Linguist-geek trivia

It's funny to me how English has absorbed so many words into it, that we can't tell where English starts and stops any more.

This is not to say that we shouldn't strive to have a common language in our country, but that, like any cultural component, we pick and choose what to add because it makes our life better and easier, and more interesting.

I think of rural people in the NW saying "just a skosh" from the Japanese word "sukoshi", meaning a little. I think of Starbucks faux-Italian drink sizes. I think of all the Indian words and placenames in the Americas. I think of GW Bush's little joke that the French don't have a word for 'entrepreneur'.

Keep you ears open for it for the next few days, and appreciate the influence of those cultures on ours- the one that is able to encompass and integrate the best fo what we find.

Tag: Patriot's Journey (with JimK, Scott, Lil, Doug, Moorewatch and our fearless leader Drumwaster)