"Dutch English"; language death on Phalera [was Re: Active and Passive please help]

Quoting Almaran Dungeonmaster <dungeonmaster@...>:

> Padraic Brown wrote:
> > > It might be a little hard, since "to be called" in the current
> > > meaning is inherently passive in English.
> > > However, other  languages have an active verb for naming things.
> >
> > Hunh? What's wrong with "I called it X" in your dialect?
>
> Well, my dialect is nether-english (which is the english spoken by
> people whose first language is Dutch). But you're right of course,
> "to call" in the meaning of "to name" is also possible in the active
> voice in english.
Which brings up an interesting question:  how many people from the
Netherlands speak English in their daily life?  IIRC, something like
80% of people there can speak *some*, at least.

ObConlang/ConCulture:  In Phalera, Standard Phaleran (_Deuphalis_,
"High Phaleran") is slowly ousting most of the languages on the planet.
There are several reasons for this.  First, the government of
Twolyeo has a habit of deporting entire populations that do not
readily submit to its rule, and this generally leads to the breakdown
of social customs of all kinds, including language.  It is, moreover,
almost impossible to advance socially unless you speak the Standard
like a native. People who manage this are called _pheltoutrana_
"ones who speak the beautiful tongue".  (Typically advancement is
in fact impossible for the vast majority of the population, but
sometimes native elites of lands whose countries have been
conquered by Twolyeo see where the wind is blowing and get their
children educated in or around Twolyeo.)

=====================================================================
Thomas Wier <trwier@...> <http://home.uchicago.edu/~trwier>

             "...koruphàs hetéras hetére:isi prosápto:n /
Dept. of Linguistics  mú:tho:n mè: teléein atrapòn mían..."
University of Chicago "To join together diverse peaks of thought /
1010 E. 59th Street   and not complete one road that has no turn"
Chicago, IL 60637     Empedocles, _On Nature_, on speculative thinkers

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