Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1979)
THE BATTALION PageSB WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1979 Foreign languages missing he dog’s Sunday. ‘ sensed ins,' was slocked S'." « rt at tad ingona ring the without do. The y out of Stinson eek by e knew the party's over Battalion photo by Lee Koy Leschper Jr. Heat waves shimmer off the 10-foot pile of of hot coals and ashes remains for some time ashes left from Friday’s Aggie Bonfire. A pile after the 60-foot stack of logs burned down. Descriptions often untrue iv. He Menus lie, linguist says to get as possit United Press International COLUMBUS, Ohio — A linguis- t e tics specialist says most restaurant ^ l inenus are liberally sprinkled with •'ll Ascriptions that are irrelevant, mis- fading or — occasionally — dow- ight lies. Take, for example, the word iesh, ” which Ann D. Zwicky, a for mer Ohio State University lecturer, found was by far the most common , n fyc" Jiective in a study of about 200 re- white-d staurant menus. can’t bea“ There were descriptions like !$resh frozen.’ Sometimes you think a wjudJibey are using ‘fresh’ to mean soine- nrrMing really minimal like ‘not rot- dugattlten, ” she says.^ readyonpTh en there’s “homemade,” which irst states or indiis!'] e,” hei t powei i to comp) ■oduce «p moM FARMERS MARKET CATERING A COMPLETE CATERING SERVICE LET US CATER YOUR NEXT BAR-B-QUE FUNCTION $ 2 95 per plate when you read it on a restaurant menu, almost certainly can t mean the dish was made in somebody’s home. Zwicky, who with her husband and friends collected menus in varying price ranges from diverse re gions of the United States and Cana da, says many times French or French-sounding words are used. She says the “French” descriptions were most widely used on menus in places where few customers were likely to understand the language. “There’s a long association for En glish-speaking people with French as a language for food, a language for fashion and high culture,” she says. What’s more, Zwicky said, much “French” on menus isn’t used accu rately. “Many words on a menu which we accept as French aren’t French at all. ‘A la mode,’ for example, is a French phrase which means ‘in the manner of. ’ It has nothing to do with adding ice cream to the slice of pie. ” Menu puffery like “garden fresh salad” instead of “salad” may be rela tively harmless, but in some cases menu descriptions are downright lies. “There is the butter problem,” says Arnold Zwicky. “Butter and buttered appear in descriptions Very often when what is in fact used is margarine.” WE CATER TO ALL CLUB FUNCTIONS — DORMS, SORORITIES, FRATERNITIES, CORPS. DANCES, PICNICS. We also cater wedding receptions up to 200 miles away. Call for more infor mation. 2700 Texas Ave. - Bryan 779-6417 -8300] BESTj M Now Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With These Carefully Prepared and Taste Tempting Foods. Each Daily Special Only $1.99 Plus Tax. “Open Daily” Dining: 11 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. —4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. MONDAY EVENING SPECIAL Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Whipped Potatoes Your Choice of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or T ea TUESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Mexican Fiesta Dinner Two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas . w/chili Mexican Rice Patio Style Pinto Beans Tostadas Coffee or Tea One Com Bread and Butter WEDNESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Chicken Fried Steak w/cream Gravy Whipped Potatoes and Choice of one other Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea United Press International The lack of foreign language in struction in American high schools is a major deficit of the American edu cational process, according to one prominent educator. “The neglect of foreign languages in schools should concern every one,” Joseph A. Coccia reports in the Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Coccia, principal of Cranston High West in Cranston, R.I., said even President Carter has recog nized that the United States is alone among nations in its neglect of the study of foreign languages in schools. The president did what presidents frequently do about problems — he appointed a committee, the Pres idential Commission on Foreign Languages, to study the problem and ways of reversing the trend. Only 15 percent of all U.S. high school students study a modern fore ign language. Only two percent of these stick with it to a third year. All the rest are tongue-tied in any situation where even minimal know ledge of a second language might help them understand a situation better — even order a more palat able meal when Confronted by a menu in Spanish, German, French. When colleges required foreign languages from applicants, the col lege-bound student enjoyed or suf fered through two or four years of foreign languages in high school. They had to take it — whether they found it delight or bitter medicine. The problem started when col leges abandoned and relaxed the lan guage requirement. Only 10 percent of the nation’s 33,000 academic in- sttutions now demand previous study of a second language. This happened while English gained usage around the world, mak ing it a kind of universal language and lessening the need for a second language by Americans. But that’s no excuse for what’s happened, says Coccia. Coccia claims all students can learn a foreign language, not just the college-bound. He said it is impor tant to the nation and students who may use the second language skill making their livings. The study of another language, he said, should come in two types. The first type would deal with students wanting to major in language or needing it in depth for further pro fessional study. The second type would be for youths who do not need all the for mality of a foreign language, the kind necessary for one aiming for the di plomatic corps, for example. This would be something of a fami ly and a fun model, Coccia said. The approach should follow “a pattern similar to the way we learned to speak English at home before we en tered school and started the speak ing of English as a language — which was the only language spoken at home.” Tn this model, let’s forget formal homework assignments, let’s forget textbooks, let’s forget structure. “Let’s concentrate on learning vocabulary and pronunciation, the necessary ingredients for speaking the language. “Eventually this should lead to writing it and total communication — our goal for the mass of our stu dents. ” Coccia wants school boards and high schools to recruit qualified dynamic language teachers — inven tive, ingenious ones. He thinks it would be a good idea, too, for schools to let students know about careers where nice livings can be made via skill with a foreign lan guage. Other elements in Coccia’s pre scription: —Colleges should reassess their admission requirements in foreign languages. —The United States should prom ote international exchanges of teaching staff and students. Existing programs of this type should be ex panded and incentives made so appealing that participation would be irrestible. The business, interna tional trade and finance communi ties all have a vested interest in fore ign language studies and should help in contributing to the incentives needed for such programs to be suc- ceessful. “As a nation,” Coccia said, “we must accept the fact that we cannot be an island unto ourselves if we are to accept as basic the theory of inter national cooperation. “We are aware that we are an in terdependent world and that global concerns are gaining greater import ance for people’s lives. “The political challenges of our times mandate the need for more Americans to speak and read a fore ign language.” “Fluency in a foreign language, beyond improving one’s job pros pects in government or business,also allows one to become versed in another country’s history and cul ture. BRAZOS VALLEY INSTITUTION HOUSE 779-7500 1803 Texas Ave. For an enjoyable meal with family and friends AN AGGIE FAVORITE 1803 Texas Ave. Bryan GUYS & GALS Sebring Products — Perms — Hennas Certified Hair Designers 4103 Texas Avenue S., Bryan Suite 208 846-5018 THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE Parmesan Cheese - Tossed Green Salad Choice of Salad Dressing - Hot Garlic Bread Tea or Coffee FRIDAY EVENING SPECIAL BREADED FISH FILET w/TARTAR SAUCE Cole Slaw Hush Puppies Choice of one vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee SATURDAY NOON and EVENING SPECIAL Yankee Pot Roast (Texas Style) Tossed Salad Mashed Potato w/ gravy Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee ■^■■(“Quality First’ iBHMi SUNDAY SPECIAL NOON and EVENING ROAST TURKEY DINNER Served with Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Dressing Roll or Corn Bread - Butter - Coffee or Tea Giblet Gravy And your choice of any One vegetable Next time you're in Mexico, stop by and visit the Cuervo fabrica in Tl quila. Since I795weve welcomed our guests with our best. A traditional taste of Cuervo Gold. Visitors to Cuervo have always been greeted in a special way. They're met at the gates and invited inside to experi ence the unique taste of Cuervo Gold. This is the way we've said ^welcome"for more than 180 years. And it is as traditional as Cuervo Gold itself. For this dedication to tradition is what makes Cuervo Gold truly special. Neat, on the rocks, with a splash of soda, in a perfect Sunrise or Margarita, Cuervo Gold will bring you back to a time when quality ruled the world. Cuervo. The Gold standard since 1795. CUERVO ESPECIADRTEQUILA. 80 PROOF. IMPORTED AND BOTTLED BY © 1978 HEUBLEIN. INC.. HARTFORD, CONN