Re: -es vs -en in English

Patrick Dunn wrote:

> Hmm.  What keeps a people from adopting the language of their conquerers?
> The Hataso haven't adopted any English words, despite the fact that
> they're currently occupied by English and Spanish speaking forces.  Even
> their word for "human from another planet" is coined and not borrowed.  So
> how do I explain this, aside from cussed-headedness?
The sheer bulk of the conquered people, who have their fellow-oppressed
to
talk to.  And when they are servants and tenants and nannies and wives
to
the conquerors who need to communicate with them.  The situation was
very
different with the African slaves in America.  They were brought
*here*.
And they were discouraged from speaking their native languages by being
divided from their tribes.  That's how pidgin English started.

Sally
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SALLY CAVES
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Niffodyr tweluenrem lis teuim an.
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                                from _The Gospel of Bastet_
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