Why the English language is odd
Link here.
The writer outlines the history of English and how the many different languages that contributed to it caused it to be so different from most other languages. Some of the oddities he notes are quite fascinating because we English-speakers take them so much for granted. He only hints, however, at what is probably the English language’s greatest gift — its gigantic vocabulary resulting from its remarkable ability to absorb new words — which probably comes from that same polyglot history.
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Link here.
The writer outlines the history of English and how the many different languages that contributed to it caused it to be so different from most other languages. Some of the oddities he notes are quite fascinating because we English-speakers take them so much for granted. He only hints, however, at what is probably the English language’s greatest gift — its gigantic vocabulary resulting from its remarkable ability to absorb new words — which probably comes from that same polyglot history.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
I think that a major part of English’s problems is that we have way too many vowel phonemes and too little vowel letters. So we had to invent new ways of using letter combos to make different sounds. This is unlike Spanish which has five vowel sounds and five vowel letters.
Maybe you misunderstand my perspective. I don’t see any of these English oddities as problems. They aren’t bugs, they are features! Or at least, they are a reflection of the way the language formed, which gave us the largest vocabulary and richest language the world knows.
I have heard English described as the result of Norman Knights working to seduce Saxon Barmaids.
I saw a t-shirt at a science fiction convention that said something like “English doesn’t borrow from other languages, it hunts them down in dark alleys and mugs them.”
Japanese seems close to English in terms of loaned/borrowed words, and neologisms.
The neat thing about Japanese is that when they borrow a word, they write it in a phonetic alphabet (katakana) dedicated to foreign words. Because there are so few sounds in the Japanese language, sometimes it can be hard to figure out the original English word that served as the inspiration.
My favorite is “baa kodo,” or bar code, describing the hairstyle of a balding man who combs the few hairs he has left across the top of his head (from a bird’s eye view his head looks like it has a bar code).
This well written article seems to closely follow this prior work:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375320/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsVz5U76kX0
Convergent thoughts perhaps?
I am the product of several Norman knights and Saxon barmaids. Some Viking raiders and Pict barmaids as well.
If you examine Norwegian, it is a kind of middle ground between German and English.
Related:
Free American First Amendment English language for me but not for thee.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2015/11/clinton-goes-after-laugh-factory-comedians-for-making-fun-of-her/
A little too thin skinned for me, and that is the least objectionable thing about her and her followers.
She does not like this Free American First Amendment English language either.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/11/18/watch-how-hillary-clintons-security-handles-man-calmly-holding-sign-critical-of-candidate-during-rally/