Language "categories" (was: undergraduate >Honors in Russian)

[Karla Huebner]

While my original question was in part teasing, I've found the discussion
of the categories (and the articles on how people experience language
learning) quite interesting.

Karla Huebner

At 03:13 PM 3/1/2005, you wrote:

>Funny, I always figured those categories were influenced by supply and
>demand. An institution offering a degree in Spanish has so many applicants
>with it in their background that it doesn't have to bother with newbies
>starting the language at 18, whereas one offering Russian has to take
>whoever it can get. Accordingly, the level of proficiency attained by
>juniors and seniors would be higher in Spanish than in Russian.
>
>But looking at the list posted by Michael Brewer I can see that it has
>largely to do with the degree of difficulty experienced by an American
>adult learner -- which after all is what college students are.
>
>I wonder how the rankings would be adjusted if we were talking about
>seven-year-olds...
>
>--
>War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
>--
>Paul B. Gallagher
>pbg translations, inc.
>"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
>http://pbg-translations.com

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