LL-L "Lexicon" 2003.05.11 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 11.May.2003 (08) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
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From: Críostóir Ó Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2003.05.11 (02) [E]

Colin wrote:
"I'm sceptical about the suggestion that any (natural) language is
intrinsically more expressive than any other."

On the one hand this is true; we've all heard how Inuktitut has one
hundred words for 'snow' whereas English has just 'snow', but a simple
fact
is that English (as well as any other language, including Inuktitut) can
also say, 'light snow', 'heavy snow', 'snow that is becoming icy', etc.,
and
be just as expressive as Inuktitut.

On the other hand, though, we must recognise that every language - and I
mean every language - has 'turns of phrase' that sound absolutely
delightful in that language alone and lose something in translation,
which was I think the point that Crisdean was getting at with Gaelic.

If it really were the case that no language were more expressive than
any even in the case of turns of phrase, then we wouldn't have loanwords
in any circumstance, or calques.

Go raibh maith agaibh (try saying thank you to more than one person in
English without resort to 'yous' or 'y'all', for example, Colin - easily
done
in Gaelic!)

Criostóir.

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