What’s So Wrong With Using Plain Ol’ English?
It is rare that I run into an article that has me nodding my head up and down and leaves with an appreciative smile.
"English is a wonderfully sloppy language. German-based, heavily influenced by Latin and French, with words borrowed from Spain, Italy, Egypt, and many other countries, English is an international goulash of sounds and syllables. (Goulash, by the way, comes from Hungary.) When we use those words with love and care, and we bring light and clarity to our world. Use them negligently, and we end up with ugliness, obfuscation, and a failure to communicate."
Yes, English is a language made from many languages. It holds the most words, concepts and metaphors.
Spoken plainly and to the point, one has the ability to understand most anything.
And that is a treasure.
"English is a wonderfully sloppy language. German-based, heavily influenced by Latin and French, with words borrowed from Spain, Italy, Egypt, and many other countries, English is an international goulash of sounds and syllables. (Goulash, by the way, comes from Hungary.) When we use those words with love and care, and we bring light and clarity to our world. Use them negligently, and we end up with ugliness, obfuscation, and a failure to communicate."
Yes, English is a language made from many languages. It holds the most words, concepts and metaphors.
Spoken plainly and to the point, one has the ability to understand most anything.
And that is a treasure.
And what's up with backward letters?
Maybe German based (this is the first time I heard that) but anyone studying/speaking German would attest that there is practically no noticeable trace of that now. German is complicated, using genders and its sentences never end. Same goes for French.
I agree that English has a simplicity that is unrivaled. That is probably one reason it replaced German in the language of Science after WW2. Practically all scientific literature was in German before that.
Take computer-related vocabulary. It is impossible to translate technical terms to any other language from English. The information content of English is 20-30% higher than any other. That's why Steve Jobs poured cold water on Mitterrand when the Frenchman came to Silicon Valley and asked him about French software. Jobs turned him down for French being too redundant.
English has become a world language. There is no place on Earth where it is not spoken at least on a basic level.
It should be noted that at their core, computers don't speak English but rather binary. Its just that its much easier to translate code into machine language from English than any other language. Computers are English-based for several reasons including:
1) the initial inventors were English. I start with Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage. The early history of computing is all English. (Linus Torvalds was a significant contributor, but long after English was standardized.)
2) English is simple because all nouns are genderless. This simplifies computation because the computer doesn't have to do an extra compare for relevance on a noun's gender.
3) English has simple grammar and short words. This makes constructing code simple and straightforward.
4) Trying to code using pictographs (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mayan, etc.) isn't feasible.
As far as being a world language, there is no doubt that English is critical. Both business and computers rely on English and any localization is done for comprehension purposes rather than interoperability ones.
Which language is not sloppy by your standard?
No language I have studied is perfect, but English is far and away the largest compilation of exceptions to be called a language in existence. Doesn't mean I want everyone to switch over to Mandarin Chinese where inflection/pronunciation changes meaning. But one has to be willing to confront one's biases to get to the truth of a matter.
It is called "Irregular" in the grammar book.
If you studied French, the language is nothing but a compilation of irregulars and exceptions.
What is more, same words can have different meanings and different pronunciations.
Which again is NOT unique to English.
Do I believe that there is a better language? Yup. But it hasn't been heard of in 5000 years or so.
I spelled out clearly why I don't think English is a sloppy language.
I offered comparisons that you either delve into or not, helping you to make up your mind about the perfect language.
I wasn't looking to argue about the matter in the first place. I pointed out several ways in which English excels and - much later - several ways in which it is deficient. You were the first to use the word "sloppy" btw - not me. For reasons known only to you, you seemed to take umbrage with the fact that there are deficiencies at all. As to comparisons for "my" benefit, all you did was try to point out a way in which French was a "worse" language than English. All you argue there is relative incompetency/imperfection.
I think English is a wonderful language - faults and all. Very useful. English is my native language and I am more well versed in it than many. I've personally studied Spanish, Russian, and Greek - the latter extensively. I'm married to a linguist who can speak seven languages including French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese. One of my sons even took after J.R.R. Tolkien and - after teaching himself linguistics - created his own language including pronunciation. My sister is fluent in French, my father and uncle in Mandarin Chinese, my brother in Spanish, my brother-in-law in Tagalog (one variant anyway) and I have friends fluent in German, Korean, Japanese, and more. My family is a veritable Tower of Babel. We're probably the only family I've ever heard of that makes jokes around the dinner table about gluteal fricatives.
I love language. I'm just not under any auspices that any single language - especially English - is God's gift to mankind.
That is not the only reason. English is a very compact language.
As for sloppiness, that is up to the practitioner. Some people speak erudite, beautiful English others don't.
Those who studied/speak other languages certainly appreciate that.
I am currently reading Winston Churchill's History of the Second World War. No small undertaking. That guy was a master with the English language.
It is. And anyone trying to undermine is as "sloppy" should take a second look and research.
I recall from that book a little opinion related to this thread-
Churchill suggested, after the battle of Midway, that the Japanese language though clearly well suited to many tasks, may have been inadequate at very fast translation of directives into the code used for communicating to and between the ships. Or, maybe there was problem not with the language but the situation. The war effort was on a roll, they had achieved all objectives and gone slightly beyond, there had been stalemates and setbacks (Coral Sea), but not strategic. At Midway, Admiral Yamamoto had planned well. But there was all-round competence of the US admirals, Nimitz especially, in responding. Yamamoto did not, or could not, deal with flexibility backed by power.
Another language story- not from Churchill I think, from memory-
England, year 1305, King Edward III, the main E-W road Iknield Way crossed the main N-S road Watling Street at Dunstable. Road maintenance was the responsibility of the local landowners. Edward got news that the roads and the junction were in very bad shape.
He letter to the landowners said-
" . . . . if it is necessary for Us to intervene, it will be with an eavy and."
Repairs were done pronto.
Having studied many languages it is amazing that in English you never get lost for finding the correct words.
It not true by far for many languages where you simply can find the corresponding word. Of course a lot has to do with the history and culture of a nation, its exposure to events, facts, nature, etc.
That is why English has become a world language.
You are never lost for words.
Misuse or substitution of words leads to new meanings within the language. What used to be the statement that one was "homing in" on a solution (homing as following a course to a destination) has more frequently become "honing in" (honing as sharpening).
Rapid evolution of English is why it's almost impossible to comprehend Chaucer's middle English prose. It's one of the singular charms of our native speech.
I also love old insults: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words...
also: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/6...
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
Good one, OUC. 👍
If you mess with that, divide us from that all encompassing culture...it gets ugly...
...and that is exactly what we are experiencing today..."ugliness, obfuscation and a failure to communicate."
They write to obscure, to cover the lack of thought.
Pomposity and turgidity (ok- excess formality and long words) are used to impress the ignorant, but unfortunately, it works, it gets grants (money from government or universities).
Here is an aggravating example...https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images...
Later it became that to avoid being labeled vulgar, to say almost anything in Latin and be acceptable, e.g. fornicate vs fuck, urinate vs piss. I wonder how a medical conference would sound if conducted in plain english?
Some espouse that the medical and horticulture fields adopted latin so that the populous would be confused.
I love Mel Brooks, he (as Gov. LePetomane from "Blazing Saddlese") should be president--wouldn't get much done, but would be fun to watch.
onto inanimate objects.
rotating toridial pastry. I leave the translation to your imagination. English can be fun at times!
Such as the mathematican's recommendation that it is wise to avoid Drunk Deriving with the admonishment Don't Drink and Derive.
Also, with modern text-to-speech software and blabbermouths who use it and are too lazy to proofread, homophones abound in print nowadays and so does preventable confusion. The laziness is inferrable from preventable wordiness too. The old days in which type had to be set by hand had a strong disciplinary consequence: brevity was prized.
Compare my uploads at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLr..., which have a very high fact density (concepts per minute) relative to most other modern videos, and you will see the difference between careful use of English and its being squandered by the empty-headed verbose. (You may learn something pro-Galt, too. Many of my videos are politically oriented and include health-are concepts.)
To anyone me dino may have offended, allow me to make the following alteration~~
SHE HE! HIM HER! SHE HE! HIM HER! SHE HE! HIM HER!
AURGH!
Me dino thought about including "gals! guys!" in the above snub at lefty group think; but for Philosoraptor me, it softened the impact in an aesthetic kinda way.
“English is a wonderfully sloppy language. German-based, heavily influenced by Latin and French, with words borrowed from Spain, Italy, Egypt, and many other countries, English is an international goulash of sounds and syllables. (Goulash, by the way, comes from Hungary.) When we use those words with love and care, and we bring light and clarity to our world. Use them negligently, and we end up with ugliness, obfuscation, and a failure to communicate.”