| the English will retail stories about the Scots...
| Martin
Now that's "telling". Capital idea to be sure.
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Frank Parker
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin J. Walker" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: What language?
| I read somewhere ~ perhaps someone can authoratitively confirm or refute
| this ~ that English as a language derives from a Germanic dialect originally
| spoken in a single village of Ostfriesland; it sounds rather implausible to
| me, but maybe there are a couple of shared features (despite all the
| varieties of "English" referred to by you, Robin) that back up the
| identification. The joke there is that modern German speakers pretend to
| find the East Friesians screamingly funny as the ultimate dumbos, much as
| the English will retail stories about the Scots being skinflints (though the
| German skinflints are supposed to be the Swabians.)
| Martin
|
|