Using a Latin alphabet.
Using Germanic pronunciation.
Borrowing words from Spanish.
Stealing words from French.
Changing accent to avoid sounding Gaelic.
I have always loved the analogy that English isn’t a language, it’s three bilingual children stacked on top of each other wearing a trenchcoat and arguing about bologna.
Well, German has almost as many vowels as English and we’re doing just fine I think. On the other hand, French orthography is similarly fucked up although it’s a direct descendent of Latin and they don’t even have any weird sounds they can’t write concisely. So I think its just a matter of trying.
Using an alphabet designed for Latin has had some dire consequences.
Using a Latin alphabet. Using Germanic pronunciation. Borrowing words from Spanish. Stealing words from French. Changing accent to avoid sounding Gaelic.
I have always loved the analogy that English isn’t a language, it’s three bilingual children stacked on top of each other wearing a trenchcoat and arguing about bologna.
I have heard it analogized that English is a language that follows other languages into dark alleys to beat them up and steal their words.
All languages do, English is just a title holder
Well, German has almost as many vowels as English and we’re doing just fine I think. On the other hand, French orthography is similarly fucked up although it’s a direct descendent of Latin and they don’t even have any weird sounds they can’t write concisely. So I think its just a matter of trying.