Morse Code is often taught by singing, (cadences, for example) surprisingly enough. Having a good "ear" is indispensable. I heard 22 khz at one time.

I remember total immersion learning, since I spent a fair part of my very early childhood in Europe. I was in Nevers, France, on the Loire River the longest, I think. I actually 'thought' in Francaise, and then later, Deutch,

Now, I think the brain has dumped it into "offline storage" much like my Morse/CW. I would probably recover some of it if I had to travel again.

Morse, in Norse? Jolly Olde Fun. Not.

Morse, in Norse? Jolly Olde Fun. Not.

How about this Norse in Morse:
..-. .- - .... . .-. ...- .- .-. ..-. .- - .... . .-. ...- .- .-. . ... . .-. - .. .... .. -- . -. .-. .. -.- .. --..-- ...- . .-. - .... .. -. .- ..-. -. - .... .. - - .... .. .-.. .- --. - - .. .-.. -.- --- -- . .-. .. -.- . - .... .. - - --..-- ...- .- .-. - .... .. ...- .. .-.. .. - .... .. -. ... ...- .- .- .. .- .-. - .... ..- ... . -- .. .... .. -- -. ..- -- .-.-.- --. . ..-. --- ... ... .. -.. .- --. -... .-. .- ..- - .... ...- --- .-. - -.. .- --. .-.. .. --. - --- -.- ..-. -.-- .-. --. . ..-. - .... ..- --- ... ... ... -.-- -. - .... . .-. --- .-. .- .-. --..-- ... . -- ...- . .-. ..-. -.-- .-. --. . ..-. --- -- - .... . .. -- . .-. ...- .. - .... --- ... ... .... .- ..-. .- -- .. ... --. . .-. - .-.. . .. - .... -.. --- ... ... . .. --. .. .. ..-. .-. . .. ... - -. .. --..-- .... . .-.. -.. .-. .-.. . -.-- ... - .... ...- --- ... ... ..-. .-. .- .- .-.. .-.. ..- .. .-.. .-.. ..- .-.-.-

Can you understand it?

Originally Posted by Poodle

I actually 'thought' in Francaise, and then later, Deutch...

That's not really as remarkable as it sounds. I started dreaming in Russian within the first month after I got there. Even my wife started thinking in it (limited by context and her vocabulary) before the first three months were out. Immersion does funny things to you. I still dream in it occasionally (last night, for ex.), and not that long ago, I came across Garret mumbling something about "дай-ка мне ещё немножка..." in his sleep. Once the modes of communication get in, they become just part of the toolkit.

Originally Posted by Adina

How about this Norse in Morse:
..-. .- - .... . .-. ...- .- .-. ..-. .- - .... . .-. ...- .- .-. . ... . .-. - .. .... .. -- . -. .-. .. -.- .. --..-- ...- . .-. - .... .. -. .- ..-. -. - .... .. - - .... .. .-.. .- --. - - .. .-.. -.- --- -- . .-. .. -.- . - .... .. - - --..-- ...- .- .-. - .... .. ...- .. .-.. .. - .... .. -. ... ...- .- .- .. .- .-. - .... ..- ... . -- .. .... .. -- -. ..- -- .-.-.- --. . ..-. --- ... ... .. -.. .- --. -... .-. .- ..- - .... ...- --- .-. - -.. .- --. .-.. .. --. - --- -.- ..-. -.-- .-. --. . ..-. - .... ..- --- ... ... ... -.-- -. - .... . .-. --- .-. .- .-. --..-- ... . -- ...- . .-. ..-. -.-- .-. --. . ..-. --- -- - .... . .. -- . .-. ...- .. - .... --- ... ... .... .- ..-. .- -- .. ... --. . .-. - .-.. . .. - .... -.. --- ... ... . .. --. .. .. ..-. .-. . .. ... - -. .. --..-- .... . .-.. -.. .-. .-.. . -.-- ... - .... ...- --- ... ... ..-. .-. .- .- .-.. .-.. ..- .. .-.. .-.. ..- .-.-.-

Can you understand it?

FATHERVARFATHERVARESERTIHIMENRIKI,VERTHINAFNTHITTH ILAGTTILKOMERIKETHITT,VARTHIVILITHINSVAAIARTHUSEMI HIMNUM.GEFOSSIDAGBRAUTHVORTDAGLIGTOKFYRGEFTHUOSSSY NTHERORAR,SEMVERFYRGEFOMTHEIMERVITHOSSHAFAMISGERTL EITHDOSSEIGIIFREISTNI,HELDRLEYSTHVOSSFRAALLUILLU.

FATHERVARFATHERVARESERTIHIMENRIKI,VERTHINAFNTHITTH ILAGTTILKOMERIKETHITT,VARTHIVILITHINSVAAIARTHUSEMI HIMNUM.GEFOSSIDAGBRAUTHVORTDAGLIGTOKFYRGEFTHUOSSSY NTHERORAR,SEMVERFYRGEFOMTHEIMERVITHOSSHAFAMISGERTL EITHDOSSEIGIIFREISTNI,HELDRLEYSTHVOSSFRAALLUILLU.

2 Morse translators. They don't do word wrap very well.

At least somebody has a sense of humor...

Originally Posted by Adina

A few things to keep in mind about the orthography: When one transcribes old texts in ME, the letters "u" and "v" are interchangeable. The letter þ (thorn) was pronounced "th". And they didn't have strict spelling rules like today.

As for the pronunciation, it is very different in Middle English than in Modern, because of the "Great Vowel Shift" which occurred around the 1500s at the start of Modern English. You can read about it on Wikipedia. Although it looks on paper very similar to Modern English, it was pronounced anything but--so it would be hard to understand a speaker of Middle English, unless you learn the rules of how the vowels shifted and then compensate for the changes. If you were to try to speak in Middle English, it has been said that you would likely sound better than the average foreigner, but not exactly like a native speaker of the time, but would be relatively understandable.

Thanks! That's helpful and super interesting. I had never heard of the "great vowel shift" before---Fascinateing; I'll look into it.

You know...


The Norse
Who used Morse
Was a horse,
Of course...

and likely quite silly!


--- ..-. / -.-. --- ..- .-. ... . --..-- /.- / .... --- .-. ... . --..-- / . ...- . -. / -. --- .-. ... . --..-- / ... .- -.-- ... / -. . .. --. .... .... .... --..-- / --- ..-. / -.-. --- ..- .-. ... . --..-- / .. -. / -- --- .-. ... . .-.-.-


.--- ..- ... - / -- -.-- / -.-. .-.. --- .--. --..-- / -.-. .-.. --- .--. / -.-. . -. - ... .-.-.-

Originally Posted by Tone70

Thanks! That's helpful and super interesting. I had never heard of the "great vowel shift" before---Fascinateing; I'll look into it.

The vowel shift in English ensures that the vowels

A E I O U

are pronounced, if "long" as

ay ee eye oh you

instead of

ah ay ee oh oo

as they would be in German, Spanish, or Italian. Ostensible diphthongs became unpredictable, especially as the digraph gh went silent while changing the sound of the preceding vowel. Making things worse, the printer who standardized English type (Caxton) preserved largely-medieval spellings while English went "modern"

Translate Morse Code

Adina's new sig is wunderbar.

This article is a rather terrifying story about armed anarchists, agitating against paying taxes (and making a living doing so), who came to a bloody end and took two police officers with them. And they are not alone. Once again it seems, however, that while we have plenty of potential Nazis in this country with a propensity for violence, the necessary propensity for organization is, thank heaven, lacking.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

This article is a rather terrifying story about armed anarchists, agitating against paying taxes (and making a living doing so), who came to a bloody end and took two police officers with them. And they are not alone. Once again it seems, however, that while we have plenty of potential Nazis in this country with a propensity for violence, the necessary propensity for organization is, thank heaven, lacking.

calling these lunatics Anarchists is an insult to real Anarchists. They are Survivalist nutjobs and Randians.

To explain further;

http://www.reddit.com/r/CommonLaw/co...of_negotiable/

Well, if you can purchase your birth certificate back, would you? I asked my father about debt as a child at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. That was a fun ride home.

Originally Posted by Odin

calling these lunatics Anarchists is an insult to real Anarchists. They are Survivalist nutjobs and Randians.

They deny all governmental authority. That's my definition of an anarchist.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

This article is a rather terrifying story about armed anarchists, agitating against paying taxes (and making a living doing so), who came to a bloody end and took two police officers with them. And they are not alone. Once again it seems, however, that while we have plenty of potential Nazis in this country with a propensity for violence, the necessary propensity for organization is, thank heaven, lacking.

Interesting article, but I thought rather unconvincing about numbers. The relationship between tax protesters and the "sovereign" movement is handled with a wave of the pen.

"But based on the available evidence, a reasonable estimate of hard-core sovereign believers today would be 100,000, with another 200,000 just starting out by testing sovereign techniques for resisting everything from speeding tickets to drug charges, for a total of 300,000."

I think I have become overly cynical about articles written by NGOs (eg Southern Poverty Law Center) whose need for funds makes them prone to exaggerate every incident. In my cynical mind, every report is a disguised fund raising letter. This article is long on incidents and short of facts which would allow someone to realistically assess the overall threat.

BTW - who or what is "Truthout"?

James50

I do not agree with James about the Southern Poverty Law Center but I would agree that the numbers is the Truthout article could be taken with a grain of salt. My comments would apply even if the total number were 10,000 or even 1,000, however. There obviously isn't any doubt that the incident they described took place.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

They deny all governmental authority. That's my definition of an anarchist.

Of coure, the article makes it clear that they do not in fact 'deny all government authority' (which is, btw, a decent enough working definition of 'anarchist'). Consider (bolding mine):

In recent months, their movement has grown to the point where a group called the Guardians of the Free Republics is attempting to assemble its own common-law-based, alternative government on a national scale...

...a free man who believed that the Constitution guaranteed his right to travel without restriction...

These aren't anarchists (a coherent, rational position); they're simply people who are deluded enough to think that their rulers left loopholes through which they can free themselves. Far from denying government authority, they rely on it -- particularly on the meta-authority by which government constitutes itself and is supposedly limited. Whatever you want to call that, it certainly isn't anarchism.


----

btw, [snicker], our youngest son's birth certificate isn't in capital letters. It very clearly indicates that his name is "Люшас". Wonder what the abracadabra-mob would think of that?

Originally Posted by Justin '77

Far from denying government authority, they rely on it -- particularly on the meta-authority by which government constitutes itself and is supposedly limited. Whatever you want to call that, it certainly isn't anarchism.

Exactly. Tax protesting is just a particularly bizarre form of Constitutional Fetishism -- where originalism and obscure common law become magical incantations that keep tyranny demons at bay.

Originally Posted by Kurt Horner

Exactly. Tax protesting is just a particularly bizarre form of Constitutional Fetishism -- where originalism and obscure common law become magical incantations that keep tyranny demons at bay.

I find those types hilariously bizarre. It's as if the Constitution were a religious document to them.

Originally Posted by Odin

I find those types hilariously bizarre. It's as if the Constitution were a religious document to them.

I have a right wing nutter in my unit. She's a Glenn Beck devotee. Most recently she's tried to convince me to read this book that points to the "fact" that the US Constitution was divinely inspired.

You can find this gem, entitled The 5000 Year Leap, on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/5000-Year-Leap...N%3D0880801484

Glenn Beck's recommendation reads, "The 5000 Year Leap has a lot of good information, and is very easy to read. I was able to read this book in only a couple of days due to its simplicity. The concepts involved are very important though, and you don't find them in many other places."

I've yet to pick up a copy for my library, maybe I'll just borrow yours when you are done with it?

Originally Posted by Odin

I find those types hilariously bizarre. It's as if the Constitution were a religious document to them.

Fortunately for those of us who like variety in our comedy, it's far from the only amusing delusion to be found in the American body politic. But that one (and I love the phrase "constitutional fetishism") is a particularly good example of modern tool-worship taken to its extreme. To believe that the entire armed force of the State will be simply brought up short by waving a birth certificate with ALL-CAPS (zomg!) in their face...

Originally Posted by Skabungus

I have a right wing nutter in my unit. She's a Glenn Beck devotee. Most recently she's tried to convince me to read this book that points to the "fact" that the US Constitution was divinely inspired.

You can find this gem, entitled The 5000 Year Leap, on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/5000-Year-Leap...N%3D0880801484

Glenn Beck's recommendation reads, "The 5000 Year Leap has a lot of good information, and is very easy to read. I was able to read this book in only a couple of days due to its simplicity. The concepts involved are very important though, and you don't find them in many other places."

I've yet to pick up a copy for my library, maybe I'll just borrow yours when you are done with it?

I've seen that book at the local bookstore. It's pure drivel.

Originally Posted by Odin

I've seen that book at the local bookstore. It's pure drivel.

I think Beck's review says it all.

Originally Posted by Odin

I've seen that book at the local bookstore. It's pure drivel.

Ironically, despite having been exposed to Cleon Skousen's work since college (my mother assured me that he wasn't a scholar, he just thought he was) I'd never heard of that particular book until Glenn Beck started hawking it.

Originally Posted by Odin

I've seen that book at the local bookstore. It's pure drivel.

I'm sure the book is pure drivel but something clicked in my head as I read this exchange.

It's an indication of where we stand today that our local B & Ns, all over the country, including right here in Rhode Island, are full of books like that, while there is nothing on the display shelves near the door explaining what the Founders really believed or where the principles of our Constitution really came from. And a large part of the reason for that, I must say, is that Boomer academics decided the Constitution was just a white male conspiracy against blacks, women, and Indians, and have been peddling that form of drivel to Xers and Millennials for decades. I wonder how many of you had direct exposure to those views? This shows up in other ways. Both Lincoln and FDR constantly placed themselves in the great sweep of American history. Neither Bush nor Obama has done that much at all.

Originally Posted by KaiserD2

I'm sure the book is pure drivel but something clicked in my head as I read this exchange.

It's an indication of where we stand today that our local B & Ns, all over the country, including right here in Rhode Island, are full of books like that, while there is nothing on the display shelves near the door explaining what the Founders really believed or where the principles of our Constitution really came from. And a large part of the reason for that, I must say, is that Boomer academics decided the Constitution was just a white male conspiracy against blacks, women, and Indians, and have been peddling that form of drivel to Xers and Millennials for decades. I wonder how many of you had direct exposure to those views? This shows up in other ways. Both Lincoln and FDR constantly placed themselves in the great sweep of American history. Neither Bush nor Obama has done that much at all.

Well, I do think the US Constitution was originally written by WASP elites for WASP elites. The founders did not have much respect for true democracy and "the stupid mob".