78’3’49 (2007-03-29) - Denseman on the Rattis

Recent opinion polls for the elections to the Scottish Parliament in about a month’s time indicate that it might be possible for the SNP to form a government with either the LibDems or the Conservatives. Because the Conservatives are so widely reviled in Scotland, it seems to me that most people assume the SNP will have to form a government with the LibDems.

However, the LibDems know that, and it seems to me they’re planning to sell themselves very dearly indeed, the veto on a referendum on independence being but one example.

On the other hand, the Conservatives are not in a good position to make ultimate demands, and they have a strong need to put a lot of distance to the Thatcher era. If I was David Cameron, I’d tell them to offer the SNP anything to get into government, so long as they get some ministerial posts and are free to campaign for a No in the referendum.

There are many unknowns in this game, but I do wonder whether Salmond will be driven into bed with the Tories by necessity.

Esperanto Park_005
Originally uploaded by Fajro.

Måske burde jeg skrive lidt mere om, hvordan John Wells’ Esperanto lingvistisk set ændrede mit liv.

Jeg opdagede esperanto som teenager (jeg var vel omkring 13, vil jeg tro), og lærte sproget på basis af bøger, jeg lånte på biblioteket i Viborg (jeg kan anbefale Esperanto laŭ metodo Friis, også kendt som Esperanto laŭ naturmetodo). En eller anden (min far? min mormor?) gav mig derfor John Wells’ bog i dansk oversættelse.

På dette tidspunkt vidste jeg intet om lingvistik, lydskrift og grammatik, jeg kendte intet til videnskabelig litteratur med litteraturreferencer og den slags, og mit kendskab til esperanto, engelsk og de andre sprog, der omtales i bogen, var slet ikke godt nok til at forstå alle hans pointer.

Men jeg elskede bogen – jeg må have læst den mindst ti-tyve gange. Jeg lærte uhyggeligt mange ting ved at læse den. Fx opdagede jeg, at min engelskudtale måtte være forkert, da den ikke passede med hans transkriptioner. Min far gav mig senere John Lyons’ Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, og fra det øjeblik var jeg dømt til at studere lingvistik.

Så hvis jeg aldrig havde fået John Wells’ bog havde jeg måske aldrig fået lært mig selv grundlæggende grammatik og lydskrift, og så var jeg måske aldrig blevet glad for at lære sprog, og jeg var måske endt op som ensidig computernørd. 😉

Arc of Prosperity

AMS, Alba and Lego 2021/04/01

I’ve made a wee video. In it, I talk about the Additional Member System (AMS) used for Holyrood elections. I

Post-Brexit business models 2021/01/11

The consequences of Brexit are starting to become visible. One of the most notable examples is the Scottish shellfish producers

The right to leave 2021/01/02

On Ne’erday, Politico published an excellent article by Nicola Sturgeon, explaining why Scotland is a European country that needs independence

Will the trade deal make Scottish independence easier or harder? 2020/12/26

Scottish independentistas have been fairly positive towards the new EU-UK trade deal so far. Their line of thinking seems that

Time’s up! 2020/12/20

Why are the EU and the UK still negotiating? All sensible deadlines have come and gone, but Barnier and Frost

An English Argentina? 2020/12/06

There was an interesting article by Simon Nixon in The Times last Thursday: Then there is the government’s cavalier approach

Biden’s victory won’t force the Brexiteers’ hand 2020/11/08

Many people seem to be assuming the Brexiteers will now need to agree a trade deal with the EU because

Corruption in the gentlemen’s club 2020/10/29

In an article about Scotland’s first black footballer, Andrew Watson – a similar story was also told in a recent

Wake me up when independence is actually moving closer 2020/09/27

It energised me somewhat when Wings over Scotland pronounced me dead, and I’ve now been blogging a fair bit over

18th September 2014 – when will we see your like again? 2020/09/18

I seem to be developing a habit of not being in Scotland on the indyref anniversary – I’ve been in

Day: 78’3’49 (2007-03-29)

An SNP-Conservative coalition?

Esperanto lingvistisk set