Comments on: Language and Mashups http://occamsrazr.com/2008/04/24/language-and-mashups/ better communication makes the complex simple Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:37:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Nathan Gilliatt http://occamsrazr.com/2008/04/24/language-and-mashups/#comment-1631 Nathan Gilliatt Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:12:57 +0000 http://occamsrazr.com/?p=604#comment-1631 It helps that English is itself a mashup, incorporating Latin, French and, um, older English. There's a great series on the history of the English language from the Teaching Company ( http://www.teach12.com/ ), which I highly recommend for anyone who wants an in-depth discussion. The key is that English isn't one language going way back. Absorbing new words is an old, old habit, which we still benefit from today. The French come up with cumbersome French ways of saying things to avoid adopting English words. But to bring a foreign concept into English, we just Anglicize the pronunciation and it's done. It helps that English is itself a mashup, incorporating Latin, French and, um, older English. There’s a great series on the history of the English language from the Teaching Company ( http://www.teach12.com/ ), which I highly recommend for anyone who wants an in-depth discussion. The key is that English isn’t one language going way back. Absorbing new words is an old, old habit, which we still benefit from today.

The French come up with cumbersome French ways of saying things to avoid adopting English words. But to bring a foreign concept into English, we just Anglicize the pronunciation and it’s done.

]]> By: Rick Wolff http://occamsrazr.com/2008/04/24/language-and-mashups/#comment-1630 Rick Wolff Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:24:44 +0000 http://occamsrazr.com/?p=604#comment-1630 There's also the official provincialism of some countries' governments. France has a bureau to keep the French language pure. While we permit through a linguistic laissez-faire the adoption of words like portmanteau -- and laissez-faire, for that matter -- French law forbids the equivalent. There’s also the official provincialism of some countries’ governments. France has a bureau to keep the French language pure. While we permit through a linguistic laissez-faire the adoption of words like portmanteau — and laissez-faire, for that matter — French law forbids the equivalent.

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