Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Trenchfriend]

It seems to work differently for the high and powerful than for the plebeians.

??

 

[LizzieMaine]

!!

 

[Bigger Don]

??

Since I very seldom use the ignore function, and certainly wouldn't find the need for one on a forum where partisan politics has been banned <snicker>, I followed the instructuctions to see how it works here.
This is what I observed when I told the system I was ignoring you. It doesn't seem to match the previous description.

• Your posts no longer appear in the thread
  • Before
    
    
  • After
    
    
• Also, when I look at a post that quotes you the reference to you and that content is hidden.
  • Before
    
    
• After
  
  

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Sand"/"Cream"-colour on clothing.

The boys from marketing made it "nude", today.

Does that mean that actual nudity will now be called "Harris Tweed?"

 

[2jakes]

Does that mean that actual nudity will now be called "Harris Tweed?"

Depends.
I play tennis practically 24/7 in the sun.
I would be classified as "Plaid Tweed".

 

[Trenchfriend]

Does that mean that actual nudity will now be called "Harris Tweed?"

In Germany, the main term "skin-colour" is popular. It's the same, like the marketing's "nude". But to me, there's no visible difference to the old "sand" or "cream", like on classic trenchcoats/raincoats/wintercoats.

"Camel" seemingly didn't change. Still the yellowish version of "sand"-colour.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's like the old American use of "flesh color," until it was acknowledged that flesh, in fact, comes in more than one color. For some reason Americans have always been hyper-vigilant about noticing that -- except when it came to a box of crayons.

 

[Bigger Don]

That's like the old American use of "flesh color," until it was acknowledged that flesh, in fact, comes in more than one color. For some reason Americans have always been hyper-vigilant about noticing that -- except when it came to a box of crayons.

Crayola changed from "Flesh" to "Peach" in 1962. Did no other English speakers ever use "Flesh" for a crayon color?

What earlier examples of American hyper-vigilance do we have regarding other uses of "Flesh" as a color name?

 

[Upgrade]

English has never had the equivalent of the French Academy as an official standardizer of grammar, spelling, and "bon usage". Other European countries have created their own clones for their languages and even produced their official dictionaries at a faster rate than the French.

Though one of the modern functions of the Academy is to create appropriate Gallic spellings of English words like computer -> ordinateur. English just seems to churn through new words and phrases at a prodigious rate.

 

[Bigger Don]

English just seems to churn through new words and phrases at a prodigious rate.

Growth by adoption and creation.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The French also have a high degree of petty nationalism about their language -- keeping it free of "foreign influences" is much more of a priority for them than it is in nations where English is the dominant tongue. As far as I'm concerned, anybody who thinks English hasn't benefitted immensely from foreign influences can kish mir en toches, capish?

As far as standardized spelling goes, however, there was a well-organized movement around the turn of the century for "simplified spelling." This campaign, which had surprisingly wide support, insisted that English words should be spelled only in a way that made phonetic sense -- "laf," "fotograf," "tho," "fantom," "kof," and so on and on. Some people were very militant about this -- and not always the people you'd expect. Colonel Robert McCormick, the hidebound ultraconservative publisher of the Chicago Tribune, was one of the most vocal advocates of "simplified spelling," and for a while insisted that it be used in his paper until saner heads prevailed. But you'd still see "wirefoto" used in picture credits in the Tribune for years after it had disappeared from the rest of the paper.

Probably the most common survivor of this campaign is "thru," which was widely adopted on signs as a space-saver, and even gained acceptance in Webster's Second New International as a legitimate variant spelling.

 

[Bigger Don]

Does anyone know of any organization promoting keeping English " 'pure' " and/or "free of foreign influences"?

 

[Trenchfriend]

German language can die out and maybe will die out.
I can speak English, so it's equally, to me. A language like German, without the absolute necessary civilized distance, isn't needed to humans.

It's always so unbelievable funny, to think about, how easy English is, in fact. For a German, it's not necessary to learn the whole English language. The only trick is, just to comprehend the way to talk. That's really all!

The moment, you finally comprehended the english way to talk, then you got it.

It's senseless, to teach English at our German public schools, if the kids are learning, but always not comprehending the way to talk.

 

[ChiTownScion]

The French also have a high degree of petty nationalism about their language -- keeping it free of "foreign influences" is much more of a priority for them than it is in nations where English is the dominant tongue.

It's interesting that they are so passionate (some might say, paranoid) about that sort of thing in Quebec, where, to cite one example, all of the red octagonal signs must read "Arret." Yet, travel to the lovely North Atlantic islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which are actually France, and those signs read "Stop" (as the do in Russia, BTW). The whole debate on use of English, bilingual signage, etc., has become a giant political and economic issue in Montreal, of course, but for what my own experiences are worth, I found Paris to have a lot less of a fortress mentality about the whole thing.

 

[Trenchfriend]

The whole debate on use of English, bilingual signage, etc., has become a giant political and economic issue in Montreal, of course, but for what my own experiences are worth, I found Paris to have a lot less of a fortress mentality about the whole thing.

Of course. Paris is more international than "Vive la france, making babies...".

 

[LizzieMaine]

Usually when I was in Montreal I'd find that the people would refuse to admit to speaking English -- unless you first attempted to speak to them in French. Just a couple of words of the most broken, ba***rd French in the world would satisfy them, and they'd then speak to you in English. Even the nurses, when I was in the hospital in Montreal, were like this.

 

[LizzieMaine]

German language can die out and maybe will die out.
I can speak English, so it's equally, to me. A language like German, without the absolute necessary civilized distance, isn't needed to humans.

It's always so unbelievable funny, to think about, how easy English is, in fact. For a German, it's not necessary to learn the whole English language. The only trick is, just to comprehend the way to talk. That's really all!

The moment, you finally comrehended the english way to talk, then you got it.

It's senseless, to teach English at our German public schools, if the kids are learning, but always not comprehending the way to talk.

German is the one language I've always meant to learn. I've picked up a few words and phrases here and there, but it's interesting that when I hear it spoken I can often pick up at least the sense of what's being said without having to actually know the language itself. The sentence construction makes much more sense to me than French or Spanish.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Usually when I was in Montreal I'd find that the people would refuse to admit to speaking English -- unless you first attempted to speak to them in French. Just a couple of words of the most broken, ba***rd French in the world would satisfy them, and they'd then speak to you in English. Even the nurses, when I was in the hospital in Montreal, were like this.

The simple gesture of proffering a "Bonjour, Madame/ Mademoiselle/ Monsieur" upon entering a shop, and an "Au Revoir" upon leaving, established a lot of good will in both Montreal and Paris, I discovered.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Luckily, I learned to say "Mon real", already many years ago, instead of "MonTreal". If I maybe would visit Canada one time in my life.

 

[Trenchfriend]

German is the one language I've always meant to learn. I've picked up a few words and phrases here and there, but it's interesting that when I hear it spoken I can often pick up at least the sense of what's being said without having to actually know the language itself. The sentence construction makes much more sense to me than French or Spanish.

Yes, the french substantives are not declined. The curious thing.