You thought Scandinavian had many vowels?

What initially fascinated me about the Navajo language was the composite words (let me get back to that later).

But the vowel list was almost as captivating - or what do you think?

List from Gomyson.com 

Would you come out?

16:51 < natsu> Warum bist du gehidingen?!?
16:51 < natsu> Kom outen, kom outen, wherever du bisten!

A Horror For Any Linguistic Purist to Behold, in Any Language, Anywhere

TEXT SPELLZ

Channel Drama

12:37 < natsu> echo hi
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < Silme> calm down.
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:39 < natsu> echo Bzzt!
12:40 < natsu> Sorry
12:40 < natsu> I was testing something and it went nuts.

A while later: 

12:47 < natsu> I think I've accidentally put the whole channel on /ignore :/
12:47 < natsu> Sorry, Silme, I won't be able to see any of your text until I fix this.

....life just wouldn't be the same without talvi :) 

Dictionaries...

"Dictionaries are always fun, but not always reassuring."
                                                                                          M.F.K. Fisher

Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia

Another amusing piece, this time focusing on the "lack" of vowels in Bosnia. (Bosnian, btw, is more or less just a dialect of Serbo-Croatian.)  It's an oldie but goodie. Originally it was on The Onion, but even after digging a little bit, I couldn't find it. So I had to use another link for your reading pleasure.


Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia

Funny! 


Finnish As a World Language

Example from text:  "It is a concise language. One Finnish word can mean several different things in English. Why lose time and energy saying 'the committee that takes care of negotiations concerning the truce' when you can use a simple little word like 'aseleponeuvottelutoimikunta?'"

#Languages circa 2004

2004

This is a snapshot from way back in March 2004 of a program that drew links between channel participants (http://www.jibble.org/piespy/) It shows who was active at the time here in #languages

Shady English...Not to Be Trusted...

Pokemon

19:06 < talvi> Myrddhin: Y'know, all this time I've seen you and Wiseman and
               Publius and snass discuss "Manga", I still don't know what it is.
19:06 < talvi> Myrddhin: I've just assumed it's another kind of Pokemon.

The Status of English in the USA

English has never had official status in the US. I was interested, therefore, in finding out which states, if any, had made English their official language. To my surprise, there were roughly half of the states with English having the designation of "official language." Even more surprisingly, such states as California and Florida, both with relatively large, Spanish-speaking Hispanic communities, have declared English as their official language.

Now, I know that the increasing prevalence of Spanish (and for that matter, other languages too) is upsetting various groups of people, most notably the hard-line Conservatives. And since there _is_ no federal official language, a lot of these same people are making it their business to have English claim that status.

How do I feel about it? I'm ambivalent. Really rather straddling the fence on this one--I just can't decide. Anyone who reads this: I would love to read your responses and get your takes on the situation. Should English be a federal official language?


Here's a link for a website advocating English as our federal official language:

US English | Making English the Official Language


I would like to hear opinions from everybody, regardless of which country they come from, or are living in now.

Hiberno-English

 There's one type of English that interests me above (most of) the rest, because it's unique and--if you're a linguist--easy to identify. This is the Irish take on English, called Hiberno-English. 

First, a little bit on the etymology. "Hibernia" is the Latin name for Ireland, much like "Confoederatio Helvetica" is the Latin name for Switzerland (which, incidentally, is still used on Swiss currency, and even in their Internet domain, which is .ch). Thus, "Hibernia English" is the dialect of English spoken in Ireland.

The majority of Irish today speak English in the home, with the exception of a large swath of western Ireland, where Irish Gaelic is still commonly spoken. It is, however, still an official language of both Ireland and the European Union. But, although English replaced Gaelic as the majority language long ago, there is plenty to be seen in the dialect of Gaelic extraction. Below, some of the traits that define Hiberno-English's distinctiveness:

1. Emphasis. Interesting topic to me especially, because some of my maternal grandmother's "people" hailed from Ireland. It involves the repetition of something already said in the same sentence ("reflection"). It interests me particularly because my mother still does this. Some examples:

"We missed the bus, so we did."

"She's baking biscuits, so she is."

2. Affirmatives and negatives. Irish Gaelic does not have direct yes/no answers, and this comes through in Irish English:

"Did you go to the part?" "I didn't."

"Is she going to the store?" "She is."

3. To be. This emphasizes the continuous present following:

"She does be baking a lot on Saturdays."


There is of course a great deal more that distinguishes Hiberno-English from other dialects. For a wealth of information, simply enter "Hiberno-English" in the Google search field.

Self-insight

18:30 < talvi> I know my rants can be very annoying sometimes.
18:30 < talvi> You're probably all sitting there thinking "When will this guy
               shut up!"
18:30 < talvi> heh
18:30 < talvi> If I start babbling on for pages on end, feel free to say "We
               all stopped listening 10 minutes ago"

We have to remember this one. 

Decisions, the prequel

18:39  * Myrddhin always wakes up wanting to learn some specific language, yet
          a after a few minutes of reading any language-learning forum, he is
          filled with doubts again :P
18:40  * Wiseman is glad he just picked one and closed his eyes, hoping for the
          best.

Decisions, decisions

19:30 < Myrddhin> I always feel so serene when I decide to learn German

presenting : wibble

Hello there! I am currently living in Georgia in the United States though I was raised in Britain and I am of Hakka extraction.  Natively I am an English speaker with some knowledge of Cantonese, Hakka and some smatterings of a few european languages.  I'm not sure when I joined #languages exactly, somewhere around 2001 or thereabouts.  I also enjoy travel and speaking with people all around the world which IRC has provided some of, and that I met my wife over IRC too :)

How to get there

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is an - by today's standards - ancient protocol for instant messaging/chat. It has been called "Multiplayer notepad" because of its basic functionality. More info about IRC here.

There are multiple IRC networks, we are located on one called Undernet. Lately the network has suffered some stability issues, and there are rumours that the future is uncertain. However, do not let that worry you! We are still there. More info about Undernet here. 

To connect to IRC you need an IRC client. (Personally I would recommend X-chat for a graphical client (supports most OS:s) and is fairly userfriendly, and if you are more comfy around computers - irssi.).   The quickest way to connect if you don't have an IRC client or cannot or don't want to install a client is through a web client (in your browser window). Try this one: http://www.mibbit.com/

History

From the archives - "About":

#Languages is one of the few channels on IRC devoted to talking about linguistics. All its members are interested in languages to some extent and they are willing to help those with linguistic problems in any way they can. However, many other topics are often discussed at #Languages, such as philosophy, sociology and culture. Anything goes so long as you discuss in a polite way and respecting all members.

_______

From the archives - "History":

#Languages was founded in early 1999 by two Finns, Chaosborg and Vaev.
The channel started off with few people, just the two founding operators and some occasional visitors, among which there was a Romanian. In June 1999, rashd (now known as _miguel^) popped up and he decided to enter the channel on a regular basis. In time, he became an operator, too. More people joined the channel later on. Abavagada was the most regular, but also Angasule, Wivani, Silva, _Anais_ and some others. Chaosborg drifted away from the channel slowly and eventually disappeared. So did Abavagada and the most of the members during 2000 and 2001, because they did not accept the fact that #Languages was not exclusively devoted to talking about linguistics, but also to making friends and chatting about culture or just life in general.
TimeLord joined the bunch in 2000 and became a quite regular member. He changed his nick to Jabbrwock in 2002. Wiseman, Noumenon and Silme joined the channel in 2001 and have been fairly regular members up to now, too. Sleepy and Hobbes are recent regular members, as well, and have operator status.

Written by Vaev(or Jabbrwock?) February 2003

Pittsburghese

I've had questions about this mysterious "Pittsburghese," which, by times, is odd enough that outsiders don't always understand. (Fortunately those incidents are few and far between.) Here, two links for you to take a look for yourself:

The Academic Approach: Pittsburgh Speech & Society

The Light-hearted Approach: Pittsburghese

Kate's Presentation

I'm known as River/Matíka on IRC and as Kate IRL. I was born in western Pennsylvania, land of the notorious "Pittsburghese" dialect. My native language is English; I can speak German and Spanish also. I've also dabbled in Swedish, Finnish, Russian, French, Hindi, Japanese and Punjabi. At some point I will probably try, on a more serious level, to take on Finnish and Japanese (though hopefully not simultaneously!).

There's a lot more to say than just that, but I guess if you want to know, you'll have to come and find me on-channel. ;)

Call to Arms

The pen is mightier than the sword, or in this case: The keyboard is. Unless you use handwriting recognition on a tablet of some sort. In which case you might even use your finger. Uh...

Regulars: This thing will not work unless we all help.
1) message me with an e-mail adress I can send an invite to, so you can become a contributor.
2) make a short post with an introduction of yourself.
3) post stuff you think is interesting - language resources, thoughts and reflections, or if you want - a link to a some silly, smart or totally wrong article/blog/page with a comment (debate is good!). This space is what we make it into. Just one thing: I am going to try to keep an eye on content, so TRY to stay on topic at least 80% of the time. I suggest that we try to stay away from politics, religion or offensive material for the last 20% though...

Thoughts?

PS: Hate the layout? Talk to me about it instead of being irritated and taking it out on your cuticles, the troll in that other channel, or your mother. Even if the the troll deserves it. You can even do both, if you like!

Presentation: Silme

Hello. I am Silme, or sometimes Sionnach. I have been on the channel for more than a decade, and am the triggerhappy one that usually wind up making us a new homepage every five years or so (on average).

I think the contributors/regulars should write a short presentation here - saves us the "which languages do you speak and what is your native language?" list every time we get a new person dropping by.

Thoughts?

PS: My languages are Norwegian, Swedish and English fluently, messing about with German, Finnish, Dutch, Danish and Navajo - mainly... 

Moving Into Modern Times?!

#languages on Undernet has had a homepage since the 2004 or 2005 that has never been updated, and with very dubious html code. A sudden idea struck to move into the blog format - where the channel members can contribute with posts - even if it is just a good resource link they found. Since approval was general (we do not HAVE to update regularly afterall), I hit the necessary buttons and here we are.

But where are we heading..?