Archive of Linguistically Captivating

YouTube – Two Ronnies: Hieroglyphics -Who says that hieroglyphs have to be deciphered following the translations of the Rosetta stone? What if Napoleon didn’t stumbled upon it. No, just kidding, it actually wasCaptain Pierre-François Bouchard, well it was a French man, however, I still can’t let go on the idea that Napoleon had some role in this spectacular discovery.

The choice of language, namely French, to illustrate a dialogue of incomprehension, I assure you, is totally accidental. Not · illustr.byGuacamole Goalie

Whenever an attempt to communication or action fails, people get very creative when they encounter a lack of understanding. Both German and English have a vast repertoire listing expressions ofincomprehension.

Proceed In The Face Of Utter Incomprehension -Of course, people should always follow that rule, however, we have so many ways to let others know that we just didn’t get what the heck he or she was talking about. Buh-n-howf?

In the US, intersections and the upcoming yield, stop or traffic light are not only announced by signs to the right of the street but also with big letters painted on streets. You read the word that is closer to you first, followed by the one that is further away. So for example, STOP AHEAD or LIGHTS AHEAD. Not Ahead Stop, but that will not work either: SOTP AHEAD.

ALTERNATIVE SPELLING or TYPO AHEAD would have been appropriate to prepare thin-skinned people. Well, as Metroblogging LA put it, SIHT HAPPENS, right?

Must have been LA county’s final spelling bee contestant · via Metroblogging LA

As much as some enjoy Spelling Bee contests, others are fed up with this infinite inconsitancy · photo by For Ever Soul

You are not alone… Confusion rules over Englishas a rule in terms of vocabulary, phrasal verbs and so on. We know that. Being an English as a Second Languagespeaker I am more than familiar – compellingly – with the phonetic unreliability as The Guardian describes the messed uppronunciationand spelling relation of English words. If you know how to pronounce a word in – say – Italian, you automatically can construct the word’s spelling for there are clear rules. This rule does apply for many languages, but English does not feature thisconsistencyas a world language. Unfortunately this gives English speakers (both natives and ELS speakers) a really hard time. What do these 100 words have in common? Visible for you and you only, after the jump.

Following my blog religiously you will probably notice that I am religiously into accents. Accents in the English speaking world are fascinating if it’s up to me. Plus, I absorb pretty much anything that teaches you how to improve your phony Texan or English accent. The video attached to this entry is full of lessons to improve your world accents.

Amy Walker did a pretty good job in covering a variety (21 to be precise) of accents. I love her Sco-ish, German and New Zealand accent. I also recommend the interview the the 21-accent-lady (it’s very captivating to hear her natural accent).

Our way of communitication is totally inefficient and outdated according to Clement Gallet’sManifeste “for the extenstion of SMS slang to all the media.”

ritN eng iz ded · by clementgallet.com

SMS slNg must B D onlE wA 2 XprS oursLvz

In this grammar book aset of rules is provided to reduce the amount of characters in any kind of communication and points out neat ways of shortcutting b/c time=$. The book’s recommendation is that “SMS slNg must B D onlE wA 2 XprS oursLvz” & announces that “ritN eng iz ded“.

It was only a matter of time for a bilingual blog like mine to pick up a myth shrouded in legend like the one we’re looking at today. Here’s the thing: According to stories that a lot of German teachers tell their students, German lost out to English in a vote on the official language of the United States in the 1776. Time for the myth-busting Philipp to check whether German really nearly made it as the official US language.

Is it true that we could have had the term VSA (V for vereinigt) instead of USA (U for united) on today’s maps?

In the unlikely event you feel the sudden urge to relieve your bladder’s pressure, make sure nobody catches you and most importantly can track you down to exact spot you committed the crime. For your information (FYI) only. The background story for the attached picture, after the jump.

Paris, je t’aime! · photo by arique on flickr.com