NEED HELP! There's something I really don't understand....

[underpants]

Latin.

I have problems with other languages too, more on that later.

A Harvard athlete was once asked what was the hardest part of being an athlete at a prestigous institution such as Harvard and he said,

"The halftime speeches in Latin"

Another Crimson football player was once having a hard time understanding his coach's explanation of the then new NCAA 2-yard "halo rule" on punt coverage. He raised his hand and asked the coach,

"Is that 2 square yards or a 2 yard radius because if it is 2 square yards that is 36 sqare feet but if it a 2 yard radius that is 28.whatever sqaure feet..."

The football coach interrupted him and answered,

"It's two yards"

I took two years of Spanish and French (each) in intermediate and highschool and this rich education experience came together in one glorious moment.

First day of senior year, fresh out of a summer of pool parties and beer I am in French class with a different teacher and all of my friends. This teacher was a woman born in Poland, raised in Germany, and teaching French to kids who only had to show up in order to graduate and go off to college. She began the day speaking French and only French. I'm sitting there in the fog of the traditional first day of senior year cocktails trying not only to understand a language I had not thought about in 3 months but also trying to wade through her complicated accent. On and on she went and finally she stopped and apparently posed a question to me.

I obviously had no idea what she said (my friend sitting next to me snickered as he could sense the momentum of embarassment building) in a panic my brain decided that I should simply reply, "I don't know". I sat up straight and proud and declared,

"No se!"

Which of course is (I think) Spanish for "I am not". The relationship soured from there and I transferred out to take yearbook or creative writing, some trash course like that.

Lastly I really hate when the talking heads use Latin phrases such as "mea culpa" of "fait accompli" to make themselves sound smarter.

This is America DAMMIT! Speak Spanish!

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Correctamundo!

(Edited to restore a deleted section)

No se does mean "I don't know" in Spanish. No soy... is the way you say "I am not ...".

I like languages; Spanish, French, Latin, Esperanto, and my new project, Basque. Which, incidentally, influenced Spanish.

Your teacher was a dolt.

Most foreign phrases have very legitimate uses. The commentariat love to use foreign language in their rhetoric because it makes them sound "learn-ed". For instance, William Buckley, founder of the National Review, was a complete fool for Latinisms. I think it reflects the profound insecurity many right-wingers have when it comes to their intellectual skills. They want to be elite AND populist at the same time. The result is the linguistic atrocity exhibition.

--bkl

[underpants]

2. Damn you'd think I would have gotten the curve grading on that

All these years I thought I was completely wrong, turns out I was on half wrong.

:grr:

[dawg]

3. I think this thread is prima facia evidence ...

that the status quo is indicative of a quid pro quo between the neuvo riche and the bourgeousie.

[underpants]

4. touche'

Dande esta la bibliotheque?

[pansypoo53219]

5. sigh

habla un pequeno espqanol. damn my dislexia.

[Richardo]

6. My father in law tells a story on himself - taking college Spanish ...

...the teacher called on him to say something and he did not hear her so he apologized: "Me siento" which caused huge laughs.

"Lo siento" = Sorry

"Me siento" = "I feel myself"

[underpants]

7. Funny, the Divinyls video pretty much got me through basic training

"I touch myself"