Comments on: Languages http://www.huggin.net/blog/2006/12/16/languages/ Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:36:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Mike Huxley http://www.huggin.net/blog/2006/12/16/languages/#comment-54026 Mike Huxley Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:38:29 +0000 http://www.huggin.net/blog/2006/12/16/languages/#comment-54026 That's kinda how I felt, eventually a language mutates so much that it has no ties with the original language - so I'm all for language preservation. However, I also understand that it's a bit of a pipe dream. Yeah, Bivouac is pretty wicked. It's a french word (if it's hard to pronounce in English, it's probably of French origin) that came originally from a German word. Why is it that all climbing words come from French? That’s kinda how I felt, eventually a language mutates so much that it has no ties with the original language - so I’m all for language preservation. However, I also understand that it’s a bit of a pipe dream.

Yeah, Bivouac is pretty wicked. It’s a french word (if it’s hard to pronounce in English, it’s probably of French origin) that came originally from a German word. Why is it that all climbing words come from French?

]]> By: Cindy http://www.huggin.net/blog/2006/12/16/languages/#comment-54018 Cindy Sun, 17 Dec 2006 06:51:31 +0000 http://www.huggin.net/blog/2006/12/16/languages/#comment-54018 All very good questions, to which I have no answers. I would be interested what a linguist makes of all that stuff. I'm leaning towards the "language as evolving thing" way of looking at it. Why shouldn't language evolve along with the rest of the species? But then again, language shifts that go unchecked can pretty easily kill a language or dialect before people have a chance to record and preserve it. So I don't know what to think. And I've never even heard of a piton before. Then there's all those wacky words for climbing and mountaineering gear- you're just asking for trouble talking about crampons and bivouac things. I mean, what the hell kind of word is bivouac?! But yeah. Overage really is kind of a strange word. "Surplus" or "excess" could work just as easily. and don't get me started on the proper pronunciation of "melee." All very good questions, to which I have no answers. I would be interested what a linguist makes of all that stuff. I’m leaning towards the “language as evolving thing” way of looking at it. Why shouldn’t language evolve along with the rest of the species? But then again, language shifts that go unchecked can pretty easily kill a language or dialect before people have a chance to record and preserve it. So I don’t know what to think.

And I’ve never even heard of a piton before. Then there’s all those wacky words for climbing and mountaineering gear- you’re just asking for trouble talking about crampons and bivouac things. I mean, what the hell kind of word is bivouac?!

But yeah. Overage really is kind of a strange word. “Surplus” or “excess” could work just as easily.

and don’t get me started on the proper pronunciation of “melee.”

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