Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:English language

2007-04-23T21:09:28Z

Gusdeadman: What is the point?

English is not the "language" of the United States, but rather the most commonly used language in the U.S. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 20:09, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

English is not both a Romance and Germanic language. It is a Germanic language, specifically a West Germanic language. However, English can correctly be called the "least Germanic" of Germanic languages, due to its heavy borrowing from French after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

::Don't want to niggle about this -- since I'm a linguist by training, I know what you are saying, but I want to put this in plain language that non-linguists can understand. Yes, English in orgin is a West Germanic language, but some of its parts are grafts, as it were-- our pronoun system comes from Danish, and many of our syntactical habits (use of auxilliary verbs, for instance) come from French. In terms of the lexicon, Saxon-era words are a small minority (though predominant in the 1st decile of most commonly-used words), French the big contributor, followed by Latin, Greek, and other modern languages. So I want to give a sense that English is really a language with a mixed heritage, getting more mixed all the time, which is its strength! But I don't want to write something that sounds too technical. Hmm -- maybe I can adapt what I just said above . . . .

::[[User:Boethius|Boethius]] 18:07, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

As most people in the world use British English spelling (Canada - double standard; Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia), why does this encyclopedia not go with the majority?
::Most people in the world are heathens as well, but this encyclopedia is to be as a city upon a hill. This is, however, not the right place for this discussion, so hurry along.
::--[[User:Brtkrbzhnv|Brtkrbzhnv]] 18:03, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

== What is the point? ==

What is the point in having an encyclopedia that anybody can edit if changes are changed immediately and not allowed to be seen and discussed? I was told the changes I made were contrary to Rule 5 and they were removed. Presumably because they thought it was just opinion, but this whole thing is opinion.

If you are not open to truth no one will trust you. Be open, honest, and allow things to challenge what you think. It is the only way you can grow.

Seek the truth.

Gus Deadman

User:Gusdeadman

2007-04-23T20:56:04Z

Gusdeadman: Correction

I do not believe it does violate anything. It is the truth. If you want to know about English ask the English, it's our language after all. You can speak how ever you like but it is not English unless we also say it that way. You can't get around that. +
- +
- Also please do not threaten me. Gus Deadman

English language

2007-04-23T20:33:47Z

Gusdeadman: Minor english correction

English is the predominant language of [[The United Kingdom|Great Britain]], and other former members of the [[British Empire]]. Due to it's enormous political and economic influence of this nation, English functions as the world's major international language.

English is a member of the Germanic language family, but with significant influence from [[French]], a Romance language. This is largely due to the conquest of Saxon-speaking [[England]] by [[French]] speaking Normans in 1066 AD. English owes some of its structure (it's system of auxilliary verbs, for example) to French. In terms of the lexicon, Old English words are a minority (though they predominate when one looks at the most commonly-used words) whereas words from [[French]] are more numerous, followed by [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and other modern languages.

Since that time, English has continued to grow and evolve, borrowing thousands of words from other languages, among them [[French]], [[Latin]], [[Greek]], and [[Spanish]], as well as generating new words of its own. In large part as a result, English has one of the largest lexicons (vocabularies) of any world language, and is particularly rich in [[synonym]]s and near-synonyms. It is the primary (native) language of approximately 400 million people worldwide, as well as a secondary, or learned language of 600 million more. There are estimated to be nearly one billion people currently learning English.

English spelling, though originally phonetic, has evolved considerably over time. By the Middle English period, spelling had become quite variable, and standard spellings did not evolve until the late seventeenth century. In the United States, the lexicographer [[Noah Webster]] argued for simplifying some spelling which were no longer phonetic, such as the -our in words such as "colour" but he was wrong. Despite this most, though not all, of his proposed changes were adopted, such that US English is mis-spelled in some hundreds of instances. English spelling is the standard; US English spelling is incorrect.

The term "English" may also be used to refer to a person or thing from the United Kingdom born in the country of England.
[[Category:Languages]]