Comments on: Tongued

By: Linh Dinh

Linh Dinh — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:03:10 +0000

Stop proning my English, Philippe, or I’ll patriot ax you! (In peace and freedom.)

By: Phlippe Laurichesse

Phlippe Laurichesse — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:56:18 +0000

Your ironic derision aimed at those who don’t want English to be contaminated by so-called foreigners seems unintentionally vague.
Who exactly are you mocking ? No one in America or any other English-speaking country wants to preserve their “precious” English from foreign English-speakers. On the contrary, Americans (et al.) do everything to enforce the use of their language on others. Are you then mocking the idiot owner of the Hummer and steakhouse ? But he’s just like all the other Americans who want everyone to speak English.
There are people in France who think like that, who don’t want to speak French to foreigners and who don’t like foreign (American) words to creep into their French. It’s called the Académie française. I’m sure there are a few individuals in the US who refuse to speak English to non-native English speakers, it’s not statistically impossible, but there is no public organization that prones the preservation of English from foreign influences – so your satirical diatribe mimicking an Anglophone purist seems itself ludicrous.
Is it a self-mockery ?
Also, evoking some moribond Native American tongue and applying its fate to what will happen to English if it is kept in an ivory tour of purity is a bit far-fetched. Even if every English-speaking country – to start with America – were to decide that foreign linguistic influences would be combatted from now on – the attitude that you mock in your post – it would take at least 150 or so years for English to self-destruct. You evoke Latin – well, Latin died out over the course of several hundred years.
Your post would make more sense if you were a Francophone or any other -phone. But as an American English speaker your mockery of purists seems to me displaced and bizarre.
Philippe Laurichesse

By: simran

simran — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:11:39 +0000

oh my god! this fellow has clean forgotten about Hinglish, in this mess of englishe(s). enlighten him, someone pl! Hinglish – it’s d best language in the world, i know i’m finally home when i hear it spoken at the IGI (d cab driver says “don’t worry, i show u all madam, first time for u”). Heathen, just go watch mind ur language

By: Arthur Durkee

Arthur Durkee — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:32:34 +0000

This is the most engrossing, thoughtful post on language and multiculturalism that I have read in quite awhile. It’s a topic I think about a lot, being fluent in two or three languages and familiar with several others. (Born in the USA, but raised in Asia, some of your ruminations seem very similar to my own experience across cultures.) You have articulated it much better than I ever have been able to.
Thanks you.

By: Jonathan David Jackson

Jonathan David Jackson — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:06:33 +0000

Awesome post, just so awesome.