Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] [OT] In depth SUV scientific based analysis

Subject: Re: [OM] [OT] In depth SUV scientific based analysis
From: "Brian Swale" <bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 29 May 2011 12:26:48 +1200
Boris asked about the background to the English language, so here's what I 
offer.
I'm not a language expert, and have no doubt that Andrew and Chris ( and 
others) will be able to correct me.
Although I am a 5th generation New Zealander, I have living relatives in the 
UK on both sides of the family, with whom I am in contact and some of 
whom I have visited. 
Since I was educated in English, I am proud of its history and heritage; I 
guess that comes with the understanding, limited though it may be.

English is and has been a language of adoption of words from other 
languages.

Written English goes back to some kinds of Old English of which I have no 
detailed knowledge. 
However, there would probably have some adoption of words from the Celtic 
languages ( Scots Gaelic, Erse, Manx, Welsh, Breton, and the extinct 
Cornish). I don't know anything about what the Picts spoke. Practically every 
white english person has some Celtic blood in them; it is perhaps the least 
recognised major race/bloodline in all the world.

Then there were the invaders; Vikings, Danes (I am 25% Dane !! ) Angles, 
Saxons, Romans, Normans. Many of these intermarried and left traces of 
languages - the word "skull" comes to mind from the Vikings.

There were trade / fishing links; they met Frisian and Dutch people in the 
North Sea and the Atlantic and we share words such as the noun kirk 
(church) milk (melk in present day Dutch) and the verb ken ( = to know a 
person) as in the song "Do ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay, de ye ken 
John Peel at the break of day? ".

Later, academia involved themselves with Latin and Greek as they studied 
cultured ancient civilisations, and there is a *lot* of Latin and Greek at the 
root (and the suffixes and prefixes) of many words in English.

Through centuries of trade and warfare locally (of which I have practically no 
knowledge), there was contact with and adoption of words from French, 
Spanish, Portugese, Italian, German, Slavic countries, Nordic countries, 
Russian countries, Romania, Turkey and so on. Egypt, Syria, Morocco, 
Ethiopia, Sudan. Middle eastern countries.

>From *about* 300 years ago as there was exploration and 
development/expansion of the Empire, words from many many races were 
encountered and taken into English; consider from North America: igloo, 
tepee, totem, papoose, Chinook, narwhal, manatee.

Words from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh, Burma, Siam, China, Nepal etc. 
Japan and China.

Not too much from speech islands such as Finnish, Basque, Hungarian.

Then wider; Australian aboriginals; dugong ( and I know not what else but 
there will be plenty), Maori and Polynesian generally; taro, kauri, papaya.

Countries from all around the world have will-nilly contributed words which 
now make up the English language. 

So I treasure / cherish the inheritance English has from these languages, 
and the actual spelling is part of that.

My 2 cents ...

Brian Swale. 
-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
  • Re: [OM] [OT] In depth SUV scientific based analysis, Brian Swale <=
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz