believe in / believe there is...

[optimistic pessimist]

Hi all,

1. I can't believe that there is a language that doesn't have a writing system.
2. I can't believe in a language that doesn't have a writing system.

Does #2 have the same meaning as #1?

OP

 

[optimistic pessimist]

I think "I believe in～" means "I believe ～ exists".

・I believe in Santa Clause.
・I believe in God.
・I believe in the Loch Ness monster.

Do you say, "I believe in～" when you believe something or someone animate exists?

OP

 

[emsr2d2]

I think "I believe in～" means "I believe ～ exists".

・I believe in Santa [STRIKE]Clause[/STRIKE] Claus.
・I believe in God.
・I believe in the Loch Ness monster.

Do you say, "I believe in～" when you believe something or someone animate exists?

OP

Well, if something animate actually exists, it doesn't make sense to say that you don't believe in it!

However, we do use "believe in someone" to mean "trust someone" or "have confidence in someone".

 

[Tarheel]

Hi all,

1. I can't believe that there is a language that doesn't have a writing system.

That was once true of all languages. As for today, I suppose that if somebody points out a language that is oral but not written you won't believe it.

 

[emsr2d2]

That was once true of all languages. As for today, I suppose that if somebody points out a language that is oral but not written you won't believe it.

And yet, according to this article, over half the world's languages have no written form.

 

[Tarheel]

Some of the statements on that website are just plain silly.

"Everyone should be free to choose what language they speak."

No, it doesn't work that way. If you are born in Russia you will speak Russian. If you are born in Germany you will speak German. If you are born in France you will speak French. If you are born in Nigeria you will speak English. ;-)

While you might get to choose your second language, you don't get to choose your first one.

As for whether English is going to become extinct any time soon, worldwide around a billion people speak English. Nah. It's not going anywhere...

:-D

 

[optimistic pessimist]

Hi all
Thanks for your replies.
However, if being animate or not doesn't matter, I still don't know why "I believe (or don't believe) in the Loch Ness monster" is correct and "I believe (or don't believe) in a language without a writing system" is wrong. I don't think people trust or have confidence in the Lock Ness a monster or Santa Claus. Let me ask in a different way. When you use "believe in～" to mean "～exist(s), what type of object comes after "believe in"? I'm sorry if my question sounds ridiculous.

 

[emsr2d2]

When talking about things that exist, "believe in" means "trust/have confidence in". When talking about anything you (or anyone else) can't prove exists, "believe in" means that you believe it exists even though there is no evidence that you're right.

 

[jutfrank]

When you use "believe in～" to mean "～exist(s), what type of object comes after "believe in"?

For a start, don't use noun phrases beginning with an indefinite article. Use either a definite noun phrase (with a definite article) or a general plural noun phrase (with a zero article) Secondly, avoid using can't. Use don't.

Your sentence now is this: I don't believe in languages that don't have a writing system.

That's better but it's still not right. We only use believe in in the sense you mean when there is an open question as to the existence. This is not the case in your example.

 

[probus]

And yet, according to this article, over half the world's languages have no written form.

In contrast to the many with no written form, in my immediate family two languages are used, each of which is commonly written in three different alphabets.

(For anyone who cares, one is Konkani, spoken in Goa, Mangalore, and a couple of other places in India. The other is Serbo-Croatian spoken in the former Yugoslavia. Nowadays some people insist that Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian are all different languages, but that's a political posture not a linguistic one.)

 

[GoesStation]

The other is Serbo-Croatian spoken in the former Yugoslavia. Nowadays some people insist that Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian are all different languages, but that's a political posture not a linguistic one.)

I have a small box of coins and paper money I brought home from my two childhood summers spent camping in Europe. One of my favorite items in it is a Yugoslav 100 dinar note with four languages on it written in two scripts.

My mom could get by in several Slavic languages but didn't have much luck with Slovenian. We spent a week in Ljubljana and it was one of the few places in Europe where she was really hampered by the language barrier. It was only as we were leaving that she discovered that German, which she knew, was widely spoken there. People knew the language but, in post-war Yugoslavia, they refused to speak it.