the english language - god's own marmalade

[swedeheart]

I just thought you language buffs might find this interesting http://www.thelocal.se/24482/20100120/

[boxtops]

Thank you - food for thought!

[fredpuli47]

If English were marmalade it wouldn't have spread far.Surely,only the British eat it !But the language is certainly 'widespread'.French businesses require their executives to be able to speak it.( We're getting our own back for the days when we had to speak French in diplomacy and international affairs.!)

[jno]

marmalade is Portuguese

[fredpuli47]

Yes, jno, .And it was originally made from quince.I was commenting on its consumption as an everyday preserve, rather than its origins.- :)

[jno]

I was just offering it to swedeheart as an example of the way English doesn't just spread all over the place but borrows from everyone too (though I suspect she knows this perfectly well)

[swedeheart]

You're welcome boxtops:)

Er... a) I didn't invent the marmalade analogy, I was just quoting the article b) We eat lots and lots of marmalade in Sweden c) Isn't God Portuguese too? d) Is there a way to pull a thread back, 'cos I'm thinking of doing so with this one;-) (Just kidding.)

[jno]

I suppose I could report it for abuse of quinces.

[Tefler]

I could scarcely believe it when I clicked into your link, SH, and saw the photo of Keith Foster. He's the spitting image of a friend of mine...well he is as far as my friend was about 30 years ago. Why am I mentioning this? Because the friend's surname is Forster, with an 'r' but still clearly from forester. We seem to export people as well,as words.
It's almost certainly of no interest to anyone but me, but I just thought I'd mention it.

[Quizmonster]

The answer is above is from me, SH. Forgot to log out my partner's name and insert my own!

[fredpuli47]

Ombudsman,swedeheart. A borrowed Swedish word in regular use in English. You may have noticed others.I can't think of others in frequent use, but smorgasbord is sometimes used as a metaphor for a great range of [proposals,ideas, objects] brought together ,often with the innuendo that there is great variety but no organisation, the proposals being different from, and inconsistent, with each other.

[swedeheart]

That's quite a coincidence QM:) Our Keith has been living in Sweden since 1987 and teaching us about England and the English tongue on the radio and on the telly ever since, I think. Here he is checking Orkney out on behalf of a travel show. The comment (scroll down) says: Keith Foster is British? (ha ha ha ha!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_K3AUx488I

In my childhood (in the sixties) there was a Brit named Ian Dunlop frequently on the telly teaching us English, I remember him well but can't find anything on YouTube. He was always sitting in an armchair, I remember.

Fredpuli I hope you didn't take my posting this article as an accusation of linguistic colonialism - I love the English and the English language. And anyways, I'm afraid we've forced many more words upon you than ombudsman and smorgasbord...

From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord...

[fredpuli47]

Yes swedeheart, I was thinking of modern Swedish as a source LOL
I hadn't Norse language(s) in mind. Otherwise I'd have to think of days of the week,place-names in the East of England and many other words !

[Quizmonster]

Keith Foster's opening comments about the wind in Orkney reminded me of Billy Connolly, the wonderfully funny Scottish comedian. A tour of Britain was being televised in which he did a bit of a travelogue about the people and place for each of his venues.
In Orkney, he described how mothers taking their toddlers shopping with them would tie the end of the children's reins - a sort of dog-like lead - to a rail outside the supermarket. When they came out of the shop, they had to reel their children in, as they had taken off like kites in the howling wind!

[swedeheart]

Ha ha ha ha ha, that's a wonderful image! :-D