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| (Hat tip to wirecutter) |
That's all I have for today.
Wirecutter finds some good ones.
I guess I should link to him or something.
😎
Editor's Note: I was going to whine about a bunch of stuff, but ain't nobody got time for that. Me included.
The musings & rants of 3 retired military (2 USAF, 1 USN), 1 former WSO, and 1 AF brat. Old AF Sarge, Juvat, Tuna, LUSH, and Beans.
Qué? :)
ReplyDeleteI know, right?
Delete...and furthermore, in full concurrence I sez: "what it is, is what it shall be and one day become what it was."
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteThe English language has the blessing and the curse of having taken in many other languages. Great for vocabulary, less great for actual pronunciation and sentence structure...
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes:
Delete"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
Yeah, English is a PITA for ESL folks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxnipgv4cZM
DeleteNow that was brilliant.
DeleteAt least everything is neutral in gender. German, French, and Spanish would and still drive me nuts trying to remember which is feminine and which is masculine although it can provide humor. Example, English language a newly woke person is "non-binary"; neither male nor female. In Spanish, it is "no binario" or "no binaria".
ReplyDelete:-)
-Barry
Re: "no binario" or "no binaria" - that right there is priceless.
DeleteThe masculine feminine, neuter thing can be a bear. I found that when speaking German, you just get used to saying it correctly without really thinking about it.
Hey, man, sometimes a bear is just a bear.
DeleteI rather hoped that would get a response from you. 😉
DeleteIt does bear to reason that a bear is a bear, especially when he is in a bearish mood. Barely, no?
DeleteI haven't been around much (My dad passed in March, and I've been off in my own world a lot). Not sure why I decided to check in today, maybe my ears were burning.
Delete(Or, to paraphrase a comic: "If your ears are burning, it means people are talking about you. Usually, they're saying things like holy %$^ that guy is on fire.")
Sorry to hear about your Dad. I'm glad you're back.
DeleteSo Beans, when did you sneak that comment in?
DeleteAround 12:25pm EST. Or at 9:25am Lex Time.
DeleteHeh.
Delete"It remains true for all that that that that that that that refers to is not the same that that that that refers to." There is a series of short videos, none of which I can find now, about words in other languages that sound similar, and when you make a sentence out of them it sounds almost like the person is saying the same word over and over again. One describes one of the Slavic languages as the "Stssss-stssss language." If I come across one today I'll put up a link.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see that, that is, if that's available.
DeleteYabbut, is is was only if is is not still is. If it is, then is is is, as it ever was.
ReplyDelete🤣🤣🤣
DeleteIf you think that's something, always remember; Buffalo buffalo buffalo. And That's the truth!
ReplyDeleteirontomflint
😁
DeleteDoes the Muse know you are doing amusing musings by yourself?
ReplyDeleteJB
Shh!
DeleteI like English as a language. It is capable of being very precise and very vague, succinct yet rambling, and it's not hard to find a word or words to say what you want to say most of the time. Yeah, lots of borrowed rules, words, jacked-up spelling and pronunciation and punctuation, but, eh, being able to say "The red flower" instead of "The flower that is red" saves precious time when you don't want to talk with your fellow man.
ReplyDeleteAs to cursing, still the best language. It's all about how you phrase things. Most English speakers use short, curt few-syllabled words to curse because who has the time to stand around and rattle off six to seven paragraphs describing someone as a male reproductive member when you can just call them a 'Richard.' Simple. Elegant. Less chance of spittle and dung being flung into one's mouth.
That is, if the language is actually taught to the people. What is being taught in schools these days often doesn't even qualify as a pidgin version of English. Or it isn't being spoken at all (my area? Espanol is the preferred language as there's been a shift from English and Ghetto to Espanol de Puerto Rico over the last 5 years. Hey, at least signifying someone is 'Numero/Number Uno/One' using one's middle finger is still pretty much a universal communication concept.
Other than that, yeah...
Language evolves, sometimes in directions you'd rather it didn't. I think in this country we're seeing language skills decreasing for many reasons, "smart" phones for one ...
DeleteMostly due to lack of real education in the public schools. Almost like it's on purpose. Hmmmm...
DeleteSeriously, when I was in college in 85, the English classes were teaching things I learned in 6th and 7th grade. And it was new material to a lot of students.
Social promotion, no child left behind, Johnny can't bloody read, it's a brave new world, innit?
DeleteI often jokingly note that a scientific meeting with attendees from several countries all speak the international scientific language - heavily accented English.
DeleteSounds about right.
DeleteI might have sumpthin for you tomorrow or whenever.
ReplyDeleteI saw that, shoot for Saturday. (I've got tomorrow covered.)
DeleteWilco
Delete👍
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech here. Now do "ser" and "estar"! 50 years of familiarity with the Spanish language, and those two STILL give me trouble.
ReplyDeleteYour meme reminds me of the Official Flightless Bird of the Army Air Defense Artillery, the Oozlefinch! It doesn't know where it's going, only where it's been!
Nous Soutiendrons!
Delete