Maty Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/336...in-phrases.html Apparently we should all be using NewSpeak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingsoc Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 That's pretty ridicules, by dumbing down the language (which probably show what those council men people thinks of their voters intelligence) you preventing people from a chance to enrich their vocabulary which only hurt they later in life if they ever want to read an academic article or good fine literature. As a native speaker of Hebrew, a language that has no roots in Latin, I mostly didn't know what those Latin words meant but it's was pretty easy to check them in the English dictionary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursus Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/336...in-phrases.html Apparently we should all be using NewSpeak. George Orwell was a prophet in many things. Although I would have been less surprised if something like this had happened at Berkeley, California than in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 From the article: In instructions to staff, the council said: "Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult." Are we to believe that it's only the English who ever use Latin terms? When did Latin become the exclusive province of the English-speaking world? I'm serious. Are people who "do not have English as their first language" -- people from, say, Spain or Japan really that likely to be baffled when encountering the term status quo? Not all foreigners are dummies. But an awful lot of English-speaking government officials appear to be. -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maty Posted November 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 And an excellent response from the BBC's today programme here ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsi...000/7705636.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanista Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 Lanista, that image just described my exact reaction. A few years ago, a student complained to my supervisor that in class I would refer back to Latin or the sister Romance languages in explaining some of the supposed 'quirks' of Spanish grammar. Her complaint was that she was taking Spanish, and could care less about any other language. My supervisor evidently practically busted a rib trying to hold in her laughter. Somehow she managed, and proceeded to ask what this student's major was. "Biology," the ignorant student replied. "Well," countered my supervisor, "all those taxonomic processes that you must do, or all of the names for those processes and such...where do you think those names come from?" Wait for it... "Um, English..." the student replied, rolling her eyes. At which point my supervisor informed the wayward child that she probably wasn't going to win her current argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Augusta Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 From the article: In instructions to staff, the council said: "Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult." Are we to believe that it's only the English who ever use Latin terms? When did Latin become the exclusive province of the English-speaking world? I'm serious. Are people who "do not have English as their first language" -- people from, say, Spain or Japan really that likely to be baffled when encountering the term status quo? Not all foreigners are dummies. But an awful lot of English-speaking government officials appear to be. -- Nephele Alas, Nephele, I think that the quote you've plucked out is really at the crux of this ruling. Unfortunately, this is indicative of a general malaise that lies at the heart of our British society at the moment. Our nanny state and our PC-mad bureaucrats are slowly chipping away our identity as a nation in the interests of multi-culturalism. Now, don't misunderstand me - I'm all for welcoming multi-culturalism, but not at the expense of every tradition we have. And from what I gather of the many people who have come to England from different cultures, they love being part of Great Britain and its traditions - so who these idiots think they are representing is beyond me! As you rightly say, it is the government officials who are at fault here. They have the arrogance to believe they know what's best for everyone. We had a similar pile of nonsense when they withdrew Latin from schools - citing the fact that it was 'far too difficult' for most children to learn. It really is an insult! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Augusta, it's the same deal here in the U.S., with the government too often thinking they know what's best for everyone. We employ our government officials with our taxes and votes -- yet somehow things have gotten turned around and our government officials, instead of rightly behaving as our employees, too often seem to think that they are our masters. I don't think it'll get to the point here in the U.S. where our government might start issuing directives to stifle town board members or congressmen from using Latin terms in their communications. Besides the "free speech" issue (always a hot one, here in the U.S.), one can see the parody possibilities for such nonsense, and how damaging that would be to officious, anti-Latin officials (e.g. that link to Dr. Peter Jones's hilarious response, that Maty posted). -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASCLEPIADES Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Salve, Amici. Augusta, it's the same deal here in the U.S., with the government too often thinking they know what's best for everyone. Actually, I think the English language is the lucky one. Other languages (eg, French and Spanish) are simply under the omniscient rule of tyrannical Academies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docoflove1974 Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Other languages (eg, French and Spanish) are simply under the omniscient rule of tyrannical Academies... While the English language doesn't quite have an 'academy', they do have the OED...and various academics who will gladly tell you that they uphold the morals of language. (Sadly, I had a couple as professors....) I can't say a thing about the French Academie, but as for the Real Academia Espa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASCLEPIADES Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 Other languages (eg, French and Spanish) are simply under the omniscient rule of tyrannical Academies... While the English language doesn't quite have an 'academy', they do have the OED...and various academics who will gladly tell you that they uphold the morals of language. (Sadly, I had a couple as professors....) I can't say a thing about the French Academie, but as for the Real Academia Espa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotWotius Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 "It is far better to use words people understand. Often people in power are using the words because they want to feel self important. It is not right that voters should suffer because of some official's ego." But she just used the word 'ego'...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephele Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 "It is far better to use words people understand. Often people in power are using the words because they want to feel self important. It is not right that voters should suffer because of some official's ego." But she just used the word 'ego'...! Hahahahahaha! Euge! -- Nephele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 Some classical scholar should attend a meeting of these numbskull populares and hit a buzzer every time they use a Latin term. After 15 minutes, their ears would be ringing with the sounds of their own absurdity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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