English is a funny language
If you stop and think about it, it really is a messed up form of communication.
It uses Roman letters, but Arabic numerals.
It cribs words from French, Spanish, German, Latin, and Celtic... and mispronounces them all very badly.
It has over twenty synonyms for murder, yet fewer than a dozen for hello.
Yet when it is spoken, most people know you mean them no harm.
For all of our reputation for good or ill around the world, it's not an oppressor's language. It's not like German is to the Russians or Russian is to the Poles or Arabic is to, well, other Arabs.
When it is spoken, it typically means one of two things: "we are here to help" or "you screwed up big time and we're here to punish you for it."
We're not perfect, Lord knows we're not perfect.
But when you speak English, especially American English, people at least know you're making an honest effort. We may not succeed, but at least we tried.[;)]
It uses Roman letters, but Arabic numerals.
It cribs words from French, Spanish, German, Latin, and Celtic... and mispronounces them all very badly.
It has over twenty synonyms for murder, yet fewer than a dozen for hello.
Yet when it is spoken, most people know you mean them no harm.
For all of our reputation for good or ill around the world, it's not an oppressor's language. It's not like German is to the Russians or Russian is to the Poles or Arabic is to, well, other Arabs.
When it is spoken, it typically means one of two things: "we are here to help" or "you screwed up big time and we're here to punish you for it."
We're not perfect, Lord knows we're not perfect.
But when you speak English, especially American English, people at least know you're making an honest effort. We may not succeed, but at least we tried.[;)]
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I recken I couldena puterina better worden[:o)] 0 -
And you have to Dail one to hear it!!!! 0 -
It's only recently that "We may not succeed" has been an acceptable outcome. 0 -
I think the American Indians might disagree. 0 -
American Indians would have us believe that they were God's children and existed in a state of strifelss harmony with each other and Nature and all the universe...
... which is, to use their vernacular, a load of buffalo dung.
Their moral high ground comes from having lost and a revisionist view of history engendered by a romantic-leaning American public.0 -
do you know a synonym for synonym 0 -
What about the people who are allergic to Benadryl? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by CA sucks
I think the American Indians might disagree.
Disagree with what? You'll have to be more specific. Most of it is just statement of fact. My preacher is an American Indian. He hasn't authorized me to speak for him, but I don't think he would disagree. I'm an American Indian and I don't disagree.
I assume you are referring to "But when you speak English, especially American English, people at least know you're making an honest effort." But, if that is what you think the American Indians will disagree with, it also has a qualifying statement, "We may not succeed, but at least we tried."
You can disagree with it if you want to. Hell, anybody can disagree with it if they want to. When you say "American Indians", that's a pretty inclusive statement. I don't see much in ElMuertoMonkey's statement to disagree with.
Disclaimer: My great-grandmother was an American Indian. That's just enough to legally call myself an American Indian, but I usually "pass for white".0 -
There are multiple spellings of the Q'ran. 0 -
If you stop and think about it, it really is a messed up form of communication.
It uses Roman letters, but Arabic numerals.
It cribs words from French, Spanish, German, Latin, and Celtic... and mispronounces them all very badly.
It has over twenty synonyms for murder, yet fewer than a dozen for hello.
Yet when it is spoken, most people know you mean them no harm.
For all of our reputation for good or ill around the world, it's not an oppressor's language. It's not like German is to the Russians or Russian is to the Poles or Arabic is to, well, other Arabs.
When it is spoken, it typically means one of two things: "we are here to help" or "you screwed up big time and we're here to punish you for it."
We're not perfect, Lord knows we're not perfect.
But when you speak English, especially American English, people at least know you're making an honest effort. We may not succeed, but at least we tried.
& thats were No.1 [;)]0 -
quote:But when you speak English, especially American English, people at least know you're making an honest effort.
And that warm sentiment works as long as you stay in the US.0 -
"Yet when it is spoken, most people know you mean them no harm."
The American Indian's were far from perfect, and they fought each other constantly, but the arrival of english speaking white men meant their doom, unlike the French in the East and the ruskies on the west.
Then there were the Indian Bording schools where they were forced to learn English. It seems to me that is exactly what an oppressors language is. We conquered them, took their land, and made them learn our language, oh and we killed their women and children too.
Then there was the Brutal way we treated the philipinos in the decades before WWII(which was ended after we promised them independence, although that date came during the war under Jap occupation)
I'll leave British English out of this(although aside from an accent and a few spellings of words, it is the same), they were a world wide empire, and were exactly there "to help" in africa, India, or china
I'm not out to call America an evil empire, I'm just pointing out our history is not a perfect record of "good intentions". We are not always the oppressor, but we have been the oppressor. Our entire history does not consist of more noble wars like Liberating Europe from the Germans and Asia from the Japs.
We have gone to war over lies before (many Indian wars, the Spanish-America war, etc), and we were surely do so again.
I think this was a rather stupid post, an attempt to classify a language as "good" or "bad", while simultaneously giving ourselves a pat on the back and ignoring our flaws. It is a form of communication, it is neither good nor evil. It can be spoken with belligerence or with benevolence.
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Arabic numberals are not english. One, two, three... are english, just as Uno, dos, tres are spanish, but 1, 2, 3 are just symbols not part of either language, used by people who speak nearly every language.0 -
Yep...english rules 0
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