Who Else Knoes a Secret Language?

[The_Tick]

Fluent ASL.

I wouldn't say that I get "pissed" when someone tells me that they can Sign, but it bothers me when someone tells me that they can Sign and all they know is the alphabet. That isn't Sign Language. That is finger spelling.

And yes...it is always funny when you tell me that you know Sign Language and then toss me the bird. Hilarious.

[woot]

Is anyone as special as me?

All the show-offs with their Spanish and whatever else that was in the Religion forum reminded me of something. I know a (written) language that can, in my estimation, be read by only a few thousand people on the earth. As many returned missionaries from Asian missions know, you don’t start out learning the characters, but instead use a Romanization system, which represents each character with a alphabetized word. So the character 我, for example, which means “I”, is transcribed as “Wo” in Mandarin or “Ngoh” in Cantonese (ignoring the accent marks that the systems use). Native speakers never use this system, of course, and even native speakers who speak English can almost never look at a Romanized string of text and decipher it (we used to try sometimes).

So I went to Hong Kong, and learned Cantonese. Native speaking Chinese people cannot read the Romanization. Of foreigners who learn to speak Chinese, the vast majority learn Mandarin, so Cantonese Romanization (for a couple of linguistic reasons) is completely unintelligible to them. Also, unlike Mandarin, which has a standardized Romanization system, Cantonese has 3 or 4 systems in fairly wide use, so there are even a lot of foreigners who have learned Cantonese who cannot read my Romanization system. So outside of Mormon missionaries, I really can’t see there being more than a few thousand people who could read what I write in Romanization. For example, the sentence:

Bingo fongpei?

is immediately familiar to any Hong Kong RM, but a mystery to the rest of the world (it has nothing to do with Mormonism).

No real point to this. I just wanted to put you Spanish speakers in your place. I have had a persistent dream since my mission that the US gets in a war with Russia or Islamists or Martians, doesn’t matter the enemy, who is able to decipher all of the US codes until, reminiscent of the Navajo Windtalkers, the military recruits Hong Kong RMs to save the day by sending written communications in Cantonese Romanization.

So what does "Bingo fongpei?" mean? I'll go with "who farted?"

[Clark Addison]

So what does "Bingo fongpei?" mean? I'll go with "who farted?"

After one year, you win the prize! Actually, TheBYUGuy did, but he cheated by knowing the language. Did you find some translator somewhere, or do you just know missionaries well?

[woot]

After one year, you win the prize! Actually, TheBYUGuy did, but he cheated by knowing the language. Did you find some translator somewhere, or do you just know missionaries well?

I hung out with the Cantonese guys in my mission when I was an AP and vaguely recall that being a popular phrase. I'm surprised I remember it after 10 years. I thought the only thing I remembered was chopsticks. I can still say the name of the church and a couple other things in Mandarin, too.

[TheBYUGuy]

I hung out with the Cantonese guys in my mission when I was an AP and vaguely recall that being a popular phrase. I'm surprised I remember it after 10 years. I thought the only thing I remembered was chopsticks. I can still say the name of the church and a couple other things in Mandarin, too.

woot, in which mission were you an AP?

[woot]

woot, in which mission were you an AP?

'twas one of them canuck missions up der in hoser land. Many toques were worn; many buses were missed; much poutine was eaten.

[kccougar]

Is it true that Quechua speakers can talk while both inhaling and exhaling?

There's a kid in my ward that does that. Pretty funny actually. When he reads a scripture in church or gives a talk he doesn't pause when he takes a breath - just keeps plowing through.

[YOhio]

After one year, you win the prize! Actually, TheBYUGuy did, but he cheated by knowing the language. Did you find some translator somewhere, or do you just know missionaries well?

I knew the answer, too. I just didn't say so.

[il Padrino Ute]

I learned Quechua on my mission and worked in a Quechua area for about 5 months exclusively.

Try finding someone in the US that speaks Quechua. Actually, try finding someone in Bolivia that speaks Quechua.

I bet I could find someone who speaks Quechua that lives on the same street as me.

[falafel]

I learned Quechua on my mission and worked in a Quechua area for about 5 months exclusively.

Try finding someone in the US that speaks Quechua. Actually, try finding someone in Bolivia that speaks Quechua.

I think most of us could find someone who speaks Quechua. My friend learned it in Argentina.

[woot]

I personally know a half dozen people who speak Quechua, but only one of them natively. Such is life in an anthropology department.

[Solon]

I personally know a half dozen people who speak Quechua, but only one of them natively. Such is life in an anthropology department.

Is it true that a Quechua speaker can speak while inhaling? I heard this while I was in Bolivia and tried to eavesdrop on the Quechua women in the marketplace, but they always quit talking when I got too close.

[woot]

Is it true that a Quechua speaker can speak while inhaling? I heard this while I was in Bolivia and tried to eavesdrop on the Quechua women in the marketplace, but they always quit talking when I got too close.

Others here could answer that better than me. I've heard words and phrases but never an actual conversation. I don't hang out with the linguists much.