EXTINCTION OF GALLIC
ann.nunn@sstar.com
Sat, 22 Jul 95 10:20:59 -0500
NE>From: u9310279@muss.cis.McMaster.CA (J.M. Parish)
NE> I disagree that the overwhelming growth of the English language
NE>is due entirely, or even due majorly to it being the language of the
NE>dollar. The simple fact is that English is the most pliable, flexible,
NE>make-upable language.
Oh, it isn't a simple fact, by any means, but may I point out that you
can easily do the same thing in German, which is a near cousin of
English. In lingusitics the concept is called agglutination.
If you understood the second-last word in my
NE>previous sentence then you have proven my point already. English has the
NE>unique characteristic of being so flexible that I can make up a word and
NE>if someone else understands it and it catches on as a new word then that
NE>is the only amount of official recognition it truly needs.
Really, that is not unique at all to English, but is a characteristic
of probably all spoken languages, and particularly of highly
agglutinative languages.
It is English, however, not German, which is taking over the world.
That's why
NE>we have the most slang terms. Other languages, such as French, have
NE>boards and councils set up which officially recognise any new words
NE>entering the language that year.
<g> But nobody pays any attention to their official pronouncements and
the French still pepper their speech with American nouns and slang.
NE> I do, however, agree that the American dialect of English is a
NE>bastardisation and refuse to accept it yet as an official dialect on my
NE>own personal terms.
ROTFL...but most Canadians speak it, n'est-ce pas, and if you were in
trade, you would say whatever was necessary to make the dollars flow
your way.
Ann
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OLX 2.1 TD Life is a tragedy for feelers and a comedy for thinkers.
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