Re: THEORY: Hebrew revival (was: THEORY: Irish, and language death)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 4:26 AM
Subject: Re: THEORY: Hebrew revival (was: THEORY: Irish, and language death)


> Quoting Adam Walker <carrajena@...>:
>
> > --- "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...> wrote:
> >  Also,
> > > don't you think the very fact that Bible stories are
> > > so universally known, even by many nonreligious
> > > people, aids the young student on their first attempt at
> > > reading the original Biblical text?  As well known as
> > > Shakespeare is, most high school students couldn't tell you the
> > > ins and outs of _Titus Andronicus_ or _Timon of Athens_
> > > in the same way any child could tell you what happened to
> > > Samson and Delilah, or Moses and Pharaoh, or Noah and his
> > > Ark. I simply don't see how you can compare these two
> > > bodies of work.
> >
> > I don't think your offering comparable texts even now.
> >  If you want to compare knowledge of three of the BEST
> > known stories in the Bible with two of Shakesperes
> > LEAST known plays (who some even think misattributed
> > to Shakespeare), I don't think that's fair.  Compare
> > Moses with Romeo and Juliet.  Compare Titus Andronicus
> > with Shagmar.
>
> I dunno. I'd say Titus Andronicus is better known than that.
> There was a relatively well-received version starring Anthony Hopkins
> that came out just a few years ago that was reasonably popular.
> I do stand by my claim that, even in the case of Romeo and
> Juliet, the vast, vast majority of English-speakers could
> not give you plot summaries in the same way that many of
> them could of the more well-known events in the Bible.
>
Hmm...I think they could...not the whole plot, maybe, but the general
outline.  Girl falls in love with bloke, from warring families, murder
commited by bloke, bloke exiled, girl pretends to be dead, bloke comes back,
hears girl is dead, takes poison next to her, girl wakes up and commits
suicide.  I think that's the amount most people know.