Word for the wise ©
Our ongoing but soon-to-be-ended Word for the wise © expedition through the alphabet has brought us as far as X:
xenophobia is defined as "an intense fear or dislike of foreign people, their customs and culture, or foreign things." This can extend to language, where the phenomenon is known as "linguistic xenophobia". The word "barbarian" is worth noting in this context. It is derived from a Greek version of the Latin balbus, "stammering", being a derisive imitation of the foreign languages encountered by "superior" civilizations. The term was applied to those who were non-Hellenic, then non-Roman, then non-Christian. In the 19th century, the word turned up in an official Chinese document referring contemptuously to foreigners. An early quotation in English, from 1549, is in Scots dialect: "Euere nation reputis vthers nations to be barbariens."Coming bang up to date, on 3 May this year, the German town of Mühlhausen in Thuringia joined the "Verein Deutsche Sprache" (Society of the German Language") with the expressed goal of removing Anglicisms and Americanisms from the native language of north Germany. Mühlhausen boasts a "Factory Store" and a clothing shop offering "trendige Kindermode for Boys and Girls", while hairdresser Melanie Bauer hopes to attract a more hip clientele with her "Stylissimo" salon. All this is too much for the town's mayor who feels that the evolving mix of German and English, known as "Denglisch", has gone too far. Retrogression won't help the mayor in his Canute-like battle with the incoming tide of English, however, but it may distract people for a while from reality and bankrupt politics.
Next week, we're at "Y". Given the season that's in it, "Yuletide" has been nominated.
