What's in a language?

On my expat women's forum we have been having an interesting conversation lately about the way a language evolves over time, and the connection between language and cultural identity. Sounds pretty intellectual doesn't it? There are a couple of women on the forum who are doing MA's in linguistics, and they had some interesting bits of info.

As anyone who has travelled to France probably knows, the French are extremely proud of their language and are determined to preserve it in its purest form. This appears to be closely linked to the French sense of cultural identity, and their determination to remain FRENCH. Apparently there are even fines handed out to those who commit a "language crime"! For example, if someone uses a foreign word in a public speech they are punished with a fine. They also dub all foreign movies and television programs into French - pretty funny when you try to imagine someone on "Neighbours" or "Macleod's Daughters" speaking French ;-)) I think Germany and Italy also dub everything, makes for amusing viewing but I don't agree that it's a good idea. I think the whole mood and intention of the original creators gets "lost in translation".

Strangely enough, the Dutch don't make such a big fuss of the whole language thing. They use soooo much English it's not funny. A bit of a shame really, 'cause I feel like I am not forced to speak Dutch at all. I should be grateful for small mercies though - we don't get everything dubbed into Dutch ;-)) BUT you would think that a language spoken by such a small percentage of the world's population is worth some fierce protection.

On a related topic, I have been watching a few foreign language movies on DVD here lately. Didn't even think when we first bought them that they wouldn't have an option for English subtitles, only Dutch - doh!! It is definately good practice and I am getting faster at reading :-) As my Dutch is getting better I have noticed though, on English language movies and/or tv programs, that the translations into subtitles can leave alot to be desired! Sometimes the translations don't make any sense at all, the words are changed totally, or they constantly get numbers around the wrong way (due to the fact that numbers in Dutch are read as three & fifty instead of fifty three for example). The funniest instance I have seen of this was on "Friends" when Joey's date was described as being 92 instead of 29 ;-)

Anyway, a bit of food for thought. Something that I hadn't really thought about before because I pretty much took it for granted that everywhere I went I could speak English. And maybe next time you watch a subtitled movie you will wonder what they are REALLY saying! :-D

Alli xxx