English Language....
"The problem with defending the purity of the
English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore.
We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other
languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their
pockets for new vocabulary."
- James D. Nicoll
"English is
the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up Saxon barmaids
and is no more legitimate than any of the other results."
- H. Beam Piper
*Grin* and that is what anyone speaking this rather mis-begotten bastard language should all say when someone says 'it isn't proper English'!
Ok, yeah, there is a text-book correct way but... Even the Queen's English has been shifting according to linguists listening to her various speeches over the years!
Comments
Yeah, I'm jotting that one down.
I love those quotes. So true! I love English because of its impurity. I get to research a word and find out its origins. I love the language because of this.
I think the most homogenous languages are probably Old Norse of Iceland and Finnish. Maybe there are incredibly untouched native languages out there too.
Lucy, not a linguist