lundi 15 novembre 2010

which one ?

The use of would

Would is used to express a conditional situation

 -  I would go to Florida next spring if I had enough money to pay my trip
 - You would have more success in your restaurant if your menu was cheaper


The use of should

Should is the conditional of shall
It can be use to express a conditional situation, or an obligation, or a purpose 

-         I should have call him yesterday
-         you should not have bring chocolates
-         we hope nothing serious should occur during the expedition


The use of could

Could is the conditional of can

It can be used to express a possibility
- Look at your watch, You could have come on time !

 It can be used to express a permission
- Could I come tomorrow morning ?

It can be used to express a skill
- Despite its narcolepsy Could he stay up till midnight ?

is that true or false ?

samedi 13 novembre 2010

the Eyak language

This language had been spoken by hundred of Eyak people . They were living near the Copper River on the Pacific coast of Alaska until the end of the twentieth century.
They were indigenous of the southcentral of Alaska . Eyak people are still alive but nobody among them is able to speak a fluent and native  Eyak language.
The last person   who was able to speak this language as native is dead two years ago, her name was Marie Smith Jones .
This language has gradually disappeared under the pressure of migrations of people coming from other regions of Alaska  as Tlingit or others states and speaking English .
This language is still spoken by a few people and some of its words have been inserted in the Tlingit which is the language of Eyak people now.
The article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/native-eyak-language-may-_n_628265.html) describes how a young French linguist tried to learn Eyak language with the help of a documentary on DVD about Marie Smith Jones . The meeting he had later with her daughter was full of emotion.