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English is a great language in that it (almost uniquely) decouples rules from meaning, thus giving it great flexibility. This is in my opinion it's greatest str

English is a great language in that it (almost uniquely) decouples rules from meaning, thus giving it great flexibility. This is in my opinion it's greatest strength. The way something becomes an acceptable part of the English language has less to do with following some arbitrary set of constraints, than what becomes accepted by actual human beings who use the language to communicate with other actual human beings. There are more ways of saying any particular thing in English than most if not all other languages, and while you may view this as a weakness, I rather appreciate being able to decide what sounds good on my own. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm There is also a larger point to be made. If English was such a hindrance why is the world like it is today? Language is one of the most important components of society, so if English really sucked, we'd probably be using some other language on HN. Please explain why, despite what you consider it's shortcomings, English is and will be the lingua franca of the world for the foreseeable future? My ancestors are from India, and I've visited there from time to time. Anyone with anything to contribute there speaks English, even if as a second (or third or fourth) language. If someone doesn't, that person isn't usually educated or hardly even literate. Indian languages developed from the same roots as European ones, which is why the term Indo-European exists#. Yet somehow, amongst all the possibilities, the most successful Indians use English. There is something to be said for that. # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages

deleted 13y ago
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Dewie 13y ago
> English is a great language in that it (almost uniquely) decouples rules from meaning, thus giving it great flexibility. This is in my opinion it's greatest strength. What does this mean? > The way something becomes an acceptable part of the English language has less to do with following some arbitrary set of constraints, than what becomes accepted by actual human beings who use the language to communicate with other actual human beings. You mean the way most languages evolve? You're gonna have to have a pretty authoritative enforcement of the use of a natural language to keep it from evolving at all. If someone wants "proper" English, they also have the Oxford Dictionary. > There are more ways of saying any particular thing in English than most if not all other languages, and while you may view this as a weakness, I rather appreciate being able to decide what sounds good on my own. That might be great for an English connoisseur (hey, there's another word for a potential spelling bee), but not so much for someone who is learning the language. And learning languages was what the person you originally replied to was talking about. > There is also a larger point to be made. If English was such a hindrance why is the world like it is today? Language is one of the most important components of society, so if English really sucked, we'd probably be using some other language on HN. Please explain why, despite what you consider it's shortcomings, English is and will be the lingua franca of the world for the foreseeable future? I guess by "larger point" you mean a historical point, which has nothing to do with the linguistical properties of a language. No-one has said that English sucks to such a degree that it couldn't have gained traction as an international lingua franca, but nice try with the straw man. But that doesn't mean that it is a arguably sub-par in some ways, in this case the original complaint was about the seemingly random phonetics and spelling of the English language. > My ancestors are from India, and I've visited there from time to time. Anyone with anything to contribute there speaks English, even if as a second (or third or fourth) language. If someone doesn't, that person isn't usually educated or hardly even literate. Indian languages developed from the same roots as European ones, which is why the term Indo-European exists#. Yet somehow, amongst all the possibilities, the most successful Indians use English. There is something to be said for that. # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages Yeah, there is something to be said for that: the British Empire (which you've already mentioned and other historical developments. Or what do you hint at with the last line, that the English language itself played a key role in the cultures and civilizations that made English an international language? That they wouldn't have been as successful if they spoke something like Romanian? Meanwhile you've said nothing about the original complaint, which is the spelling and phonetics of the language, but if you want to talk about history I guess that's cool, too.

deleted 13y ago

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Dewie 13y ago

> English is a great language in that it (almost uniquely) decouples rules from meaning, thus giving it great flexibility. This is in my opinion it's greatest strength. What does this mean? > The way something becomes an acceptable part of the English language has less to do with following some arbitrary set of constraints, than what becomes accepted by actual human beings who use the language to communicate with other actual human beings. You mean the way most languages evolve? You're gonna have to have a pretty authoritative enforcement of the use of a natural language to keep it from evolving at all. If someone wants "proper" English, they also have the Oxford Dictionary. > There are more ways of saying any particular thing in English than most if not all other languages, and while you may view this as a weakness, I rather appreciate being able to decide what sounds good on my own. That might be great for an English connoisseur (hey, there's another word for a potential spelling bee), but not so much for someone who is learning the language. And learning languages was what the person you originally replied to was talking about. > There is also a larger point to be made. If English was such a hindrance why is the world like it is today? Language is one of the most important components of society, so if English really sucked, we'd probably be using some other language on HN. Please explain why, despite what you consider it's shortcomings, English is and will be the lingua franca of the world for the foreseeable future? I guess by "larger point" you mean a historical point, which has nothing to do with the linguistical properties of a language. No-one has said that English sucks to such a degree that it couldn't have gained traction as an international lingua franca, but nice try with the straw man. But that doesn't mean that it is a arguably sub-par in some ways, in this case the original complaint was about the seemingly random phonetics and spelling of the English language. > My ancestors are from India, and I've visited there from time to time. Anyone with anything to contribute there speaks English, even if as a second (or third or fourth) language. If someone doesn't, that person isn't usually educated or hardly even literate. Indian languages developed from the same roots as European ones, which is why the term Indo-European exists#. Yet somehow, amongst all the possibilities, the most successful Indians use English. There is something to be said for that. # http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages Yeah, there is something to be said for that: the British Empire (which you've already mentioned and other historical developments. Or what do you hint at with the last line, that the English language itself played a key role in the cultures and civilizations that made English an international language? That they wouldn't have been as successful if they spoke something like Romanian? Meanwhile you've said nothing about the original complaint, which is the spelling and phonetics of the language, but if you want to talk about history I guess that's cool, too.