solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book!
chapter twelve of bill bryson's the mother tongue, english and how it got that way discusses english as a world language. one language understood by the majority of the world's inhabitants helps everyone communicate more effectively with one another. translations take much time and money. translations often miss the intent of what is said. businesses need language consistency to run efficiently. english words have found their way into general speech around the world.
my favorite bits:
*telephone is te le fung in china.
*the french go footing; not running or jogging.
*bacon is beikon in japan.
*seaspeak was developed by maritime authorities to keep words to a minimum for ships traversing waterways. "say again" for repeat please. "mistake" for error for examples.
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