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Old 12-29-2005   #18 (permalink)
Brian
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Posts: 1,083
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mynamy1
Congratulation for your complete Americanization in such a short time! Do you also develop the taste for instant coffee, instant cycled biofiltration and instant democracy too?. Learning another language must be also the inclusion of literature and history. Without them, the ability is known as soulessness and shalowness.

The current romanization of the written Vietnamese was a Portugese-based, not French. The French borrowed and introduced this system as so to ease the colonization and forced Christianity. The romanization is so good that I read newspaper to my father even before elementary school! The bad news is that I've lost my root! I can no longer tell the words' origin! The discovery of a Vietnamese-Chinese dictionary shocked and angered me: so many many Chinese root words here! How sick! Further the understanding with reading and learning history .... now I know to accept and broaden my knowledge and understanding. About 80% of Vietnamese words have their root from China, and that is the fact! Nothing one can do anything about it.

So, Steve, why don't you write a simple "all-Vietnamese" sentense for the board to see. Then I shall tell you which words have Chinese root! Don't feel bad, as 50 to 55% of "English" is directly or indirectly derives from Latin. Don't believe me? Try to open any "American" dictionary!

I think I rest my case. MA Le
Wow! This is getting interesting...you kind of remind me of the father from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" that was always challenging people to give him a word in English so that he could prove to them that the root of the word was Greek!

Anyway, I see your point, even though I don't agree with it. If you're up for it, I'll put a sentence up in Japanese for you. I've studied both languages (even though my Mandarin never got beyond beginner level) so I know that there are many differences that exist that don't make the languages compatible.
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