English without Latin?

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idoneus1957
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English without Latin?

Post by idoneus1957 »

This is only peripherally about Latin.
What would English look like with no Latin roots? The sf writer L. Sprague de Camp wrote a story called "The Wheels of If" which is probably the most carefully worked out alternative-history story I have ever read. In his story, Columbus never made his voyage, and instead of the United States in the 20th century, we have the "Bretwaldate of Vinland" because the settlements of Leif Ericson just kept growing. In the version of English they speak, "You are under arrest for indecent exposure" is "You're under stoppage for shameful outputting."

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jeidsath
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Re: English without Latin?

Post by jeidsath »

Poul Anderson published an essay about atomic theory using an English with no Germanic words (as if the Norman invasion had never occurred):
Uncleftish Beholding

For most of its being, mankind did not know what things are made of, but could only guess. With the growth of worldken, we began to learn, and today we have a beholding of stuff and work that watching bears out, both in the workstead and in daily life.

The underlying kinds of stuff are the *firststuffs*, which link together in sundry ways to give rise to the rest. Formerly we knew of ninety-two firststuffs, from waterstuff, the lightest and barest, to ymirstuff, the heaviest. Now we have made more, such as aegirstuff and helstuff....
“One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato." "In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.”

Joel Eidsath -- jeidsath@gmail.com

Timothée
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Re: English without Latin?

Post by Timothée »

jeidsath wrote:Poul Anderson published — — an essay about atomic theory using an English with no Germanic words
You mean only Germanic words, of course. The problem is, why allow Germanic loans if one wants to purify the language? I noticed 5 loan-words from Scandinavian languages in that quote, and could have missed something. This special allowance has probably some connexion with the racism thread.

Here’s a nice little video on the subject.

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jeidsath
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Re: English without Latin?

Post by jeidsath »

Yes. Sorry for the error. Here is Xenophon Zolotas doing the same with Greek words. It does not work was well as the Anderson essay, which says a great deal about the nature of our Greek borrowings. He is speaking to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development:
Kyrie,
I eulogize the archons of the Panethnic Numismatic Thesaurus and the Ecumenical Trapeza for the orthodoxy of their axioms, methods and policies, although there is an episode of cacophony of the Trapeza with Hellas.

With enthusiasm we dialogue and synagonize at the synods of our didymous Organizations in which polymorphous economic ideas and dogmas are analyzed and synthesized.

Our critical problems such as the numismatic plethora generate some agony and melancholy. This phenomenon is characteristic of our epoch. But, to my thesis, we have the dynamism to program therapeutic practices as a prophylaxis from chaos and catastrophe.

In parallel, a panethnic unhypocritical economic synergy and harmonization in a democratic climate is basic.

I apologize for my eccentric monologue. I emphasize my eucharistia to you Kyrie, to the eugenic and generous American Ethnos and to the organizers and protagonists of this Amphictyony and the gastronomic symposia.
“One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato." "In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.”

Joel Eidsath -- jeidsath@gmail.com

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