Re: linguistic abuse (was "Loop approach")

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

OK, since we've gotten here, I can't resist.  If you're looking for 
interesting
and creative use of English, you'll have to look no further than
http://www.engrish.com/recentdiscoveries.html

The posts range from hilarious, to beautiful, but for sure there is a 3rd 
thing
that's created when two cultures collide...

Mark

ysh wrote:

> Ah, I must jump in, as Japanese is my native language.
>
> Responding to some quotes, somewhat out of context --
>
> >The other thing to factor in with the net is how many people contribute 
>for
> >whom english is a second language. I think the world is a poorer place 
>due
> >to the tyranny of english on the net
>
> I recall a dinner-talk snippet somewhere in Europe, where a person
> mentioned:  by defining English as the default language, the net has done
> Europe a lot of good in proving that French is *not* the 'international'
> language as some people believe.  Naturally, this person didn't come 
>from a
> French-speaking nation...  :-)
>
> >>This is because language really has little to do with reality--words 
>are
> >>just sounds that we have come to associate with real-life objects.
>
> "Words" don't necessarily originate in sounds.
>
> In Japan we have a situation where we have two character sets, one 
>phonetic
> and one non-phonetic.  The non-phonetic characters genererally embody
> meaning and not necessary a fixed pronounciation.  ...Why?  The 
>characters
> were imported from China.  I must know hundreds of words that I can
> understand on paper, but cannot pronounce.
>
> * * *
>
> Returning to even earlier in the thread, the inadequacy of words to 
>express
> emotions/thoughts/whatever has been a big theme for many a novelist or 
>poet
> too, not the sole domain of non-linguistic arts.  I believe it was 
>Kundera,
> perhaps Rhys or even Tim O'Brien, who mentioned that the art of the novel
> was to capture a state for which there is no word.
>
> An additional thought, vaguely related to looping:  words defining 
>emotions
> often define the emotions with which we can identify.  Ditto for 
>objects...
>  in Japanese, I've heard that there are fifty-something variations of the
> word "tuna".  The quest for precise identification brought birth to those
> words, which in turn educates the masses of the finer variations of the "
> tuna" theme.
>
> Thus, the dynamic nature of languages is most likely a result of the
> inadequacy of language to express the uniqueness of every subject, be it
> material or abstract.  What a quest:  I find it a positive thing!
>
> Or, taking the other extreme, maybe I should throw the idea that "words 
>are
> stereotypes."  How's that for the ultimate in political correctness?  The
> logical conclusion to that thought would be for me to keep my mouth 
>shut...
>
>
> Well, on that note...  ;-)
>
> - - - - -
> Yoshi Matsumoto
> liminal@st.rim.or.jp