Is there a book 'English: The Good Parts'?
or does English just not have any good parts
@natecull it's pretty brief overall and has many simple rules, if you ask me
but I don't think I can articulate what those parts actually are 🤔
I'd say 'Nouns. Nouns are pretty good' but then you push a noun too far and it starts verbing adjective at you.
Noëlle the 8-Bit🏳️🌈🎄
@natecull Honestly, I think the best part of English is that it's a syncretic language. It's flexible and adaptable, easily picking up new words and changing definitions to meet new needs, and it allows for an astonishing amount of variation without sacrificing too much understanding between speakers.
(Except in cases like rhyming slang, where the /intent/ is to impede understanding.)
@natecull by how english goes around nicking stuff from every other language english itself is "all the other languages: the good parts" cobbled together with string
@troubleMoney @natecull that's us - our favorite word is 'appropriation'
appropriation is always appropriate!
@elomatreb @natecull @troubleMoney Two points: 1 - vast majority of English is borrowed, mainly from Latin http://www.dictionary.com/e/word-origins/
2 - We appropriate a lot of other things, traditionally through colonization. It *should* have a negative connotation (imho)
Appropriation in the context of colonization is definitely the right word, but it's not like anyone colonized Latin (probably the other way around, actually)
@natecull "-monger" is the only good part
@natecull I think English is a very rich and beautiful language. It's a pity more americans don't actually speak it.
@natecull sure there is! Tortilla, sushi, bouquet😜
@jannamark English is the lingua franca. Other languages just don't have that certain je ne sais quoi
@natecull english: the okayish parts