[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by metalfiend666

Jeez guys, it was a joke! No need to take it so seriously!

[Naren]

Originally Posted by metalfiend666

If you really want to go that far into it, "arse" has been around at least 800 years and was a commonly used term at the time of the Pilgrim Fathers. Given the American history of altering English spellings and pronunciations, I'm fairly confindent that "ass" is just a corruption of "arse". :p

For a good read, try Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue". It'll change your perspective on language, especailly swearing, forever.

Besides, there is no such thing as a "corruption" of a word. This is a strange idea that has been around for over 3000 years. The ancient Egyptians used to think that the older form of Egyptian was better and the modern form was corrupted. The ancient Indians thought that "modern" (500BC) Sanscrit was corrupted and that the sanscrit of 200 years earlier was holy. Many modern English grammarians seem to think that it's the "end" of the English language, because it's changing and isn't the same as the English of Shakespeare or of the Victorian age. Languages change. That's just the way things are. There is nothing "holy" about the words "thou", "thee", the verb ending "-est", or any old words. Words are nothing more than sounds. Humans analyze these sounds for their own meanings. Which is why people argue over the meanings of words or why words change in meaning or why there are so many languages. A complicated language is not superior to a "simple" language. Some old linguistics argued that European languages were superior and more advanced than Asian or African languages. This, of course, is nonsense.

I didn't say that "ass" was correct and "arse" was wrong. I said that they are two completely different words. Besides if you try to read English from 1200, you will understand very little. Go back to 900 AD when Beowulf was written and you won't understand one single word.

I seriously doubt that book would change my perspective (I own several books on slang/curse words/etc. etymology and I have my own opinions on such things). For one thing, there is nothing "wrong" or "dirty" or "evil" behind any word. The only evil comes from the intention and attitude of the speaker.

I know it was joke, which is why I had the little eye-rolling thing and said that I'm probably the only guy who notices these things (and cares about them).

[The Dark Wolf]

Eric... go out and get reaaaaally drunk. Please.

(Good points, BTW. I couldn't have said it better myself. Word etymology and language history is a little interest of mine, too )

Now we need Drew to chime in.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

Eric... go out and get reaaaaally drunk. Please.

I did that last night. I went to Narita with Yuka. First we went to Watami, where I had 3 beers and 2 mixed drinks (as well as a bunch of food), then we went to Hana no Mai and I had 3 beers and 3 mixed drinks. Then we went to Shidax Karaoke where I had 2 mixed drinks (as well as sung Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth, X Japan, Hide, Slipknot, etc.). Then we went to the convenience store, bought some more beer, went to the hotel room (around 4am) and stuff.

If you meant that comment because my post seemed so serious, it's just that linguistics, etymology, translation, and such are big interests of mine and have been for a long time, duuuude. I probably come off as a linguist/grammar nerd or something.

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by Naren

If you meant that comment because my post seemed so serious, it's just that linguistics, etymology, translation, and such are big interests of mine and have been for a long time, duuuude. I probably come off as a linguist/grammar nerd or something.

Noooooo... say it ain't so, dude!

Well, you're an English teacher, translater, and writer, so shit... it makes sense. I myself have a philosophy that deep universal human truths are locked within language, and knowing the roots of terms can be like digging up buried treasures of wisdom. And stuff.

[metalfiend666]

Wow, I never imagined I'd spawn that lot from my comment!

Naren - the book isn't solely about profanity, but the English langauge as a whole. But the chapter on profanity is the funniest and makes the reader realise [yes, it's "ise" here] how stupid the whole idea is.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by metalfiend666

Naren - the book isn't solely about profanity, but the English langauge as a whole. But the chapter on profanity is the funniest and makes the reader realise [yes, it's "ise" here] how stupid the whole idea is.

Yeah. I was a double major in "English" and "Japanese", which basically means I had to take a lot of Linguistics classes (which I quite enjoyed). I remember one of my textbooks had an entire chapter on profanity, taboo, etc. And it used examples all around the world and some examples were very strange.

You don't need to tell me it's spelled "realise" over there. Telling me so infers that I don't already know that. Or that I'm going to tell you that you spelled it wrong. Don't forget that I am an English teacher (and translator). I'm sure that any American that has graduated from high school knows at least the basic differences in American and British spelling (color/colour, gray/grey, realize/realise, etc. etc.). Besides, I've read over 100 novels by British authors by now. Hell, I probably know British spelling better than your average Brit.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I myself have a philosophy that deep universal human truths are locked within language, and knowing the roots of terms can be like digging up buried treasures of wisdom. And stuff.

Agree 100%

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by Naren

Agree 100%

Really? Interesting... I had only glimpses that others felt this way.

[metalfiend666]

Originally Posted by Naren

Yeah. I was a double major in "English" and "Japanese", which basically means I had to take a lot of Linguistics classes (which I quite enjoyed). I remember one of my textbooks had an entire chapter on profanity, taboo, etc. And it used examples all around the world and some examples were very strange.

You don't need to tell me it's spelled "realise" over there. Telling me so infers that I don't already know that. Or that I'm going to tell you that you spelled it wrong. Don't forget that I am an English teacher (and translator). I'm sure that any American that has graduated from high school knows at least the basic differences in American and British spelling (color/colour, gray/grey, realize/realise, etc. etc.). Besides, I've read over 100 novels by British authors by now. Hell, I probably know British spelling better than your average Brit.

I didn't mean to insult you in any way, and apologise if I did. I just have a sarcastic streak to my nature that I guess doesn't come accross too well written down.

I don't doubt you can spell better than a lot of Brits. Are you familier with text speak? Well a lot of kids are starting to spell like that in real life too. Not good for the future really. I know languages change, but I think that's a step too far and I personally find it a lot harder to read.