Re: Another Essentialist Explanation

Weld S Carter, Jr. skrev:
> I wonder how relevant we might consider the following
> comparison: In English we say 'It's Greek to me', but in
> German: 'es ist mir Spanish". And, in France, one
> dismisses a speaker of imperfect French with the insult:
> 'you speak French like a Spanish cow!' I don't try here to
> render it in French, since my grasp of that language
> probably warrants that description.
>
> Weld
In Sweden we say "It's Chinese to me!" There is also the
expression "Det är rena rotvälskan" -- literally 'it's real
mangled Romance' though the etymological meaning of
"rotvälska" as 'a mangled Romance language' is unknown to
the average modern speaker. (Of course "välsk" is cognate
with 'Welsh'. The Anglo-Saxons distinguished between
"Rumwealas" 'Roman foreigners' and "Bretwealas" 'Celtic
foreigners'!)
--


/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se

    a shprakh iz a dialekt mit an armey un flot

                                 (Max Weinreich)


--


/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se

    a shprakh iz a dialekt mit an armey un flot

                                 (Max Weinreich)

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