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To: gobucks

“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 riffle their pockets for new vocabulary.” — James D. Nichol

This is part of why English is successful—it integrates words with ease. But this doesn’t mean that the rest of the language has to be so haphazardly designed, nor does it mean that we can’t properly anglicize the new words.


39 posted on 05/31/2007 8:53:32 PM PDT by burzum (None shall see me, though my battlecry may give me away -Minsc)
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To: burzum

I’m going through the spelling tribulations with my six year old right now. It is very difficult explaining why a sentence like, “The tough coughs as he ploughs the dough,” can be spelled and pronounced the way it does.

However, I do believe that there is no such thing as the ability to “properly anglicize” new words. Just look at the root word of what you say in “anglicize” and you should see why that just isn’t kosher.

My limited knowledge of linguistics tells me that the English language carries much of its/our history in its spelling and pronunciation. To change it would toss much of that out the door.


99 posted on 06/01/2007 5:35:09 AM PDT by Comstock1 (If it's a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it's a short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 caliber miracle.)
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