SC - alcohol revisited

[Laura C. Minnick]

Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir wrote:
> 
> Hypocripsy? Maybe, but not every language absorbs foreign words as readily
> as English - and some words are more readily absorbed than others. When I
> wrote my book, I had absolutely no problems with using the term "að grilla"
> (to grill) even though I know people who would prefer to say "að
> glóðarsteikja". But there was no way I was going to write "að störfræja" (to
> stir-fry) - it looks totally ridiculous in Icelandic - so I had to invent a
> new term, "að veltisteikja". Not to defend the purity of Icelandic, but
> because a new term was really needed here.
> 
> I'm not going to say Icelandic hasn't changed for the last 800 years. Of
> course it has, although less than most other languages. But we tend to be
> rather protective of it. We have no old palaces, cathedrals or monuments, in
> fact no buildings more than 250 years old - few old works of art, no
> national treasures to speak of. Except our litterature. That, and our
> language, is what sets us apart. Which is why I, while not a language purist
> myself, can readily understand people who are.

And that's fine and good, except you seem to be demonstrating that
Icelandic as a language has not borrowed a whole lot while
simultaneously claiming it hasn't and denigrating the languages and
cultures from which, in this case, it has not borrowed. This is not
hypocritical by any means.

If, on the other hand, the language was full of English vocabulary, and
still attempts were made to deny any foreign contribution and to
"cleanse" the language of foreign impurity, even to the extent of
creating new terms for foreign technical achievements in order to
downplay their foreign-ness, then that would be somewhat hypocritical.
 
Adamantius, who has now officially decided that the "chaise longue" is
now the "long comfy chair" and was invented by an American
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com