Finchbearer
Istar
What about the cave left him ‘ill at ease’?
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Words the English Language needs
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pmmg
Myth Weaver
I do have a writing voice which tends to spell things out like that, but not always. There is also a sound to the words which I want to resonate. So...I cant know without it before me if that would work as a substitution, or how much else would change to include it, if that makes sense.
How about re-purposed? Very few loan words cross the language barrier completely unchanged. Heck, even within the language, words shift around across geography and along generational or social lines. I believe a caterpillar commented on this, long ago.
Prince of Spires
Auror
Assimilated could be another term.
As for the british isles, it could be the lovely castles you have there that attracts people.
As for the british isles, it could be the lovely castles you have there that attracts people.
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- #25
The Glorious Revolution happened in order to seize English breakfast, meatpies, fish and chips, and scones. The language wasn't stolen or assimilated, but settled by hangry continentals I'd say.
As for adopting words wholesale Prince of Spires, I think we both know that there is no way in which words such as "eergisteren" could survive that process in any recognisable state of pronunciation
In the past I suggested eergisteren could become "eryest", and then overmorgen could become "overmorrow."
As for adopting words wholesale Prince of Spires, I think we both know that there is no way in which words such as "eergisteren" could survive that process in any recognisable state of pronunciation
In the past I suggested eergisteren could become "eryest", and then overmorgen could become "overmorrow."
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Fyri
Inkling
Oh. No. It's stolen. We are thieves. Or rather, my favorite:
As for adding new words--this happens all the time, though it is mostly slang. The internet has become a hub for evolving languages quickly. Really, it is just if enough people like the new word and want to use it, it becomes a fad or a trend and will spread until it becomes common vocab--at least in certain regions.
Plenty of times we invent new words for things that already exist, and the older generation gets upset because "Why don't you just say 'throw' or 'toss?' What is 'yeet?'"
So, if we all start using these words casually, eventually the hivemind will have to give in. And then we can have the other languages get mad about how we misuse or mispronounce their word. > : D
As for adding new words--this happens all the time, though it is mostly slang. The internet has become a hub for evolving languages quickly. Really, it is just if enough people like the new word and want to use it, it becomes a fad or a trend and will spread until it becomes common vocab--at least in certain regions.
Plenty of times we invent new words for things that already exist, and the older generation gets upset because "Why don't you just say 'throw' or 'toss?' What is 'yeet?'"
So, if we all start using these words casually, eventually the hivemind will have to give in. And then we can have the other languages get mad about how we misuse or mispronounce their word. > : D
Finchbearer
Istar
Hmm. In defence of my soggy little collection of Islands that I call home (the United Kingdom) I’m going to say that while ‘English’ is clearly made of up of lots of different languages, it’s not as if a collective ‘we’ stole anything. Most modern Britons today are made up of all those who colonised it a long long time ago. The influence that the Roman invasion, the Norman invasion and many of the Nordic settlers had on our language makes up what it is today. It’s truly a story of conquest and immigration, not an indigenous people ‘stealing’ a bunch of other languages. 
The OG languages of these Isles (if you like) include Welsh or Cymru which is a very old language indeed, Cornish (if you want to count that) and Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
The rest is birthday cake confetti.
The OG languages of these Isles (if you like) include Welsh or Cymru which is a very old language indeed, Cornish (if you want to count that) and Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
The rest is birthday cake confetti.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Eergisteren.... seems close to equestrian to me. We'll just use that. They mean the same right?
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- #29
"I went to the movies equestrian. The film I saw was about a group of eergisterens. Horses worth of hours!"
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- #30
That's not to mention the four main groups of migratory lads and ladettes. The Angles, Saxons, Frisians and Jutes were continental Germanics after all, not Nordics. The Scandis shan't take them from us.Hmm. In defence of my soggy little collection of Islands that I call home (the United Kingdom) I’m going to say that while ‘English’ is clearly made of up of lots of different languages, it’s not as if a collective ‘we’ stole anything. Most modern Britons today are made up of all those who colonised it a long long time ago. The influence that the Roman invasion, the Norman invasion and many of the Nordic settlers had on our language makes up what it is today. It’s truly a story of conquest and immigration, not an indigenous people ‘stealing’ a bunch of other languages.
The OG languages of these Isles (if you like) include Welsh or Cymru which is a very old language indeed, Cornish (if you want to count that) and Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
The rest is birthday cake confetti.
- Thread starter
- #31
I must say I agree with the old-timers on this one. "Yeet" is a blight upon the English tongue which I desire to hurl, fling, thrust and perhaps even bunt away!Oh. No. It's stolen. We are thieves. Or rather, my favorite:
As for adding new words--this happens all the time, though it is mostly slang. The internet has become a hub for evolving languages quickly. Really, it is just if enough people like the new word and want to use it, it becomes a fad or a trend and will spread until it becomes common vocab--at least in certain regions.
Plenty of times we invent new words for things that already exist, and the older generation gets upset because "Why don't you just say 'throw' or 'toss?' What is 'yeet?'"
So, if we all start using these words casually, eventually the hivemind will have to give in. And then we can have the other languages get mad about how we misuse or mispronounce their word. > : D
pmmg
Myth Weaver
I think we will just yeet that one to the curb and move on.
Finchbearer
Istar
Northern England in particular still lots of words derived from old Norse such as Garth, gate, midden, fell and holm, and even the northern dialects are influenced by those Scandis. You ever been to Newcastle?
The Anglo Saxons brought a proto-Germanic language in which was the beginnings of Old English?
Fyri
Inkling
Yeet is a useful word, my friends. I don’t use it commonly (and certainly not in writing, though I have a character who would definitely use it, but they are alive in 2009 our time, so that's not a word yet), but I do recognize the unique connotation. XD Though 'bunt' is very close to the same feeling.
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- #35
Only part of the UK I have ever visited is Northern Ireland, but I have been told before by a Northern English that the Danelaw left its fading remnants up there. And yes, English comes from the Angles, the the Saxons, the Frisians and the Jutes (which brought what in which amounts is hard to ascertain). It's through them that English is classified as a Germanic language, regardless of its immense romance influences. Not much left of the Celtic progenitors, though Welsh, Manx and Cornish pick up the slack in spades.
Not_Alice
Scribe
German native here and laughing very hard right now.
Finchbearer
Istar
…because it’s a German word? It sounds German.
Not_Alice
Scribe
It is. It's one of the many words English borrowed from German, along with, uh, schadenfreude, kindergarten, glockenspiel, blitzkrieg, rucksack... but at least you guys use those words right. Germans tend to borrow English words and then use them completely wrong. Like, our mobile phones for instance. We call them "Handy". Probably because they fit a hand nicely.
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- #39
I love words that are written the same in two languages, but mean something else. Great ground for confusion. For example, in German "geil" means "fun" or "cool". In Dutch it means "horny". You can imagine what sort of strange notions of the Germans are thus fostered here in the Netherlands.
Another one that never fails to create confusion is between Dutch and Flemish. In Flemish "poep" means "butt". In Dutch it means "shit". Again you can imagine Dutchmen misinterpreting the strange love for poep those Flemish folk have. A normal thing to say in Flemish is "ga zitten op uw poep" or "go sit on your butt"... If you say that to a Dutchman however, some chuckles ensue.
Not_Alice
Scribe
"Geil" actually does mean horny in German, too, but it's rarely used with that meaning, at least not up north. The further south you get, the more the meaning changes... There's a lot of fun to be had that way, especially between Austrians and Germans. For instance, "schnacken" means "to have a bit of small talk" in Northern Germany, whereas "schnackseln" (note the s) means "to have sex" in Austria... Another nice one is "abgehen" which can mean anything from ejaculating to a rocket lifting off to missing someone or something. I've been living in Northern Germany since 2009, and I still run occasionally run into embarrassing situations like that.
