P*rl in Latin, whither Python?

[Steve Lamb]

On 12 Nov 2000 17:04:50 -0800, Samuel A. Falvo II <kc5tja at garnet.armored.net>
wrote:
>For example, I have an extremely hard time learning another language.  I
>took six years of Italian while I was in junior and senior highschool.  I
>can't even remember how to count to 50, much less how to hold an intelligent
>conversation in it.  I'm sure Esperanto would be the same, or worse, with
>me.  And, I suspect, a lot of other people.

    Not too sure about that.  I can't remember how to count past 12 in German
from my HS days but that is because, like English, it has odd ways to say
things beyond 10.  I suspect the same for Italian.  Esperanto, OTOH, does not.
I can count to 999,999 but that is only because I haven't learned the
Esperanto word for million yet.  Everything is regular.  For example.

1-10 = unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses, sep, ok, naux, dek

    You know have everything to count to 99 which is not the case in English
(or German, et al).  Examples:

English: 11 = Eleven.  The English words for 1-10 don't prepare you for
"Eleven".  Nor Twelve or Thirteen.  

Esperanto: 11 = dek unu.  Literally, "ten one".  Twelve is dek du, ten two.
Thirteen is dek tri.

English: 20 = twenty.  Again, nothing preceeding it prepares you for it.

Esperanto: 20 = dudek.  "Twoten".  So anyone want to play Blackjack, er, I
mean, dudek unu?  :)

Look at the difference in the written forms and you'll see what I mean:

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 
unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses, sep, ok, naux, dek, 

eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eightteen,
nineteen, 
dek unu, dek du, dek tri, dek kvar, dek kvin, dek ses, dek sep, dek ok, 
dek naux, 

twenty
dudek

   There is some regularity to the English side but clearly not as much as
Esperanto.  Anyway, point of all this was to just show that Esperanto might be
easier for the old dogs in the crowd to pick up.  I have no question that I'm
able to learn it, just keeping motivated and finding people to practice with
are the main inhibitors.

-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
         ICQ: 5107343          | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
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