Linch's Shortform

Linch

Linch's Shortform — LessWrong

Comment Permalink

I'm pretty sure the "to speak plainly with the people, use words of Anglo rather than Latin origin" point is itself an anachronism and affectation.

I think most decent writers have a pretty good "vibe" for which words are common vs not, already. But if you're unsure, statistical frequency tests are a better proxy for familiarity than etymology.

Attempted rewrite:

I reckon the rede "to speak straight with the folk, reach for words with Anglo root, rather than that of the Walnut Folk" is itself a thing out of its own time, and a put-on of the highest kind.

I think most writers worth their salt already have a pretty good ken for which words are everyday and which aren’t. But if you can't rightly tell, a reckoning of how oft a word shows up is a better gauge for how couth it is than a word’s wellspring.

Showing 3 of 15 replies (Click to show all)

2testingthewaters5mo

I think the rewrite is a touch too affected. Here is my try: [...] And indeed I think this is simpler than the original.

2Linch5mo

As with Arjun's reply, this is harder than you might think (though you got closer). In particular you only messed up the etymology once, but your translation is more lossy in meaning. used etymology [...] This has a direct class and affectation critique of using Latinate words which wasn't in the original, or is at most implied (a "folk from other lands" might just speak their natural tongue). [...] "Words that work" can imply persuasion or other reasons to select specific words, whereas the original quote was just about fluency. [...] I think "older" also implies different things than the anglo vs latin distinction. It also contradicts the implicit message of your quote more (since phrases like "old saw" invokes an older/more antiquated vibe). Separately I agree my rewrite was a bit too affected. I intentionally exaggerated it for humorous effect.

testingthewaters5mo*20

I did study middle english academically, but old english was only ever a recreational interest so my anglisc is not most meet. The reason for the implied class critique is that the initial burst of latinate loans come from historic french after the norman conquest. These basically displaced and reformed old english into middle english and were imposed by the conquerors after their victory, since the conquerors spoke french. In fact, english kings wrote declarations in french until at least 1258 https://archive.org/details/onlyenglishprocl00ellirich . This ... (read more)

See in context