SC - spelling please

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Erika Thomenius wrote:
> 
> >Yeah, except that English takes into itself quite a few
> >foreign words and adopts them for its own nefarious purposes.
> >At what point does a borrowed foreign word acquire native
> >rights?
> >
> >
> >Alban, who'll shut up now on this subject
> 
> A good quotation:
> 
> "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
> 
> -Gytha, who will also shut up on this subject now.

Of course, English also has had foreign vocabulary, on one notable
occasion lasting some 400 years, rammed down its throat at swordpoint.

"Bloody Normans..." 

Can anyone name a language that has not changed over time? I can only
think of Esperanto, and the majority of its vocabulary is actually Spanish.

I believe the problem is not so much the borrowing of vocabulary as the
inherent hypocrisy of borrowing to suit needs and then "defending the
purity" of a given language.

Adamantius 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com