tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post874958878681901727..comments2024-03-29T06:29:02.182-04:00Comments on You Don't Say: English is not in dangerJohn McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-19864019459158264272009-08-03T17:00:16.012-04:002009-08-03T17:00:16.012-04:00Modern Aramaic is "the language Jesus spoke&q...Modern Aramaic is "the language Jesus spoke" only in the sense that Sarkozy, Calderón, Cavaco Silva, Berlusconi, and Băsescu all speak Latin. Like the Romance languages, the modern Aramaic languages constitute a family of related, but not mutually intelligible, languages.<br /><br />It's also probable that Jesus spoke Greek as well as Aramaic. Pontius Pilate, as an educated Roman, would have known both Latin and Greek, but hardly Aramaic; if their private conversation is at all historical, the common language would have been Greek. Greek was also the language of administration in Judaea at the time.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-61317550555259041402009-06-26T16:46:54.504-04:002009-06-26T16:46:54.504-04:00Note that the Language Log post was titled "A...Note that the Language Log post was titled "A Conferenece of Dunces" and not "A Conference of Dunces." It was a riff on the misspelled sign in the picture, a sign that was presumably approved by the organizers of the conference.Faldonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12873736640907864834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-5630115699054220192009-06-26T15:29:05.157-04:002009-06-26T15:29:05.157-04:00OOPs! Sorry I didn't get the title right (Spea...OOPs! Sorry I didn't get the title right (Speak English, or else). I really must learn to slow down and pay attention to what I do on the internet. It's becoming a bad habit not to.traceychennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-74905825192781715332009-06-26T15:27:16.228-04:002009-06-26T15:27:16.228-04:00I LO-O-O-OVE your "innocent fun" (Speak ...I LO-O-O-OVE your "innocent fun" (Speak English only, please)!traceychennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-56443787579005941502009-06-26T14:53:57.593-04:002009-06-26T14:53:57.593-04:00That wasn't quite the Language Log hed, and de...That wasn't quite the Language Log hed, and deliberately so. See the pic there.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-80063862892325520952009-06-26T14:30:57.100-04:002009-06-26T14:30:57.100-04:00My young daughter often said she spoke "Angui...My young daughter often said she spoke "Anguish", instead of pronouncing it "English". How does that compare?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-39195558475224727742009-06-26T12:16:01.248-04:002009-06-26T12:16:01.248-04:00Part of the English-only movement in the teens and...Part of the English-only movement in the teens and 20s was, I believe, a reaction to WWI and our sudden antipathy to things German. (Cf our institutionalized distrust of ethnic Japanese during WWII.) In any event, no matter how vehemently its defenders deny it, the English-only movement is essentially racist: we need to be protected from the "threat" of foreign [language|people|anything]. In fact, tho, on its own territory, English will eat up these supposed threats and yield fascinating variants like Spanglish and Chinglish.mikehttp://www.mikepope.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com