BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » You know you're obsessed with Sherlock when...

ancientsgate · August 17, 2012 4:20 am

221B Baker Street wrote:
I do believe every language has its own peculiar difficulties. In Russian we have seven!! cases and million endings. In comparison with Russian English is an easy thing .

All languages are hard, when they aren't your own. I really admire people who have a gift for them and who can learn to get by in several. I think it might be a tad easier for Europeans, since so many languages are spoken in such a small geographical area. In America, we are spoiled. More and more Spanish is coming in here, but still and all, English is king. Curiously, though, it is not our "official" language. The US has no official language(s).

I've heard it said from pretty reliable sources that English is actually the most difficult language in current widespread use. Generally speaking, the romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Catalan, plus some other more minor regional languages), are supposed to be easier than the Germanic languages (German, English, Scots, Welsh, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, etc). No idea if that's true, but I've heard that all my life. I know English is a stern mistress--- she will take her riding crop to you and whip you until you yell for mercy-- just like Irene. (see, I can keep *anything* on topic!)

SusiGo · August 17, 2012 6:32 am

Sorry, but it was really "plains". Apart from the pleasant associations I find the expression a bit odd but then the whole book is not really good.

"hang on to it": So I imagine he was holding a club of some sort and let it fly and hit someone smack in the fact with it . Can't remember from the book what sort of game it might have been.

Davina · August 17, 2012 6:55 am

Woah! Scots (Gaelic) and Welsh are not Germanic languages. They are Celtic languages. No Germanic connection at all. Similarly so are Breton and Irish Gaelic.

Prepositions are always difficult to get for non-native speakers.

hepzibah · August 17, 2012 6:58 am

Well, if there was a tee involved it was probably golf. I seem to remember seeing some photos of cast members dressed for golf.

ancientsgate · August 17, 2012 7:09 am

Davina wrote:
Woah! Scots (Gaelic) and Welsh are not Germanic languages. They are Celtic languages. No Germanic connection at all. Similarly so are Breton and Irish Gaelic.

Prepositions are always difficult to get for non-native speakers.

Curious. I went to the internet before posting what I did, and Welsh English and Scots English were in the list of Germanic languages. Maybe they meant the way they speak English, not the languages themselves (Welsh, Gaelic?). No idea.

Davina · August 17, 2012 11:14 am

They must mean the way they speak English rather than Welsh or Scots Gaelic as languages in their own right.

Smoggy_London_Air · August 18, 2012 2:37 am

SusiGo wrote:
Sorry, but it was really "plains". Apart from the pleasant associations I find the expression a bit odd but then the whole book is not really good.

The House of Silk? I'm disappointed. The only things I've read by that author have been pretty good.

Davina · August 18, 2012 7:07 am

She doesn't mean The House of Silk, Smoggy. She means the other book she is translating at the moment. I am a great fan of Anthony Horowitz, a great author in my opinion. My book should be zooming towards me as I write.

Last edited by Davina (August 18, 2012 7:08 am)

SusiGo · August 18, 2012 9:13 am

Sorry for the misunderstanding, Smoggy. "House of Silk" is really good. I was just referring to the book I'm translating which has only one quotable sentence in it.

Smoggy_London_Air · August 18, 2012 5:25 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Sorry for the misunderstanding, Smoggy. "House of Silk" is really good. I was just referring to the book I'm translating which has only one quotable sentence in it.

I'd love to have that job, though. It's unfortunate that the book isn't very good.

SusiGo · August 18, 2012 5:32 pm

I love my job, sometimes more, sometimes less . The two books I translated before this are really good. Maybe the Brits among us know "Gold", the new novel by Chris Cleave, which was published shortly before the Olympics. It's great, I loved every minute of translating it.

veecee · August 18, 2012 9:40 pm

Just a note on "y'all" for "you all": I am not from the South (of the US), but I believe it is in common use throughout that area, not just Texas. It was originally an attempt to make up for the fact that we don't have an obvious plural second person (you) in English. However, as I understand, it has now come to be used even for the singular "you," so that now some people actually say "y'all y'all" for the plural. Would love for some Southerners to comment on this. I mean, "Could y'all y'all tell us if it is true?"

Unfortunately, up North we have the much less graceful-sounding "you guys."

Of course, anyone can say "you all" to indicate a plural when necessary for clarity.

tobeornot221b · August 19, 2012 5:31 am

veecee wrote:
Just a note on "y'all" for "you all": I am not from the South (of the US), but I believe it is in common use throughout that area, not just Texas. It was originally an attempt to make up for the fact that we don't have an obvious plural second person (you) in English. However, as I understand, it has now come to be used even for the singular "you," so that now some people actually say "y'all y'all" for the plural. Would love for some Southerners to comment on this. I mean, "Could y'all y'all tell us if it is true?"

Unfortunately, up North we have the much less graceful-sounding "you guys."

Of course, anyone can say "you all" to indicate a plural when necessary for clarity.

That's interesting, veecee. I have a sign in my bathroom a Texan friend once sent me:

ancientsgate · August 19, 2012 6:48 am

tobeornot221b wrote:
That's interesting, veecee. I have a sign in my bathroom a Texan friend once sent me:

I've never seen it spelled ya'll. I believe it's supposed to be y'all-- that's the way it's pronounced, anyway. I think the expression came up out of the Dallas, TX area many years ago. Hey, I live in New England, and I occasionally say it, so it's come into more common use in the last decade or two.

The Skull · August 21, 2012 11:34 am

I use 'y'all' and 'you guys' interchangeably, depending on who I'm with. I reckon I got 'y'all' from my mom, she grew up in East Tennessee. (Here's a Wikipedia article on the word if anyone's interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y'all )

Davina · August 21, 2012 1:22 pm

We also use 'ya' as a slang contraction of you- as mentioned in the Wikipedia entry.

You know when you're obsessed with Sherlock when your daughter tells you, ' You are obsessed with Sherlock Holmes'.

Last edited by Davina (August 21, 2012 1:24 pm)

Mattlocked · August 26, 2012 12:17 pm

You know you're obsessed with Sherlock when...

....your husband brought these from the supermarket....:

(chocolate marshmellows(?) with a tube of white sugar as incentive you can write with)

....and all you immediately want to do with it is this:

Last edited by Mattlocked (August 26, 2012 12:18 pm)

Davina · August 26, 2012 12:43 pm

Tasty!

hypergreenfrog · August 26, 2012 1:06 pm

Mmmmhhh... makes me hungry looking at them! Good job, I especially like the "I O U" one, nice effect.

SusiGo · August 26, 2012 2:07 pm

They're brilliant. Sorry for repeating myself, but it's the word that expresses it best.