Are the days of English as world language counted?

Jimbuna · 12-31-10, 01:10 PM

I thought Spanish was more common in a worldwide context

Either that or Vendoran

GoldenRivet · 12-31-10, 01:16 PM

The English language has been dead in the United States for decades.

papa_smurf · 01-01-11, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

The English language has been dead in the United States for decades.

I know, jelly is jam and jam is jelly

TarJak · 01-01-11, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEED

Yes..

I'm learning Klingon.

Qapla'

Quote:

Originally Posted by antikristuseke

You mean welsh, STEED?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Either that or Vendoran

It's all greek to me.

Gibberish like these languages anyway.

Schöneboom · 01-01-11, 12:57 PM

Ostler overestimates the power of technology when harnessed to the stupidity of average users. What happens in actual practice when a computer hears an odd dialect, barely understandable in the next county, or reads a poorly spelled text? Errr, does not compute! Buzz, pop! Fizzle...

As for English, it fits the profile of lingua franca and continues to have a certain cachet & practicality for conducting the world's business. Among languages in the Roman alphabet, it is relatively free of diacritical marks. However it suffers from a surfeit of homonyms that can confuse even native speakers. It seems to have been common practice to use the language of the hegemon in decline, not its successor.

Actually even native speakers may need to become fluent in the pidgin versions spoken by non-natives, i.e. Engrish!

Gerald · 01-01-11, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbuna

I thought Spanish was more common in a worldwide context

Either that or Vendoran

.....tricky.....

Jimbuna · 01-01-11, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vendor

.....tricky.....

Meh?

12-31-10, 01:10 PM	#1
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,788 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	I thought Spanish was more common in a worldwide context Either that or Vendoran __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

12-31-10, 01:16 PM	#2
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	The English language has been dead in the United States for decades. __________________

01-01-11, 12:57 PM	#5
Schöneboom Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 651 Downloads: 36 Uploads: 0	Ostler overestimates the power of technology when harnessed to the stupidity of average users. What happens in actual practice when a computer hears an odd dialect, barely understandable in the next county, or reads a poorly spelled text? Errr, does not compute! Buzz, pop! Fizzle... As for English, it fits the profile of lingua franca and continues to have a certain cachet & practicality for conducting the world's business. Among languages in the Roman alphabet, it is relatively free of diacritical marks. However it suffers from a surfeit of homonyms that can confuse even native speakers. It seems to have been common practice to use the language of the hegemon in decline, not its successor. Actually even native speakers may need to become fluent in the pidgin versions spoken by non-natives, i.e. Engrish! __________________ Dietrich Schöneboom, U-431 "Es wird klappen, Herr Kaleun. Ganz sicher."