Re: French (was Re: Re: Optimum number of symbols)

Gotta jump in on this...  It's exactly because you
have to pronounce the Spanish verb endings that makes
it more difficult *to speak*.  I don't have to think
about it much in French.  And there are strange things
that go on in Spanish verbs.  Eg In French there is no
present progressive: "It rains" and "It is raining"
are both "Il pleut."  However, in Spanish you have to
say "esta lluviendo" though the first thing in your
head may well be "llovas".

Clint


--- Roger Mills <romilly@...> wrote:
> Kendra wrote:
> >Huzzah for Spanish! The more I hear about Spanish,
> the happier I am to be
> >taking it next year, after the pronunciation
> nightmare of french >
>
> No pron. nightmares in Spanish that I can think of;
> but you will still have
> gender problems, as in "está enfermo ~está enferma"
> 'he ~she is sick'; _you_
> will have to say "estoy cansada" 'I'm tired' but I
> say "estoy cansado";
> greater use (in speaking) of the preterit and
> subjunctive tenses.  I'm not
> sure I agree with Christophe as to whether Span. has
> more irregular verbs
> than French.......at least you pronounce all the
> endings (and don't
> generally use personal pronouns).  Generally the
> same verbs are irreg. in
> Span. as in French (though in different ways,
> naturally); just as most Span
> nouns have the same gender as in Fr. with minor
> exceptions. Knowing one
> Romance lang. helps greatly in learning another.
> (snip)
>
> >...though there are extensive
> >discussions about creating third-person gender
> neutral pronouns for
> english,
> >like xe/xir, hey/hem/heir, and so forth.
>
> The one I really like was introduced (without
> success, of course) by Marge
> Piercy in her lovely novel "Woman at the Edge of
> Time"-- _per_, used for
> subject/object, _pers_ possessive. (< person, of
course)


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