General Discussions

**serandfae** · 10-27-2007, 11:54 AM

The English language is truly an international language. If you study its word roots it is possible to figure out the language structure of many other languages. This is because English is the only hybrid language of Romance and Germanic, or at least it has been since the Norman conquest of 1066. LnR's post in the anti-moon thread got me thinking about this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadynRed

....The English language.. didn't exist as we know it in centuries past, it 'evolved' like so many other languages, which is why Chaucer's or Shakespeare's middle English is so different and can be hard to decipher. Latin is the root of numerous languages, English was influenced by the Celts, the Vikings, the Romans.. it's centuries of change as conquerors came thru and cultures mixed.

And it continues to adapt. The word, "skosh", for instance, is one I've used all my life, to mean a little bit. I didn't realize until recently that it was a Japanese word (sikosh, Japanese for little bit) and crept into my vocabulary by virtue of having been a military brat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadynRed

Do you know that the US 'southern' accent is product of African tongues ? The southern colonies were ENGLISH, there was no southern drawl. But a couple of centuries of slavery, the slaves learning to speak English, influenced the colonists too.. and the 'southern accent' was born.. it's roots in Gullah - the language of the slaves....

Spanish, as spoken in this hemisphere, is a variant of what you'll hear in Spain for similar reasons....

**CSS4Life** · 10-27-2007, 01:50 PM

All languages are constantly changing as new words appear For example, a few years ago, if you asked someone to stop "blogging" (rambling - offline) or have they got a "blog", they'd wonder what you were talking about. Now the phrase has come into common usage as an abbreviation for weblog. It's even used offline in conversations - if someone is "blogging", they are rambling.

**ForrestCroce** · 10-27-2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by serandfae

And it continues to adapt. The word, "skosh", for instance, is one I've used all my life, to mean a little bit. I didn't realize until recently that it was a Japanese word (sikosh, Japanese for little bit) and crept into my vocabulary by virtue of having been a military brat.

I think 'shysty' or 'shyster' comes from the Yiddish? If I can make fun of our president for a moment, here's a quote: "The French don't have a word for entrepreneur." It turns out he didn't actually say that, but the point about the English language, not to make fun of Bush. Kindergarden is borrowed from German, like a lot of English.

Ebonics was a big deal years ago, but I can't count how many times people have told me about the bario or a heina they amata. I'm sure I butchered the spelling of all of those. Remember Sublime, how half their music was in Spenglish? Sort of like Carlos Santana or even Cypress Hill, who put out an entire album in Spanish.

Like Gullah, which is a fascinating subject that people should check out, this is how language evolves.

**serandfae** · 10-27-2007, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForrestCroce

I think 'shysty' or 'shyster' comes from the Yiddish?

Actually that one comes from German (so too is most Yiddish, but this one comes more directly from the German Scheisser, one who produces much sh**).

Most of the Yiddish terms more commonly used refer to the male organs, though the word origin does not: schmuck (originally german for jewels) schwartz (originally german for black) schlong (german schlange, or snake). The list goes on....

**fastreplies** · 10-27-2007, 02:48 PM

Here in Canada we have whole Dictionary of word and phrases used only in Canada.
If you remember I used in one of my posts ‘parka’ and ‘galoshes’ came from Ukrainian/Russian
languages and widely used by Canadians only and some Provinces use dialects
no one else can understand

fastreplies

**ForrestCroce** · 10-27-2007, 03:28 PM

Hey...! I have a goretex parka. Then again I'm pretty close to the Canadian border.

How many people have heard the Californian word 'hella?' As in "Canada is hella cold." The first time I heard somebody say that I thought maybe they had a lisp, but it's spread up to Seattle at least, probably further.

**serandfae** · 10-27-2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForrestCroce

How many people have heard the Californian word 'hella?' As in "Canada is hella cold." The first time I heard somebody say that I thought maybe they had a lisp, but it's spread up to Seattle at least, probably further.

I've heard it used on "South Park". But none of my family or friends on the West Coast use it. And I don't think I'll ever hear it here in NC; I think anyone who used it here would probably get mencilessly flogged.

**fastreplies** · 10-27-2007, 04:00 PM

"Canada is hella cold" = "Canada is hell of a cold",
but because your tongue is freezes before you finish your sentence,
hella is the word we use

fastreplies

**serandfae** · 10-27-2007, 08:04 PM

I have to wonder: In much of the South, yes, many would react in horror to the proposition that the "Southern accent" evolved even in part from Gullah, though it makes sense. And yet in areas like Louisiana it's practically advertised that this is the case with Creole. Perhaps a difference in outlook between primarily French and predominantly British origins?

**fastreplies** · 10-29-2007, 03:12 AM

The only 3 original, untouched by time languages I know are Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese.
And then of course somewhere deep in jungles tribal languages but the rest is mix and match
created by centuries of discoveries and migrations

fastreplies

**serandfae** · 10-29-2007, 10:35 AM

Well, I don't know if they're untouched by time; they've evolved too, but just haven't been as affected by other languages as the others. And there's yet to be discovered any link between Eastern languages and Indo-European ones.

France's language ministry has tried for decades to protect the "purity" of their language, but you'll still see things like "le chewing gum" pop up.