Popular article, "A New Kind of English"

[Patti J. Kurtz]

I agree-- I've used the video and I don't remember MacNeil using the "P"
word either.

If you read the rest of the article, the guys also identifies what he
calls "Spanglish" (by which I assume he means "Chicano English" and
"Ebonics" (AAVE) as Pidgins as well.

He also speculates that someone will "decide" to write a novel in
Arab-American (a blend of Iraqi and English) and see if it sells.

I also have some ocean front property near Phoenix to sell you....

Patti Kurtz
Minot State U

laurence.horn at YALE.EDU wrote:

>Very muted.  I use the relevant chapter, "The Mother Tongue", from
>_The Story of English_ videos in my SHEW (Structure and History of
>English Words) class, and while it's not perfect it's not nearly this
>dumb.  In fact, as you note above, McNeil does play up the Old
>Norse/OE contact in the Midlands, but I don't think he uses the
>P[idgin]-word, and he certainly doesn't treat the Anglo-Norman/French
>influence in those terms.  Nor is there any claim about Chaucer
>deciding "Why not invent a pidgin and see if it sells?"  In fact I
>was just thinking of using the passage Mark called to our
>attention--especially the second paragraph about pidgins and
>Chaucer--as a "What's Wrong With This Paragraph?" exercise for the
>SHEW class, after we've watched and discussed the "Mother Tongue"
>video.
>
>larry
>
>
>

--

Freeman - And what drives you on, fighting the monster?



Straker - I don't know, something inside me I guess.



Freeman - It's called dedication.



Straker - Pig-headedness would be nearer.