Why we have different languages and ...?

[Ilyas_Kashmiri]

Why cant we just haveone language one currency one country one flag one belife and no war? Let's promote love kindness an tolerance and stop the hate in the name of GOD because GOD loves everyone. Dictionary is the only place where DEATH comes before LIFE, SUCESS before WORK and DIVORCE before MARRIAGE, but the best part is FRIEND comes before LOVER. We need to b friendly first and then take things to the next level, just like learning how to speak. First get to know the words and then make sence out of it.

[Jamie (K)]

We can't have one currency, one country and one flag, because people's local interests don't coincide with other people's local interest. Besides that, some countries are outrageously corrupt, and people in the more orderly countries don't want those corrupt potentates to have any part in ruling them. Another problem is that people in some countries want more personal and economic freedom than people in other countries do. The French may like the business and labor laws in their country, for example, but if anyone imposed a French-style system on the Americans, we would throw them out of office in the next election. (Wait and see!)

Different religions have different concepts of God. Some religions believe in a loving God who calls for forgiveness, and others believe in a vengeful God that calls for them to subjugate people and even cut their heads off. The only way to manage that would be to somehow convert the people in the warlike religion to the peaceful religion, and that won't happen.

[Ilyas_Kashmiri]

I agree with everything you said. I was just letting my imagination run wilde and fantasising a bit. "What if" all that happens and w can somehow convert the so clled WarLike religion peple to peaceful I think thats what God wants from us too "Live in Love and Peace". I know all this can only cometrue in La La Land. Thanks again for such a nice reply.

[Jamie (K)]

The best example of what happens when everybody tries to get together and discuss things is that big international catastrophe called the United Nations. It's a huge sink hole of corruption, and many of its programs are run by people who consider it their religious duty to exterminate other people.

My religion says that God wants us to live and love in peace, but what do you do with people whose religion tells them to subjugate or kill all infidels? There are people, for example, who believe that God will reward them if they die while massacring large numbers of Jews, Americans or Europeans. Those people have to be converted to a different religion before they'll behave peacefully, if they ever do.

[Infin1ty]

Hello, Nice to meet you, Ilyas_Kashmiri and nice to see you again, Jamie. Since God has been mentioned here, I have a silly question to ask you. In many American movies and TV series I've seen before, characters in plays always quote from the Holly Bible. e.g. In one of my favourite movie -- <<The Shawshank Redemption>>, the warden asked Andy: Any favourite passages? And Andy said: Watch ye, therefore, for ye know not... Then the warden can immediately tell that it belongs to Mark 13:35 as if he could remember each single word of the Book. Here comes my question: Are there many of Americans can recite the Bible?(or they only choose their favourite passages to keep in mind?) I know this question seems rather stupid, I confused the real life with TV plays. Just out of curiosity. Many thanks and sincerely wish you have a nice day!
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[Ilyas_Kashmiri]

Infin one tea I really appreciate you taking your time out and typing what was on your mind. I think Jamie is a better scholar on this religion stuff. I hope he will get to read this and give us some of his logic. On the other note I may toss my 2 cents on this topic and that is we can try converting the ones who are believed to be the "WarLike" type and who think that they can be the judge of which person is a infidel and who is not. I personally think that if we take that much pain for our own actions and ways of life and keep ourselves on the right track and let God worry about the infidels and what he wants to do with them after all there is a judgment day to come where everyone will be sent to the proper destination i.e. Hell or Heaven. If we decide to convert people not by Sword (Gun power these days) but by inspiration I think this world can be a good place to live.

[Infin1ty]

Thank you for your reply, and for sharing us your opinion as well. 'Infin one tea', that's interesting. : ) I put 1(one) there instead of i simply because the pronunciation of 1(one) is the same as [i:] in Chinese. I dislike wars either. Soldiers have to risk their lifes to defend their promised land. And suicide bombing definitely should be one of things that I want it disappear most. 'We all live under the same sun, we all walk under the same moon, then why, why can't we live as one?' (no mistakes, so obviously, it's not my words. I quote from a song named under the same sun). I hope that what you said (world can be a good place to live) could come trun, but there must be a long long way to go before it becomes real. Maybe one day the aliens from out space come to attact us then all the terrans would become one and defend our planet. (Why did I suppose all the aliens are bad and gonna attack us...)

P.S. I like the sentence in your former post very much -- Dictionary is the only place... And I used it as my signature on another forum.
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[Jamie (K)]

Infin1ty, there are a lot of Americans who can quote many, many portions of the Bible, and if they can't quote them directly, they can explain the story contained in any particular part. They can also tell you which book of the Bible the text is in, and often which chapter. Sometimes they can quote the exact chapter and verse, as the warden did in the movie you saw.

Of course, the Bible is a huge book, so no normal person -- even an intelligent one who is good at memorizing -- can remember the whole Bible this way, but they remember strategic parts.

The real prodigies at this are the Protestants, because many of them believe that the pages of the Bible itself are the ONLY source of religious truth. Members of Protestant denominations that believe this train their children and their converts to cite the Bible in exact detail in this way.

Members of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations are not as good at quoting the Bible as the Protestants are, partly because they believe that religious truth comes not only from the Bible, but also from the sacred oral and written tradition of the church. I can name a few passages, such as the one that says that people shouldn't make of big public spectacle of their prayer and alms giving, the one that says that good works are one of the necessities for salvation, and the one that says that the church (not scripture) is the "pillar and bulwark of the truth". Beyond that, I have to look through the index and flip through the pages to find what I want.

[Infin1ty]

Thank you very much for such an impressive response, Jamie. Now I believe that not only are you an professor of linguistics(believe that not only you are? Confused.), but you are a scholar of religions as well. (And also familiar with politics. : ) I've read alot of your previous posts here before I drew this conclusion.) I've learnt alot from your posts and I'm look forward to seeing more posts from you. Many thanks. Have a nice day!
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[Ilyas_Kashmiri]

In Fin One Tea I think you are a very funny person (don't know ifyou are a girl Garfield or a Boy one the Tux is hieding all important parts. ) Well getting back to the topic yes you are right about the Aliens we all think they are going to invade us and they are bad some of us don't even belive in them that they even exist. I was once obducted by a alien flying saucer and I saw what these beings have under the Tux. Some of them looked like Odie and some were like a big fat lazy Orange tiger striped Cat with droopy or I will say sleepy eyes. Well I don't remember all because when I woke up I was on this forum. I am so confused about one thing I hope you or Jamie may be able to put some light on it.
Why the people who were born in USA or England and have English as their "Mother Tounge" and has english as their native language on this post. Isn't this forum for people who have English as their Second Language? I can understand the presence of the teachers but what about the rest of the crowd are they here to have fun on the expence of our broken english?

[Infin1ty]

Hi Ilyas Kashmiri, I think you also have a great sense of humor, don't you? I'm a boy Garfield that can be proved by the voice message I uploaded. Well, I've already gave my answer to your question. Please take a look at this: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic36186.html

You said:"our broken english". But I think your English is far more better than mine.
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[Kitosdad]

Ilyas, I am English, and I registered on this Forum :-

a) to try to improve my English grammar and help some young children in Germany with their English homework. This has proven to be rather a waste of my time as their English programme is well within the bounds of my present grasp of English grammar. ie, Past, Present and Future tenses only.

b) Having registered and read through the posts, I realised that I was able to HELP quite a few people to better understand the English language.

I am not a teacher, and I do realise my limitations ,and would therefore NEVER reply to a post that I wasn't " qualified " to reply to.

ps. I'm fairly certain that people who give up their valuable free-time here do so with the best of intentions, and I don't think that they are here to scoff at non-native speakers.

However, I do think that one or two non-native speakers, having become quite proficient, do tend to " talk-down " to some others, and at times appear quite confronational. Just my opinion.

Kitosdad.
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[Gray]

In psychology, there is such a thing as raising and bringing down the walls between minds. This is quite natural for we humans -- when a group of people come together ...in a family, society, nation or world, it results into those walls. It doesn't mean that those walls are evil. They are necessary too. But at times we should be able to bring down those.

PS: This could be too general and hence subject to misinterpretation
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First lesson - English, not english. I, not i. ~A student of English

[Berlinder]

I am here to say Hallo again Dear Ilyas.
This ELN is like a labyrinth to me. I do not know where is the beginning and where the end, like the universe. To enter the Forum I use the URL address I have saved extra. But it leads always to the same page or site. Other wise it will be a long list of all members. I have to turn over page after page to meet you. I took a short-cut with Google and found you with your contribution: “Why we have different languages!”

I thought first you are going to explain the evolution and the creation of mankind with particular emphasis on different languages. In fact I have not yet met with such a dissertation or thesis about evolution and more explaining the accruement or development.

One thing in nature is true, there are no two things which are exactly equal. Two things may be similar but at no time and no where 100% equal. Not even one-cell-twins, two breasts of a woman, anything for that matter.

Is there anything which can prevail against the rule of nature? The nature knows only diversity and unity is only a metaphor or a temporary phase in a timeless universe. If you bring down to single item of human character, again no two will have the same character, because every character of a human will be directed by the Gen, which are in every body quiet different. To demonstrate concurrence and envying is again the nature’s work integrated in DNA. Certain kinds of unity are only temporary like the members of a sport team. Like different continents there will be different countries, different races and so on so forth. Different languages and dialects are the creation of nature. I have not yet seen any one who has created a new language in the classical sense with innumerable vocabulary. Within one country or one State there will be different languages and dialects.

There were always wars in human history. There was no single period when there was no war in one part of the earth or the other. It is only a wishing thought, unfortunately.

Your Examples of Dictionary is OK by coincidence only with Latin-Script languages, but not Arabic, Persian, Jewish or Indian languages. It fits only your wish-thought. However it is a nice point of view. One another similar example is: ‘there cannot be women without men’! You got it?

Well, I dared to convey you my reflections about your thesis in the Forum. But this is certainly not a thesis of my own. I do not possess all the needed knowledge nor the capacity of varied various information bundles even a little bit. Here is my knowledge exhausted, I can say.

See you later,

[Someone]