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From: elna@netcom.com (Esperanto League N America)
Subject: Re: languages & happiness!!
Message-ID: <elnaE4uyFD.869@netcom.com>
Organization: Esperanto League for North America, Inc.
References: <853605030.2652@dejanews.com> <32eea40b.8908579@news.mindspring.com> <E4oFJK.IMF@nonexistent.com> <7fwwsyqt6s.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 05:40:24 GMT
Lines: 20
Sender: elna@netcom11.netcom.com

sdlee@cs.hku.hk (Lee Sau Dan ~{@nJX6X~}) writes in a recent posting (reference <7fwwsyqt6s.fsf@phoenix.cs.hku.hk>):
>
>Cantonese  has the  first property,  too!   Nowadays, many HK families
>employ female   household  workers  from  Philipines.   Those filipino
>ladies can  usually take up Cantonese  very quickly --  within  3 or 4
>months.
>
Perhaps Mr Lee's implied endorsement of Cantonese will prove prophetic: if
Cantonese is nearly as easy to learn as Esperanto *and* includes the 
built-in advantage of using the same written form as State-supported
Mandarin, perhaps Cantonese will become the International Language of
choice within a few generations!
But how easy is that writing system, Mr Lee? Are those filipino ladies
able to *read* anything after 4 months??

-- 
Miko SLOPER              elna@netcom.com              USA  (510) 653 0998
Direktoro de la          ftp.netcom.com:/pub/el/elna   fax (510) 653 1468 
Centra Oficejo de la     Learn Esperanto! Free lessons: e-mail/snail-mail
Esperanto-Ligo de N.A.   Write to above address or call:  1-800-ESPERANTO
