[geeks] New Tech Schools: Digital Harbor in Baltimore

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: der Mouse <mouse at Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA>
" 
" >> I have one friend who is fluent in something like eight western
" >> European tongues and can get by in all but one of the rest.  (The
" >> exception is, IIRC, Hungarian.)
" > i'm not sure hungarian counts as a western language; it's related to
" > finnish, turkish, and mongolian.
" 
" Yeah, Finno-Ugric.  Isn't Estonian in there somewhere too?

yes, and lapp, and a shotgun-blast of langs all across the former
soviet union.  i recall reading that during the soviet era all the
estonians who wanted to know the real news watched finnish tv; tallinn
is just across the gulf of finland from helsinki and the languages are
close enough for the motivated.

" I suppose Hungarian really is getting over into central Europe more
" than western Europe.

beyond; it's not even indo-european.

" The linguist in question is Finnish, and once told me (about Hungarian)
" something like "the rhythms and lilt are dead ringers for Finnish - if
" I don't listen to it, it sounds like Finnish, but if I pay attention, I
" can't make out a word of it".  A rather disorienting experience,
" apparently.

it would sure freak me out.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought