Saturday, December 24, 2005
Who Needs English Only?
Here's yet another interesting multi-lingual sign. Perhaps you'd like to go out and celebrate the holidays with a nice "nutritious beef penis in pot," a "nutritious young pigeon casserole," or the apparently less nutritious "fish head casserole."
Those who argue for "English only" here in the US fail to appreciate that ignorance, often, is bliss. More importantly, they fail to appreciate that our policy of having no official language has resulted in English becoming the most popular second language in the history of the world.
Let the French have their academy of language, and prescribe which words people may and may not use. It's like prescribing which days it may rain, and despite their wishful thinking, it won't make French recover its lost status anytime soon.
For now, that honor belongs to American English, which has a longstanding policy of no legal interference, and 100% disregard as to where or whom it steals new words and expressions from. We have a vital and living language, unencumbered by bureaucracy or pedantry.
Still, we have to start watching our diets.
(via)
blog comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)