Cultured Views

When is English NOT ‘english’ ?

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Well actually it never has been really. I came upon a messageboard recently where a debate was raging about the origins of the english language. An english lady made the sweeping statement; ” We english invented the english language so we know how to speak it better than anyone else…”

In fact she is quite wrong. Those who would call themselves “english” today are in fact descended from invading Germanic tribes who turned up on what is now called England and drove the native “English” out (England didn’t exist as a country in those days). Those who were originally living in what is now England were driven back to what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The English language is actually an amalgam of, mainly, a Germanic based language (Old English) which provides the majority of the key words (eg in, of, the), Danish (because they occupied about half of what is now England for several hundred years) which provides some other aspects such as “their” and a substrate of grammar and French (because they invaded the country in 1066 and remained as an occupying force for hundreds of years before being assimilated) which provides an awful lot of the vocabulary. Ironically, the original population provide very few words in what is now called English.

However, she’s also wrong because the Americans, at least on the east coast, speak English much better than the vast majority of English courtesy of a language reform started after their independence by Webster (of dictionary fame) who produced books telling them how to pronounce the words correctly and indeed who succeeded in rationalising some of the crazy spelling of English. For example, we use “colour” only because that word came from the French “coleur”; it’s clearly more logical to spell it “color”.

Quite why they have kitchen faucets whilst we have ‘kitchen taps’ though, I don’t know.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Mobile phones - love ‘em or hate ‘em…

Whether you like them or not mobile phones are here to stay and they will keep on evolving as technology dictates. Personally I do not have one - I cannot stand the things - and only one of my sons actually has one because of his job.

What amazes me is that I am in the minority; just about the entire population own a mobile phone, cell phone or whatever and would not know how to conduct their lives, social and otherwise, without one. Yet just as many people complain about those tower’s being built in order for those phones to work. If the towers don’t exist the phones won’t either; we have to accept that they are part of life’s fabric now whether it be a cell phone repeater or mobile phone towers - they are here to stay.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Musings from the kitchen

Yeah, I know - we only write about such things when we cannot think of anything else more interesting to write about…right?

Well, sometimes. As with any other woman who has a largish family life tends to revolve around the kitchen - that’s where it all happens. That’s where most of the drama’s are played out…and I am always right in the thick of it. Cooking away with a smile on my face.

Or washing up, wiping up, clearing away - funny how my own life revolves around the family kitchen and what I fondly call my ‘glass sink‘. Why?

Remember how back in the 70’s & 80’s the feminist movement broke through that famous glass ceiling where a woman’s career and wages were concerned?

Well, that’s what I mean. Work it out.

Popularity: 18% [?]