Ugly English
Living in a French faction in an English-speaking country, I'm no stranger to the protectivism towards a language which is slightly ailing in America. In fact, my province has quite a few laws concerning signage and the media, in the way that a certain percentage of it must be in French. And I agree with that, it's part of our history, our culture, and it should be kept alive. French is my first language, and to me, it's the most beautiful language (no bias whatsoever! ; ) )
But this morning, I read in a (French) newspaper something that made me very angry. It was a review of an essay written by a local writer about the English language.
It is entitled "Anglaid: Une langue vouée irrémédiablement à l'impérialisme et à l'ethnocentrisme." Anglaid is a play on words with "Anglais" (English) and "laid" (ugly). I'm not that good at translation, but, if I paraphrase the title, he means that English speaking nations are self-centered and think they are better than everyone else.
His theory is based on the observation that the "I" (as the 1st person singular pronoun, of course) in English is always capital, and in French it isn't.
He went as far as saying this: "English is not a nice language. Americans and English-speaking Canadians speak like barking dogs and the British like snakes."
The journalist who was reviewing the essay was absolutely revolted. Calling it "hainous propaganda". She said: "How different is it to how people were trying to show how 'ugly' black people were by the colour of their skin, Jewish people by their nose and now Anglophones (English speakers) by their language?".
I thought those were very, very ignorant claims. Full of hate, for something so ridiculous. To be honest, he probably thought he was being a knight in shining armour, trying to protect the French language in America, but honestly... Most French speakers that read this article and/or book were probably thinking the same as me going, "what a complete idiot.".
Here is an English article I found on the subject.
But this morning, I read in a (French) newspaper something that made me very angry. It was a review of an essay written by a local writer about the English language.
It is entitled "Anglaid: Une langue vouée irrémédiablement à l'impérialisme et à l'ethnocentrisme." Anglaid is a play on words with "Anglais" (English) and "laid" (ugly). I'm not that good at translation, but, if I paraphrase the title, he means that English speaking nations are self-centered and think they are better than everyone else.
His theory is based on the observation that the "I" (as the 1st person singular pronoun, of course) in English is always capital, and in French it isn't.
He went as far as saying this: "English is not a nice language. Americans and English-speaking Canadians speak like barking dogs and the British like snakes."
The journalist who was reviewing the essay was absolutely revolted. Calling it "hainous propaganda". She said: "How different is it to how people were trying to show how 'ugly' black people were by the colour of their skin, Jewish people by their nose and now Anglophones (English speakers) by their language?".
I thought those were very, very ignorant claims. Full of hate, for something so ridiculous. To be honest, he probably thought he was being a knight in shining armour, trying to protect the French language in America, but honestly... Most French speakers that read this article and/or book were probably thinking the same as me going, "what a complete idiot.".
Here is an English article I found on the subject.
hm.....that actually makes me feel kinda sad. just ANOTHER reason for people to hate the united states... -melodramatic sigh-
but i like languages...english is obv my fave- its the only language that i am at all fluent in, and is therefore the only language that i can achieve a sense of self expression in. but i dont think its necessarily the best in the world....
personally i dont like french. i cant figure it out......haha. its just not very phonetic. [yes, i realize phonetic is as inphonetic as it gets.] but....you read the word and its like, ok it should sound like this. but with french, someone says that word aloud and none of the sounds match the letters on the page. x] and so i am lost to it.
i prolly made myself seem like a total dullard, but...what're you gonna do?
banquo, May 9th, 2009 at 01:07:59pm
trust me , im french and i go to a french school and all , but the french kids who moved here from quebec are obnoxious and c*ckYYY about how french they are, and how much they hate on english people 24/7
moody fallon, May 6th, 2009 at 07:07:11pm
Ah yes, it's true that everyone seems to hate the French, and vice versa! Not exactly sure why, personally, because I find them very entertaining!
Besides, I (and the author, for that matter, not that I'm very proud of that) am from Canada, actually. They are two completely different cultures and languages. The French spoken in the two countries are as far (maybe even slightly further) apart as American and British English. People here too seem to have prejudices against the French. Thinking they're annoying and stuck-up.
...As for languages in general (re Superhero El!'s response) I am also fascinated by languages! I'm currently in College study Modern Languages. I have French, English, Spanish and German classes. I also have Linguistics, which is absolutely *fascinating*, really!
I understand the part about French being more difficult than English. Even though I couldn't really tell, since I have very different POV as you. There are many exceptions and rules, that don't even make sense to us. Many, many mute syllables and different phonemes make the pronounciation harder as well, that's true.
It is indeed a very poetic language. It's my favourite language to write in! (I do *love* speaking English, though! - you know, showin' off my skills and that!)
stilinski, May 4th, 2009 at 05:31:44pm
PLEASE dont take offence but: now do you know why everyone hates the French? Its just another steriotype really. Not everyone hates the French, but some do (I have no clue about England, but I'm talking from America). I've been told, "Everyone hates the French, and the French hate everyone". I'm sure some Americans hate the French and some French hate Americans. Who cares in the end?
I think this entire article is indeed propaganda.
Blarg!, May 4th, 2009 at 05:03:46pm
I love languages in general, I'm a real language freak.
English is my favourite because people from all around the world speak it, so it's easier to communicate (but I also like the fact that the grammar is kinda easy tbh).
French is a lot more difficult than English, both for spelling and pronunciation, but it's a beautiful language (if spoken right).
French speaking people tend to be obnoxious most of the time though. Like, they won't even talk to you if you talk to them with an accent.
Joshua Gayward., May 4th, 2009 at 07:56:05am
Personally, I like both English and French.
Skippy., May 4th, 2009 at 03:33:54am