nucular and Latino

[Dennis R. Preston]

Paul,

What makes you think linguists don't have likes and dislikes (i.e.,
prejudices)? I betcha geologists think there are purty and ugly rocks.

dInIs

>  > I thought I might be opening a can or worms or opening myself up to the
>>  accusation of prejudice.
>
>Actually, not being a linguist I have all sorts of linguistic prejudices. I
>hate RP and Estuary English, but I love Yorkshire and lots of varieties of
>American English. I hate the sound of Cantonese, but love the sound of
>Mandarin and Taiwanese (though the movie In the Mood for Love made me
>reconsider the sound of Cantonese). I love the sound of Argentinean,
>Mexican, and Cuban Spanish and dislike most Central American and European
>varieties of the language. I much prefer Brazilian to Peninsular Portuguese.
>Brazilian Portuguese is the most beautiful language in the world. Not even
>Italian comes close. And unlike most English speakers, I think that German
>is more beautiful than French, though I like French and speak it at home.
>Linguists may know more about language than the Great Unwashed, but unlike
>us they don't get to have likes and dislikes ;-) And, yes, I don't much care
>for Spanglish, though I'm willing to be enlightened on that score...
>
>Paul
>_________________________________
>Paul Frank
>English translation from Chinese, German,
>French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese
>Tel. +33 450 709 990 - Thollon, France
>E-mail: paulfrank at post.harvard.edu

--
Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736