I am sincerely concerned

[Penetrator]

Originally posted by challenge



... and French where the National Language Committee convenes periodically to add "official" new words to counter phrases such as "Le disk drive." If your language is stagnant, how long before the culture follows suit.

This practice does not make the language stagnant, it simply develops in a different direction than it would otherwise. We do it for icelandic, though it is not official. The development of new words is a national pastime. Examples:

Telephone: Sími;
Television: Sjónvarp;
Helicopter: Þyrla;
Computer: Tölva.

The swedes are thinking of adopting the Tölva.

[Belisarius]

Originally posted by Penetrator


This practice does not make the language stagnant, it simply develops in a different direction than it would otherwise. We do it for icelandic, though it is not official. The development of new words is a national pastime. Examples:

Telephone: Sími;
Television: Sjónvarp;
Helicopter: Þyrla;
Computer: Tölva.

The swedes are thinking of adopting the Tölva.

Damn right we are!

Seriously, I haven't heard these words before, but as Icelandic is one of the coolest languages around, I will from now on call my trusty beige box "Tölva"

I think I'll pick up on the TV and Helicopter as well - Sjónvarp really does sound like it could be a TV in Swedish (with good imagination..) About the Heli word: is that an "f" or a "th" ? Fyrla? Thyrla?

---<added>----

Btw, Antonius: Do you have a bit of Swedish heritage? You really have a nice sounding name, and it's the "Gösta" that caught my attention.

[Kanon Fodder]

Mine comes from playing "Red Baron 3D" online and usually flying as German.

I got shot down a lot ...

[wulfir]

Originally posted by Penetrator
Getting past that nickname thingy, which I don't think was the point of this thread, I have found most people on the SPWAW forum to be polite, easygoing, and focused on objective game/war issues. Of course, there have been exceptions. Some other Matrix forums that I sometimes visit (as a sort of self torture I guess) contain a very unhealthy mix of rancorous, offensive and mentally underdeveloped individuals (but a few sound minds also). Based on that I can relate to what drove you off those other forums. But I think we are lucky for the SPWAW forum. As Ford Fairlane said, it is an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea.

Dead on target, Penetrator! Could not agree more.


As for my own nickname, lose the first and the two last letters and you get my real first name (which happens to be an old word for wolf).

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

This thread certainly has gotten a lot of attention and all of it has been entertaining and positive.

That's a salient feature of my experience here at Matrix for the most part.

In my original post that I began the thread with, the feature of both the originally mentioned forums (which have had absolutely no connection with Matrix whatsoever to the best of my knowledge), was that they both concentrated only on the game in question for each forum respectively; and nothing else.

As a result they failed totally completely and utterly. They were unable to get past their inability to do anything beyond speak of the game in the most anal and insular manner in retrospect.

Matrix on the other hand is a portal to so much beyond just Steel Panthers.

And even in the Steel Panthers forum, the subject matter does not have to revolve exclusively around overly analytical diatribes of rules interpretations.

The oher sites were not helped additionally by the unfortunate reality that while the rules were written in fairly precise english, I was forced to endure the lengthy and tiring rules disputes by people that had no command of the english language worth noting (often by english speaking persons; being foreign is not always required to be confused).

[Antonius]

Originally posted by challenge

(...)
French where the National Language Committee convenes periodically to add "official" new words to counter phrases such as "Le disk drive." .

French is not as dead as you might think. New words, meanings and expressions pop up all the time and make their way into the leading dictionnaries (Larousse, Robert) according to occurence in newspapers and books and not the decisions of the Académie Française.

Listening to my children is what helps me keep up to date with the latest evolutions ...

However there is an official and IMHO ridiculous effort to protect the French language against foreign (read english) influence. so in admintrative speak many english words were replaced by new French ones. Thus in soccer, a corner became a "coup de pied de coin"... but on all football fields is still and will always be called a corner

[Fuerte]

I noticed that this thread has 666 views so I had to fix that.

[Antonius]

Originally posted by Bing
Daniel Gösta Antonius Bottemanne - that is a wonderful name, I like it better than my own, could I borrow it for a time, I promise to bring it home with a full tank - oops.

Seriously, one does not see resounding names such as yours anymore, congratulations to your parents.

Bing

My older brother met his wife by being called Hermanus Kjell Gerardus: as his name was called out loud at the "bac" exam, it made one of the girls present in the waiting room laugh...

[tracer]

Originally posted by Bing


Aw come on Tracer, I'm not that old and not that out of it. The kids make up their own language and expect us to instantly understand their jargon. When our beautiful language becomes mangled in this fashion, it is difficult for me to cope with same.

Sort of like ... do you know the difference between horse manure and lemons?

Bing

The flavor?

Just kidding ya Bing. I have a leet speak interpreter: my buddy's 15 year old son Instant Messages me all the time and peppers his speech with what seems a 'new one' every day. I'll be hitting the big four-oh this year so his lessons are starting to come in handy

[Antonius]

Originally posted by Belisarius


Btw, Antonius: Do you have a bit of Swedish heritage? You really have a nice sounding name, and it's the "Gösta" that caught my attention.

50 % ! Har även bott i Stockholm några år när jag var liten (var så god och ursäkta stavfel)

[challenge]

I apologize to those French speakers for not expressing myself adequately... I did not mean that French is a dead language (just the culture -- not really) I should have added that the idea of attempting to control a living language is doomed to failure. As Antonius pointed out, phrases not officially approved do sneak in regardless. Some think of this as mangling a language, I like to think of it as enriching the language (even French). If this did not happen we would still be speaking in grunts.

Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding, and can only offer that English (US) is not my first language -- baby talk was.

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

Alas no one knows more about insane levels of French Language protection than someone like myself who was born in Quebec.

I suppose I can sympathise with a culture that feels it is being eaten up by another. But here in Canada if I am goign to teach my son a second language it will not be the dying French Language (dying as in no longer dominant enough to matter dying).

I might think about suggesting here learn Cantonese of Japanese. Considering that these two dialects actually matter by numbers and commercial worth.

The French in Quebec though dont see it that way. They helped found the country and wont have it any other way. Personally I wish the mater could be solved more logically.

Only solution I have come up with to date, is to round up as many guys as possible, invade Quebec and marry up all the current flower of their french female population, and move out of the province. Take away their current generation, and the language will no longer plague us in 20 years.

Anyone wanna marry a French Gal? We have a lot of nice French Girls in Quebec (mom was one heheh).

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

Interesting things a person notices eh.

My sentence ender that I cant seem to get away with "heheh"

Typical french laugh. I might speak english, but I can't that damn province out of my mannerisms hehe.

[challenge]

No problem, eh? :p

Old silly joke:

What is the difference between a Canadian and a Broklynite?

The Canadian says: Want a beer, eh?
The Brooklynite says: Eh, want a beer?

I wonder about the French spoken in France versus the language spoken in Quebec. Other than accents and such, have the languages drifted far apart, or do the Quebec (?) (-ers, -ites, -ians) use the same version of the language or do they have their own Speach Police?

Thing is, it seems they don't just want their own language accepted, they want to be a whole different country!

I like all the French girls I've met so far, although my exposure has been limited. Do they do mail order brides from Quebec? Do we have to pay import taxes or is it covered under NAFTA?

[Penetrator]

Originally posted by Belisarius

I will from now on call my trusty beige box "Tölva"

I think I'll pick up on the TV and Helicopter as well - Sjónvarp really does sound like it could be a TV in Swedish (with good imagination..) About the Heli word: is that an "f" or a "th" ? Fyrla? Thyrla?

Oh my, you can't imagine how warm you made my heart by taking interest in my little language, chilled as it is from this darn winter.

"Tölva" is of course a wholly remarkable word. It is derived from "Völva", meaning female soothsayer. The T comes from "tala" meaning number. So it is a soothsayer in numbers.

Þyrla = Thyrla. It means "Whirler" - roughly.

Sjónvarp: "Sjón" = vision, "varp" = roughly broadcast, or rather simply "cast". So in english it would be "Visioncast".

Sími: It is an archaic word meaning string or rope, dead in its proper meaning for a long time. It has been given a new lease of life this way.

Some more:

Machine: Vél. It is a semi-archaic word meaning trickery or bad magic. How can a machine make things move? Why, by magic of course.

Laser: Leysir. From leysa = release. It refers to the way electrons are released inside the emitter.

Finally, my favorite word: "Ha".
You say it when you don't understand something, like "what". Unlike "what", it has no other meaning, is much easier to say, and less pointed. Often used when you just want a bit more time to think or give the other person a chance to clarify himself.

[parusski]

I picked up my user name the old fashioned way-in college. I was studying political science, planning to work for the CIA upon graduation. A requirement at that time was two years of Russian as a foreign language. So, when in 1995 I joined AOL and needed a user name I chose the most obvious. Parusski means russian in Russian. I thought I was being cute with that at the time. Now I cannot give it up.

[V-man]

Originally posted by parusski
"I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast."-
William Tecumseh Sherman

Do you have the quote, I think from Sherman, about reports of disaster? I'm desparately trying to find that...

[Les_the_Sarge_9_1]

I suppose the most significant thing about this post is what I originally said and what is currently being discussed heheh:)

[parusski]

V-man I am sorry, but I can't find that quote either.

Les, your original post is just like a rumor. Once it gets going the story morphs. It's an interesting thread though.

[troopie]

Sarge,

If you want rude varketjies go to the Art of Wargaming forum, or the Militarygameronline forum "Nobody asked me but'" or the Yahoo Zimbabwe news forum. On the last, you will find the rudest, most bigotted, most ignorant Homo ignorans you will ever want to avoid.

On THIS forum, politeness and topicality is enforced with the firing squad. We are all here because of SPWAW (the best WW2 game ever made) and because our shared interest in military tactics and history.

BION there are people on the Art of Wargaming forum who don't wargame. It seems strange to me.


troopie