I'd get rid of a lot of the Latinate stuff in English. Doesn't have the same ring to it as the more natural Germanic.
Changes that you would do to "improve" your langu
I would add as much Latin to English as possible. English has many words that have the same meaning in both Latin and Germanic. I'd emphasize the Latin word instead of the Germanic one. For example, "uproot" (Germanic) vs. "eradicate" (Latin). I would place more emphasis on "eradicate". Latin sounds more intellectual. Germanic sounds more gutteral.
The beauty of English as it is at the moment is that the Germanic and Latinate have different meanings, as in your example. You can't really eradicate (certainly not "uproot" here) either, really, without hindering the range of concepts we can talk about. Anyway, excessive Latinate vocabulary, as argued by Orwell (I think it was him) is poor.
No, because that is exactly what makes English such a great language. Our vocabulary is so rich, for we have the original Germanic way to express a thought, along with a Latinate synonym. Uproot and eradicate don't exactly mean the same thing. This gives us many options.
I have no problem with English being part Latinate and part Germanic. The English language is enhanced by having almost equal parts of both parent languages. It's what makes Engish unique. English should not be considered a Germanic language, nor should it be considered Romance. It is in its own class.
>>I would have English "regularize" its verb forms, but I guess that is just because I don't find that aspect of the English language (i.e., the differences in verb endings) very interesting.<<
I wouldn't like to see basic English grammar become even more straightforward. In fact I wish it was a more highly-inflected language. I don't know why I just do. A few genders, more cases and adjetive endings wouldn't hurt, I feel. I suppose having studied German, I am curious to know what it's like to have learnt this kind of language as your native tongue and not really think about it consciously.
I wouldn't like to see basic English grammar become even more straightforward. In fact I wish it was a more highly-inflected language. I don't know why I just do. A few genders, more cases and adjetive endings wouldn't hurt, I feel. I suppose having studied German, I am curious to know what it's like to have learnt this kind of language as your native tongue and not really think about it consciously.
I would change one thing about Spanish though. The time system in Spanish is very complicated. It creates an entirely different thought pattern, and for an English speaker, it is like adding backwards.
For instance, in English, if we wanted to say 4:45, we would say, "a quarter to five.
In Spanish, you would have to say, "a las cinco menos quarto".
For instance, in English, if we wanted to say 4:45, we would say, "a quarter to five.
In Spanish, you would have to say, "a las cinco menos quarto".
Hi LAA,
We have many ways of saying that:
Cinco menos cuarto
Quarto para las cinco
Cuatro cuarenta y cinco
So, all these forms are equally valid, they are not used everywhere, though. You can choose the one you like. Everybody will understand you.
>It creates an entirely different thought pattern, and for an English speaker, it is like adding backwards.
This is exactly the point!!! if it is a different language than English, then why should it necessarily have the same thought pattern??
I concede that it is by far more information to manage when learning the conjugation system in Spanish than in English. But once you understand it, you are able to express things whit more accuracy than in English. Attention: I am only talking about the verbal forms, not saying that Spanish language as whole is better or more able to express things than English.
We have many ways of saying that:
Cinco menos cuarto
Quarto para las cinco
Cuatro cuarenta y cinco
So, all these forms are equally valid, they are not used everywhere, though. You can choose the one you like. Everybody will understand you.
>It creates an entirely different thought pattern, and for an English speaker, it is like adding backwards.
This is exactly the point!!! if it is a different language than English, then why should it necessarily have the same thought pattern??
I concede that it is by far more information to manage when learning the conjugation system in Spanish than in English. But once you understand it, you are able to express things whit more accuracy than in English. Attention: I am only talking about the verbal forms, not saying that Spanish language as whole is better or more able to express things than English.
<<I'd get rid of a lot of the Latinate stuff in English. Doesn't have the same ring to it as the more natural Germanic. >>
I agree. A lot of the latinate stuff in English is pointless wordstock which makes folk sound pretentious. Best to use Germnanic wordstock is more more blunt and straight to the point.
Make English more English.
I agree. A lot of the latinate stuff in English is pointless wordstock which makes folk sound pretentious. Best to use Germnanic wordstock is more more blunt and straight to the point.
Make English more English.
<<The time system in Spanish is very complicated.>>
LAA do it easy. Just say the numbers and "y" (and) where the dots (:) would go:
4:45 cuatro Y cuarenta y cinco (four AND forty five)
10:50 diez Y cincuenta (ten AND fifty)
1:59 una Y cincuenta y nueve (one AND fifty nine)
That's the way I do it since it's very annoying trying to make the calculations fast (people want to know the time fast) to find out how many minutes there are before X or Y hour.
LAA do it easy. Just say the numbers and "y" (and) where the dots (:) would go:
4:45 cuatro Y cuarenta y cinco (four AND forty five)
10:50 diez Y cincuenta (ten AND fifty)
1:59 una Y cincuenta y nueve (one AND fifty nine)
That's the way I do it since it's very annoying trying to make the calculations fast (people want to know the time fast) to find out how many minutes there are before X or Y hour.
That's why I wear only electronic wrist watches. I only read the numbers and voila!
English is my native lanuage and most of the time I can't even get out "a quarter before 4." I just don't think that way, and I would not try in another langauge either. Saying the numbers, such as "Three forty-five," has worked for me all my life.
<<I wouldn't like to see basic English grammar become even more straightforward. In fact I wish it was a more highly-inflected language.>>
Really I think this is the best feature of English as the phonetic system in Spanish. I feel they are pretty depurated.
There is one thing in English that I complain and I think somebody mentioned it before, and it's the pronoun "you" which doesn't have an equivalent pal in singular (or plural?). Did it have a singular counterpart in its origins time ago ?
Really I think this is the best feature of English as the phonetic system in Spanish. I feel they are pretty depurated.
There is one thing in English that I complain and I think somebody mentioned it before, and it's the pronoun "you" which doesn't have an equivalent pal in singular (or plural?). Did it have a singular counterpart in its origins time ago ?
<<I wouldn't like to see basic English grammar become even more straightforward. In fact I wish it was a more highly-inflected language.>>
>>Really I think this is the best feature of English as the phonetic system in Spanish. I feel they are pretty depurated<<
Well, at the same time as I speak about the simplicity of basic English grammar, I am reminded of the complexities of its vocabulary. I really thought you had made a mistake in writing 'depurated', as in all my time as a native English speaker I have never heard that word, as far as I am aware. But I looked it up and lo and behold it is indeed an English word, or at least a word that is incorporated in English vocabulary.
>>Really I think this is the best feature of English as the phonetic system in Spanish. I feel they are pretty depurated<<
Well, at the same time as I speak about the simplicity of basic English grammar, I am reminded of the complexities of its vocabulary. I really thought you had made a mistake in writing 'depurated', as in all my time as a native English speaker I have never heard that word, as far as I am aware. But I looked it up and lo and behold it is indeed an English word, or at least a word that is incorporated in English vocabulary.
The plural of you (second person formal) was ye. The plural of thou (second person informal) was thee.
In the South of the USA, y'all is used as a second person plural. I usually use "you guys" as second person plural.
In the South of the USA, y'all is used as a second person plural. I usually use "you guys" as second person plural.