Stosh 3452 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 srisom! You got it. It means nothing except it is the easiest and shortest message to send if you are in an emergency situation! Well done! Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
BadenP 93 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Yeah, another fancy do-dad patch for an archaic skill that is not truly a language in the first place. Unless the entire world internet goes down it is nothing other than a nice piece of nostalgia. National's thought processes never cease to amaze me. Still I did earn the radio MB as a scout so maybe it is not all bad. Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 CQ...CQ...CQ.... Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Morse Code is no more a language than binary ASCII. Two people can be experts in Morse Code, but if one is an English speaking person and the other only knows French, you're screwed. The same holds true for sign language. American Sign Language only applies to Americans. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
le Voyageur 72 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 JBlake... -.-./--.-//-.-./--.- CQ, CQ (calling all stations) Actually Q codes are the answer.... used no matter what language one speaks... for example --.-/.-./--.- or QRQ means "Shall I send faster" --.-/.-./- QRT or "Shall I stop sending" Hopefully, scouts will make the effort to earn the strip.... Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 La Voyager, Like any other universal code, i.e. Q codes, one assumes that there still is a common language upon which the message is based. It's a bit like the text abbreviations used by cell phone and computer chatters. I can LOL all I want and the person may or may not know what the means. In Japanese or Chinese they may through repetition know it's meaning, but that's a pretty short conversation if I don't know Japanese and they don't know English. Sure computers can translate pretty easily, but if I'm doing Morse Code with a flag or flashlight, that's not an option. Maybe they need a Text Message interpreter's strip. I could use that with some of the forums/emails I get. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 jblake, Seriously you may be on to something. Send Morse Code by text messaging. Link to post Share on other sites
le Voyageur 72 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 dit dit/dah dah/dit dit dit dit/dah dah dah//.... the problem is that morse code, and Q codes are old school and rarely used today. Means Q codes will have to be brought up to date, and restandardized. I see nothing wrong with adapting them to the shorthand used in texting, would be a great start for scots to start learning code .... Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Shucks, missed out on earning my COBAL strip... Is cuneiform available? My sis-in-law actually can speak esperanto... Link to post Share on other sites
RumRunner 10 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Hmmm... maybe it's just me, but I'm having a hard time seeing why this is something that would be added as NEW. Morse code (or "CW" for you dweebs like me who have a ham radio license) still has a dedicated following in some amateur and SW radio circles, but it has largely been overwhelmed and replaced by more efficient digital communication methods. And I can speak from experience -- I earned my ham ticket in the early 1990s, which included a 13wpm code test. Even then, it was on the way out with the No-Code Technician license class. Also, my understanding is that the interpreter strip is not so much an "award" for mastery of a second language as it is an indicator that in mixed/international company, a person may be able to facilitate communications between others if desired. Morse code has not, to my knowledge, ever been used for face-to-face communications (stories of planning escapes from POW camps aside)... so it would not really serve a practical purpose. Bragging rights, maybe? It's also not really even a language -- it's just an alternate means of transcribing the alphabet. Might as well give out a strip for "Literacy" for someone who can read the written alphabet? Neat idea, but impractical at best. Maybe a clever ploy to boost sales of insignia? Link to post Share on other sites
RumRunner 10 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 jblake47: "The same holds true for sign language. American Sign Language only applies to Americans." Actually, that's not technically true. American Sign Language (ASL) is a "dialect" of sign language that is separate and distinct from written and spoken English. There is not really a word-for-word translation so to speak (it can be done, but it is needlessly verbose and cumbersome) -- in fact, some people who are born deaf and use ASL as their "first" language have just as much difficulty learning to read and "speak" English as non-native speakers, due to differences in grammar, structure, and phrasing. Someone who does not speak English could learn ASL, and converse fluently in ASL with someone who does not speak their language. Not to say it would happen in real life, but anything is possible... Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 RumRunner, Thanks for the insight. I didn't know there was a universal sign language. I have used a slang version of ASL for 50 years and never tried to communicate with someone who did not have an English background. As one who has only a basic vocabulary, I do need to spell out certain words and I'm sure that would cause problems for someone who doesn't speak English, or me who doesn't speak whatever language is their native base. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
SeattlePioneer 144 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 > I never did much DX (distance) contacts in amateur radio, but I suspect that various radio shorthand symbols would allow a modest degree of communication between stations that don't otherwise have a language in common. QTH------- Station location. QRM ------ radio intereferance RST 599 ---- Radio signal strength, quality and intelligibility HI HI laughing de Here is and so on. Perhaps some DX specialist can comment based on experience. Link to post Share on other sites
RumRunner 10 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Hey Stosh -- I guess dialect wasn't quite the right word. ASL is a distinct language from other sign languages, of which there are many. There may be some overlap, but I have heard (from my instructor, when I took an ASL course) that most other sign languages are not really compatible. The course I took taught it as a separate language, not as "here's how to translate English into ASL"... which made it more difficult, but also drove the point home that it's not just a version of English that uses your hands instead of spoken words. Either way, I've forgotten the majority of it already, so I don't get the interpreter strip (just like Spanish and Morse Code... amazing how I can remember some useless stuff forever, though). Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 The dialect I was referencing is the fact that I learned "ASL" from a half dozen deaf/mutes with whom I worked. I was very proficient having worked with them every day for a couple of years. However, when I took the ASL class from the local tech school, I basically had to start over from scratch because whatever it was they learned at the School of the Deaf in Wisconsin, wasn't was being taught at the tech school for the non-deaf student. Some of the daily short cuts they used with me was they would sign "tomorrow" and then sign in the present tense, or sign "yesterday" then sign in the present tense. Literally I would see "Tomorrow I go to the store." or "Yesterday I go to the store." It worked, but to try and talk to someone who uses all the correct tenses could be a bit confusing. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now