Tapescripts

ANTHONY:

Well, it seems to me that some languages are easier to learn than others. I mean, what about if you had to learn Japanese? I don't really think that as an English speaker I could learn to speak Japanese as easily as I could learn...er...say Italian. I mean for a start I'd have to learn a completely new writing system, and there'd be hardly any words which are the same in English and Japanese. Do you see what I mean, Sally?

SALLY:

Yes, but at least Japanese is a living language - ha...I mean millions of people speak it in Japan. So I think it's true to say that learning it would be useful and relevant. But Latin or Ancient Greek are languages that nobody speaks. I mean, don't you agree that learning a dead language is a bit of a waste of time? Some students find them interesting, but I don't really believe that there's any practical value at all in learning classical languages, do you, Bill?

BILL:

Not really. But you know what I think? I think that if you learn a foreign language in your own country, it's quite difficult to appreciate the relevance of any language. I think this is particularly true if you're learning a language at school, where...er...studying languages sometimes doesn't seem relevant - any more than history or literature seem relevant. And don't you agree that...if your only contact with the language is in the classroom and you only speak and hear it there, you may forget all about it between lessons? So each new lesson begins...um...with time spent trying to remember what you did in the last lesson, doesn't it, Julie?

JULIE:

Yes, but I think it's true to say that the reality for most people is that they have to learn foreign languages in classes in their own country.

It takes a very long time to learn a language. I...I don't really think that many people can just travel to the country where the language is spoken and live there. The point is that most people have to continue their studies, or earn a living, they…they can't afford to take time off living in another country for as long as it takes for them to learn the language, can they, Tom?

TOM:

No, but with a foreign language you never stop learning. You never reach a point where you can say: 'At the end of this course I'll know English and I can stop learning it.' It's a process that goes on and on -you can reach a certain level, or you can pass an exam or even get a university degree. But you still remain a learner all your life.

GUIDE:

… and the gypsies also had a whole system of communications of...of...way of communicating with each other as well. When they went from house to house around the country they left behind chalk marks on the wall ...um ... and these were messages for any other gypsies who came along later. Now, these signs were useful because, for one thing, many gypsies were illiterate in those days but also the signs couldn't be understood by the country people, they were only intelligible to the gypsies themselves.

Now, I'll show you some of the signs, I'll draw them on this board. Now, if there was a dog at the house, then they used this sign, see: a triangle. If it was a fierce dog, then they put a horizontal line through the triangle like this. If the people in the house were friendly, then they'd draw a circle like so.

Now, what do you think this meant? This is a circle with a dot in the middle. Now, I wonder what that meant?

MAN:

Angry? Angry neighbours?

GUIDE:

No, no, no. It meant 'friendly and generous people'. Now what about this? This is a circle with a dot in the middle and a line underneath and this means very friendly and very generous people. Now, this one, this is a circle with a horizontal line through it and this meant 'work to be had here'.

Now if a house was known to be unfriendly, they would leave a sign like this, this is a vertical line with two horizontal lines and that meant 'gypsies not liked', so they could steer clear of that one.

Now, I wonder what you think about this one? This is a very common one: it's a cross made with one vertical line and one horizontal line. What...what do you think that might have meant?

WOMAN:

No idea.

GUIDE:

Any ideas? It meant 'nothing to be had' at this house, so again they could...er...they could go on by and not waste their time knocking on the door. Um...here's another one. This is a circle with two horizontal lines and...er...probably fairly uncommon in those days, this one meant 'work available and good pay'. So they'd obviously stop there. Er...now, three horizontal lines — any ideas what that might be? No? Now, this was a very hopeful sign for a gypsy because this meant 'these people will buy from you' so it would be well worth your time stopping by here. Now, here's the last one: three slanting lines, like this. Anyone care to guess? This was a very important one for the gypsies. Three slanting lines means 'don't stop here because this place has been robbed'.