Douglas Mercer
June 4 2025
Constant Readers know that one of the reasons the Norman Conquest is so important is because it uniquely made English both a Germanic and a Latin Language. Wallace Stevens said English and French are the same language, that’s exaggerated but the point is taken.
It’s partly why English has so many more words than other languages as it has the two mighty tributaries streaming into it, and not just the one or the other like the other Indo-European languages.
You have your homespun Cow and the la di da Boeuf (beef) of the Court; you have the down-to-earth Saxon God (perfect for expletives) and the hifalutin Latin Deity (three fey syllables).
You have Calf v. Veal, Hen v. Poultry, and the monosyllabic King v. the dual syllabic Royal.
Add a dollop of Tyndale and two (or more!) touches of Shakespeare, stir wisely, push play, and Voila!: you have the world’s current Lingua Franca.
Lingua Franca
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Douglas Mercer
- Posts: 10961
- Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2023 7:29 pm
Re: Lingua Franca
Look to West Point to see an updated version of Norman building practices.
