Foreign Language

Let's face it: in this country, people as a whole take a very negative attitude towards learning a foreign language. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that immigrants who migrate to the States haven't been lax themselves on learning our tongue, but that's another discussion for another day!
For my honeymoon this summer, we're going to France and the Czech Republic. My father (who speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Latin and rudimentary German) was kind enough to pick me up a phrase book on the Czech language and I must say, it's not an easy language to master. It's interesting that when expressing my concern over the language barrier to friends and general acquaintances, they give a wave of the hand and remark, "Oh, they speak English everywhere!"
Well, yes that is true but why can't we take time out to learn a few phrases here and there? I've been dabbling with the ROSETTA STONE LANGUAGE LIBRARY. It's a CD-ROM program and it uses pictures and sounds to teach phrases and key words. It's something of a Sesame Street (Or Rue de Sesame)for adults. I've been playing around with the German version myself, in spite of the fact that both countries I'm visiting don't use German for their native tongue. Now, there are a few pros and cons as should be expected with any technological devices.
Ok, the bad news: This program is EXPEN$IVE!! The software costs over $200 and that's just for one level. More bad news is that the program does not offer any English translations. One looks at a picture and just assume "Der Hund ist Gelb und die Katze ist schwarze" means "Dog is yellow and the cat is black."
So the good news is, the cost issue can be fixed as well as the ambiguity of the language. To save costs you can borrow the software from most libraries. OR there's an online version available from the New York Public Library's website. As long as you're a New York state resident, you can get a NYPL card and access some of the databases from home! As far as clearing up the ambiguity of the language, try out some of these translation sites through Altavista and Google.
Buenos suerte!

Children's Literature

Hi all, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Just wanted to bring a book to every one's attention. It's called Kiddie lit: the cultural construction of children's literature in America written by Beverly Lyon Clark. She illustrates several examples of how literature for children has long been frowned upon in our culture. The term "Kiddie Lit" is a cliche which is used condescendingly by individuals outside the field.
Clark discusses critics perceptions of books such as Tom Sawyer and how one such critic insisted that it "divorce itself" from the label of children's literature in order to be taken seriously. She also discusses Baum's Oz books and how the movie was held in such high regard because it was geared for adults and children. Conversely, the books were regarded as...well, childish.
Admittedly, the wording is quite heavy and readers may find themselves bored after a few chapters but her points are well grounded. I recommend this book for skimming purposes!