Re: [OT] Is English just badly pronounced French?

On Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:03:50 +1300
Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

On 2024-03-31 03:48:30 +0000, suzeeq said:

On 3/30/2024 7:28 PM, Rhino wrote: 

 
I apologize in advance to Americans who are inevitably aggrieved
by all things French just on principle but this video actually
makes a pretty good case for saying that English is
badly-pronounced French to a large extent.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUL29y0vJ8Q [18 minutes]
 
When he explains all the English words that are borrowed from
French with only slight spelling and pronunciation changes, you
may well be persuaded by his argument. 

 
I wondered why the Brits call cookies 'biscuits'. Then I realized
it comes from the French word for cookies 'bicotte'. They also call
eggplants 'aubergines' and zucchini 'corgettes'. There's probably
dozens of other words I can't recall now. 

 
The English language originates from a melding of many sources with
words being 'borrowed' from other languages, including French,
German, Gaelic, Celtic, etc.   Some words have altered over time, but
some words (e.g. rendezvous) have stayed the same as the original.
 
"American English" is a sub-version that has its own unique spellings
and meanings for words. Partly because (despite hating the British
rule) they have stubbornly stuck to out-dated versions of words, as
well as out-dated measurement systems, that the original Pilgrims
brought with them rather than staying contemporary with *real*
English.
 
To a much lesser extenet, there are also some different meanings (not
spellings that I can think of) for words in "Australian English" and
a few other regional variations.
 
 

Speaking of Australian English, I recently heard a word that I've heard
a few times before from Australians but I've never been clear on what
it means: bogan. The way it was used seemed disparaging but I'm not
sure whether it should be best understood to mean "loser", "jerk",
"idiot", or something else. I'm also curious about it's origins. Is it
based on the name of a historic figure, for instance? Also, do Kiwis
use that term too or is it strictly Australian?

--
Rhino