><br />Italian, language of a rich country in decline, and Portuguese, language of a poor country climbing in the ranks (and a more or less irrelevant rich country in decline), hold roughly the same "value".<br /><br />It is true that I did not factor in language's ease of learning and similarity to other languages. I could, if I wanted to, using this list:<br /><br Matthttp://matthewschwartz.webs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-36188470069991843692009-11-29T17:50:41.451+09:002009-11-29T17:50:41.451+09:00I've actually spent many, many, many hours usi...I've actually spent many, many, many hours using quantitative measures to objectively "calculate" the world's languages with the most theoretical "value" (other than English). I experimented with different factors, such as Internet presence, economic influence, geographic distribution, growth rate, life expectancy, cultural heritage, political relevance, military Matthttp://matthewschwartz.webs.comnoreply@blogger.com