A blog mainly about researching, writing and
reading historical fiction, and anything else
that interests me. You can read my other
articles and novels on my website at www.CarlaNayland.org
Indeed, Bernita. I'm surprised the last one wasn't priced in guineas.
Hello Rick, I was just thinking of you the other day and wondering how Catherine of Lyonesse was getting on. I saw that article on Language Log (great blog, isn't it?). Made me wonder if Chinese English would evolve into a recognisable dialect, like Indian English.
What, like "Potage de Jean-Paul de tomate de can" when they mean tinned tomato soup? A certain sort of institutional catering does that over here, too. Why, by the way, is French considered aspirational? I'd half-wondered if it was some sort of hangover from the Norman Conquest here, but that can't apply to Germany, can it? My partner's college dining room used to write the daily menu up on chalkboards, which the students in the queue duly amused themselves by altering. So "steak and kidney pie" would get amended to "snake and pigmy pie", and ratatouille would get "With Real Rat" appended, and so on. Hours of harmless fun :-)
Gabriele - I was reminded yesterday that the college staff got fed up with amendments and replaced the chalkboards with moveable letters on a peg board. Which meant the students couldn't write on it any more, so they took to moving the letters around instead. How many scurrilous anagrams of 'ratatouille' can you come up with? (Spelling mistakes are allowed).
Martyn - Hello, and glad to see you're back blogging.
Oh, this is grand!
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteIt's great, isn't it? It made me laugh when I cycled past it, so I thought I'd share it with you all.
ReplyDelete~chortle~
ReplyDeleteHe knows how to upscale a midden.
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003704.html
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Bernita. I'm surprised the last one wasn't priced in guineas.
ReplyDeleteHello Rick, I was just thinking of you the other day and wondering how Catherine of Lyonesse was getting on. I saw that article on Language Log (great blog, isn't it?). Made me wonder if Chinese English would evolve into a recognisable dialect, like Indian English.
Lol, that reminds me of the menue of our universitiy dining hall; they always gave pretty - and misspelled - French names to ordinary German dishes.
ReplyDeleteWhat, like "Potage de Jean-Paul de tomate de can" when they mean tinned tomato soup? A certain sort of institutional catering does that over here, too. Why, by the way, is French considered aspirational? I'd half-wondered if it was some sort of hangover from the Norman Conquest here, but that can't apply to Germany, can it?
ReplyDeleteMy partner's college dining room used to write the daily menu up on chalkboards, which the students in the queue duly amused themselves by altering. So "steak and kidney pie" would get amended to "snake and pigmy pie", and ratatouille would get "With Real Rat" appended, and so on. Hours of harmless fun :-)
I suppose it's the haute cuisine aspect that makes French look superior.
ReplyDeleteRatatouille with Real Rats, lol.
That's fantastic !
ReplyDeleteGabriele - I was reminded yesterday that the college staff got fed up with amendments and replaced the chalkboards with moveable letters on a peg board. Which meant the students couldn't write on it any more, so they took to moving the letters around instead. How many scurrilous anagrams of 'ratatouille' can you come up with? (Spelling mistakes are allowed).
ReplyDeleteMartyn - Hello, and glad to see you're back blogging.
The staff should know better - students are always ahead. :p
ReplyDelete