"Councils, expect to be sued"

"Chris" wrote in message
...
On 22/12/2010 17:13, Opus wrote:
[...]
German is what today's English would be if the Germanic tribes that
invaded England had been better at repelling the Romans, Normans,
Gauls, Vikings and Goddess knows who else invaded after them. American
English is the result of applying those centuries of pulling things
out of invaders' languages and reversing the process to name animals
and plant life they had not seen on Europe. At one time French was the
universal language of Europe, as shown by the use of the phrase
"lingua franca" for universal language. One of the things that makes
English so hard to learn is the fact that we borrowed so many words
from other languages that our spelling rules are more spelling
suggestions with thousands of exceptions to almost every rule. So Ed,
leave the Germans alone and find something else to grouse about, like
corporations taking over the government.

You forget that the Saxons came after the Romans and English came from the
mixing of German and Ancient British. The Vikings or more correctly named
Norsemen added some Danish and the Normans French although later they
dropped it when they worked out the French mocked their use of the
language.

English has been modernized over the years. It is why you can no longer read
Shakespeare unless it is severely annotated. I think German has not been
modernized much. The modernization of English is extremely important. Great
literature is constantly on the brink of death because no one can any longer
read it without taking college courses in English Literature. Beowulf
anyone?

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

On 12/24/2010 9:17 PM, Edward Dolan wrote:
[...]
Not all that much is known about the Celts. They have almost vanished from
the face of the earth. The last stronghold of the Celts were the Irish. They
probably had more to do with preserving Civilization during the Dark Ages
than any other people.

Dark Ages for Europeans were the high point of Arab culture.

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

"Tºm ShermªnT °_°" " wrote in
message ...
On 12/24/2010 9:17 PM, Edward Dolan wrote:
[...]
Not all that much is known about the Celts. They have almost vanished
from
the face of the earth. The last stronghold of the Celts were the Irish.
They
probably had more to do with preserving Civilization during the Dark Ages
than any other people.

Dark Ages for Europeans were the high point of Arab culture.

What the Arabs did best was to steal from everyone around them. That is
about what their civilization amounted to no matter where it was located.
Arab culture in the Middle East was built on the Byzantine Civilization. The
Arabs on their own were primitive savages and that is still what they are to
this day despite all the gold in Dubai.

The Moors in Andalusia were as good it ever got for them, but it was a hot
house culture. It could not withstand the Reconquista. However, it seems
only the glorious Spanish Inquisition could stamp it out altogether.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

On 12/24/2010 10:02 PM, Edward Dolan wrote:
[...] However, it seems
only the glorious Spanish Inquisition could stamp it out altogether.

I bet they were not expecting The Spanish Inquisition!

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On Dec 24, 12:39*am, Doug Anderson
wrote:
"Edward Dolan" writes:
The most primitive peoples in the most benighted parts of the world seem to
be able to speak English. There must be a reason for that. I attribute it to
the simplicity of the spoken language itself.

No. *Spoken Spanish (for example) is no more complex than spoken
English.

The reason basic proficiency in spoken English is so ubiquitous is
because, globally, the most popular pop-culture is in English. *

Nothing to do with the influence of the British Empire then? You
know, making English the lingua franca in places like India, North
America and a big slice of Asia...

The current spread is probably down to football more than anything
else, although it depends what you mean by "pop-culture". Films and
TV programmes are more likely to be dubbed or sub-titled for the
mainstream in most countries than shown in English, and if you've ever
heard non-native English speakers (e.g. Americans) doing covers of
English songs, well, you'd know nobody is going to learn a language
like that...

UD

Am 22.12.2010 00:09, schrieb Edward Dolan:
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

Minnesota? Isn't that the state where you basically have two seasons? -
Winter and road repair ...

Is that good for cycling? How do you get along there?

On Dec 23, 5:08*pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"Opus" wrote in message

...
On Dec 21, 5:09 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote:



snip
Why is German such a ****ed up language? I have read many of the German
poets and novelists (in English translations of course) and have marveled
at
the intelligence of them. I have also read many of the German philosophers
(in English translations of course) and have marveled at how muddled they
seem to be. I attribute this to the accursed German language.

I advise that Germans everywhere forsake their muddled language and adopt
the English language forthwith. After all, it is pretty much the universal
language of commerce and the Internet. I attribute half the problems of
Europe to all the freaking languages that blight that continent. My God,
go
a few miles anywhere on that continent and you are confronted by a
different
language. **** that nonsense! Go English or get lost is the admonition of
Ed
Dolan the Great.
German is what today's English would be if the Germanic tribes that

invaded England had been better at repelling the Romans, Normans,
Gauls, Vikings and Goddess knows who else invaded after them. American
English is the result of applying those centuries of pulling things
out of invaders' languages and reversing the process to name animals
and plant life they had not seen on Europe. At one time French was the
universal language of Europe, as shown by the use of the phrase
"lingua franca" for universal language. One of the things that makes
English so hard to learn is the fact that we borrowed so many words
from other languages that our spelling rules are more spelling
suggestions with thousands of exceptions to almost every rule. So Ed,
leave the Germans alone and find something else to grouse about, like
corporations taking over the government.

The most primitive peoples in the most benighted parts of the world seem to
be able to speak English. There must be a reason for that. I attribute it to
the simplicity of the spoken language itself. The written language is
different and more difficult of course.

I must admit I am used to only seeing the written German language and it is
an abomination how they run words together as if they were all one word. The
only language I despise more than German is French. It is one thing to
admire French culture, and it is quite another to admire there ****ed up
langauge. It is wonder to me that the French even understand one another.
The French need to have a rotor router run through their throats.

How much sense does it make to have thousands of languages in the world
today? I propose that English be made the universal language of all mankind.
That alone would advance civilization more than anything else I can think
of.

I think other societies have grown smarter, having their own culture
plus English, which is used for trading with America.

When they lose their culture and language and watch too much American
TV, they grow dumb like Americans. Mexico and the UK are 2nd and 3rd
in obesity after America.

On Dec 27, 3:22 pm, Jens Müller wrote:
Am 22.12.2010 00:09, schrieb Edward Dolan:

Why is German such a ****ed up language?

Next time, please post stuff like into a newsgroup about languages. Thanks.

F'Up2 poster set.

If Hitler had won the war, he wouldn't be such a big mouth.

I predict Cantonese to be the next major language....

"Jens Müller" wrote in message
...
Am 22.12.2010 00:09, schrieb Edward Dolan:
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota

Minnesota? Isn't that the state where you basically have two seasons? -
Winter and road repair ...

Is that good for cycling? How do you get along there?

Road repair is especially the province of Southern Minnesota (and all of
Iowa). The reason for it is all the freezing and thawing that goes on all
winter. When you get far enough north, the road stays frozen and so is not
constantly breaking up. The roads in Northern Minnesota are much smoother
than the roads in Southern Minnesota.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

Am 27.12.2010 21:40, schrieb His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet
of the deep jungle:
I predict Cantonese to be the next major language....

Why not Standard Chinese (Mandarin/Putonghua)?