Today's Deep Thought

[bloodyrosemccoy]

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here, but I have this long-standing theory that English is the Borg of languages.

“We are English. We will add you semantic and syntactic distinctiveness to our own. Your phonology will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

Makes an eerie amount of sense, doesn’t it?

Comments

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Um, duh? :-)

You must be aware of James Nicoll's comment on the subject by now, yes?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

No!

I am willing to believe that I am not the first to have thought of this, though. It just makes me giggle every time I think of it.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

*Googles* Oh, yes, actually, I do know that quote. I just like the Borg analogy. It feels somehow more, well, collective.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Do the Borg have members who are all about the "purity" of the language? Because English sure does.

[agenttrojie.livejournal.com]

*laughs hysterically*

[ianmcin.livejournal.com]

Hey, what language do the Borg speak, after all?

[kadharonon.livejournal.com]

I'm also rather fond of the Sheldon approach to the English language: "Look. The English language was carefully, carefully cobbled together by three blind dudes and a German dictionary."

[stormteller.livejournal.com]

Binary, probably.

[ianmcin.livejournal.com]

No, whenever I hear them, they're all speaking English.

[fadethecat.livejournal.com]

If that's the case, why don't I have an awesome cyberpunk eyepiece, huh? I demand my awesome cyberpunk eyepiece!

[igntethestars.livejournal.com]

. . . that is perfect o.o

[caprine.livejournal.com]

I thought it was Norman soldiers trying to get some from Saxon barmaids.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

That's the universal translators at work.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_language

[enigmania.livejournal.com]

... Yes, yes it does.

[gundamkiwi.livejournal.com]

Kind of like this?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Pixel beat you to it, but yes!

I just prefer the Borg image. Seems more ... all-encompassing.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

ALL OF THEM.

THEY'RE THE GOD DAMN BORG.

(I always love it when the Borg talks amongst ... itself? Themselves? I mean, why talk at all?)

[gundamkiwi.livejournal.com]

But not in icon form!

Haha! If you're going for all-encompassing, I agree; the Borg is the way to go. XD

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

Creepy!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_wastrel/]

English is, in D&D terms, Common. :D

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

*grin* It is in my Galaxy world, too--but it's a little like Tolkien's Westron, where they're "really" speaking another language, but it gets translated to English. (Always seemed natural to me to use English to represent the common language.)

For some reason I like how it's called "Basic" in Star Wars. It just seems like such a misnomer in a world where most of the sapients can't produce the sounds.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_wastrel/]

Yeah, Star Wars could have used a lot more attention to detail on some of the specifics like that, but that's just my take on it. :)