Language Police

[High_Jumbllama]

aged, ancient, broken down, debilitated, decrepit, deficient, doddering, elderly, enfeebled, exhausted, experienced, fossil, geriatric, getting on, gray, gray-haired, grizzled, hoary, impaired, inactive, infirm, mature, matured, not young, olden, oldish, patriarchal, seasoned, senile, senior, skilled, superannuated, tired, venerable, versed, veteran, wasted

aboriginal, age-old, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, archaic, bygone, cast-off, crumbling, dated, decayed, done, démodé, early, erstwhile, former, hackneyed, hoary, immemorial, late, moth-eaten, of old, of yore, old-fashioned, old-time, olden, oldfangled, once, onetime, original, outdated, outmoded, passe, past, primeval, primitive, primordial, pristine, quondam, relic, remote, rusty, sometime, stale, superannuated, time-worn, traditional, unfashionable, unoriginal, venerable, worn-out





Ooops. I am such a horrible person.

[Jon P. Inghram]

Originally posted by High_Jumbllama
****, *******, ****** ****, ***********, ********, *********, *********, *******, *********, *********, ***********, ******, *********, ******* ** ****, ****-******, ********, *****, ********




Ooops. I am such a ******** person. :***:

[High_Jumbllama]

Reminds me of the bad word list I use to have to deal with for word games that I was testing at my last job. I learned some new ones those days.

[Technoid]

2004 is drawing closer
Orwell just set the date 20 years to early

[KRSESQ]

The heck with textbooks. Go straight to the original source. Cut out the middle-person!

Kevin

PS: Is it me or has George Carlin gotten really, really bitter in his old age?

[KvHagedorn]

They will soon start to ban and burn the originals, too. This is the evil that is multiculturalism. It is absolute in its evil, because the effect is not "multi-cultures" but non-culture, the denial of culture, the supression of and attempt to deny the existence of most especially the dominant culture, that of Western Europe, the culture that BUILT America. It's not funny in the least.. It is a threat to truth, a threat to everything. Anyone who does not see the seriousness of this is profoundly foolish.

[Brian Ellis]

France has a different kind of language police. Yes, it is policed with policepersons, real live cops. And you can get arrested and fined or imprisoned for violations. So what is the sin? Not protecting them against politically incorrect words, but against foreign words, notably English.

In any modern, living language, we adopt foreign words if we don't find the mot juste. Not the French, if they can help it. In nearly every language in the world, for example, the word for software is, er, well, software. Except French. In France, they have bastardised 'logiciel' and this is even worse. The word 'logiciel' used to be the masculine adjective describing semantic logic. The equivalent for mathematical logic is 'logisticiel' and if they had to bastardise a word, it should have been that, logiciellement. I bet you don't know what a CD-ROM is in French: a 'cédérom' (at least it is pronounced +/- similarly), but a CD is 'un disque compact', CD being on the proscribed list of foreign words. Of course, these things don't go in a PC or a personal computer but they are used in your ordinateur personnel. It doesn't stop at your technical language. The English word bacon is derived from a similar French word, which fell into disuse. Now, it is forbidden to label 'lard fumé' as bacon, even though it is one and the same thing and bacon IS a French word.

So, what do the language police do: they examine all commercial literature (brochures, prospectus, data sheets, softwares, specifications, instruction manuals, even invoices and 'bulletins de livraison'. All these items must be in approved French (if there are translations into other languages, as well, that is OK, but the proper French language must be there. Woe betide the person who has accidentally permitted a single English or German word to slip in his text. Even if there is not an equivalent in French, you have to make up a circumlocution, rather than use a foreign word. So, the next time you fancy a sirloin steak in Paris, you have to order 'un bifteck coupé dans l'aloyau' (of course, I daren't mention that 'un bifteck' is a corruption of the English 'beefsteak', in case it gets replaced by 'tranche de boeuf' )

And, yes, people are taken to court and sanctioned for infringements, every day.

[LvR]

"Mag die lede van die taal-polisie se armholtes almal permanent besmet raak met die luise van n duisend kamele" - now there - have the language police sort that out.

[Brian Ellis]

I'd need the light from a thousand camels to understand it!

[Topha]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
They will soon start to ban and burn the originals, too. This is the evil that is multiculturalism. It is absolute in its evil, because the effect is not "multi-cultures" but non-culture, the denial of culture, the supression of and attempt to deny the existence of most especially the dominant culture, that of Western Europe, the culture that BUILT America. It's not funny in the least.. It is a threat to truth, a threat to everything. Anyone who does not see the seriousness of this is profoundly foolish.

What is it with you and multiculturalism?

And I do take this seriousliy, but thats no reason not to laugh about it.

[Brian Ellis]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
They will soon start to ban and burn the originals, too. This is the evil that is multiculturalism. It is absolute in its evil, because the effect is not "multi-cultures" but non-culture, the denial of culture, the supression of and attempt to deny the existence of most especially the dominant culture, that of Western Europe, the culture that BUILT America. It's not funny in the least.. It is a threat to truth, a threat to everything. Anyone who does not see the seriousness of this is profoundly foolish.

Sorry, this is a load of pure and simple bollocks, worthy of Adolf Hitler's "pure Aryan race" policy. The Western European culture is a result of multiculturism with many languages coming from Sanskrit (Perso-Indian) and other aspects coming from Judeo-Christian philosophies, science from North Africa and China admixed with other cultures from the Huns, the Goths, the Visigoths, the Mongolians, the Turks, all in the last 2000 years and many others before that. Even today, there is no one Western European culture; there are hundreds.

Anyone who closes his mind to pluriculturism is as if he were blind. If he preaches this as an evangelist preaches the Word, then he may become a fanatic. The arrogance of fanaticism is today's evil, not the broadmindedness of those who can see farther than the tip of their noses. And this last sentence is addressed to fanatics of all flavours, whether he be a Protestant in Northern Ireland, a Taliban in Afghanistan, a member of the Likud, a Palestinian freedom-fighter, a Congolese cannibal, a Saudi terrorist or even a red-necked Southern Baptist, supporting the Ku Klux Klan or a Macarthyist witchhunting communists (who also are developing a rich culture of their own). I am intolerant of intolerance.

You, in the USA, have a wonderfully rich heritage-in-the-making, simply because you are a pluricultural country, even more so than Western Europe. Please don't waste your opportunity by narrowmindedness. And narrowmindedness includes stupid restrictions on language in the name of political correctness.

It reminds me of an ad that appeared in a UK newspaper, shortly after a law was passed proclaiming sexual equality:
Wanted, female or male models for catalogue photographs of bras... (the wording may not be exact, but the meaning is)

[KvHagedorn]

Calling it "bollocks" and using cheap defamation tactics is not an argument. Neither is the rest of your post.

That said, I admit I did not make much argument, either. But I don't feel like elaborating.. it's just pointless.

[Topha]

Quoting Nigel Powers: "There is two things in this world I can't stand. People being intolerant of other peoples culture, and the Dutch!"




sorry, couldnt resist after reading your post, Brian. Nice post, btw, especially the bit about fanaticism. I want to add that fanaticism usually spawns from fear and uncertainties, just like intolerance, war etc. etc.

[Strahd]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
Except French. In France, they have bastardised 'logiciel' and this is even worse. The word 'logiciel' used to be the masculine adjective describing semantic logic. The equivalent for mathematical logic is 'logisticiel' and if they had to bastardise a word, it should have been that, logiciellement. I bet you don't know what a CD-ROM is in French: a 'cédérom' (at least it is pronounced +/- similarly), but a CD is 'un disque compact', CD being on the proscribed list of foreign words. Of course, these things don't go in a PC or a personal computer but they are used in your ordinateur personnel. It doesn't stop at your technical language. The English word bacon is derived from a similar French word, which fell into disuse. Now, it is forbidden to label 'lard fumé' as bacon, even though it is one and the same thing and bacon IS a French word.

I'm not quite sure I get what you are saying. The French have bastardized the word logiciel. Why? Why should the French HAVE TO call a CD a CD. Should it be called a COMPACT DISK with a French accent or should they call it what it is? Un disque compacte. Perhaps the French should also stop calling french fries des patates frite and start calling them freedom fries.

I know, why don't the French change all the words they use, to our English equivalents? Cause then Brian, you may stand the chance of being as fluent in French as myself .

Oh and you know how the Germans say thank you? You're no gonna believe this one, but they don't say thank you, they say Danke. And don't get me started on the Spanish and Italian.

[Topha]

He's saying that the french have a very drastical way of keeping their language the way it is, not accepting assimilation of words from the other language, like everyone in germany is saying computer, internet, homepage etc., and everyone in america saying kindergarden, leitmotiv, gesundheit etc.