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Fannies here and there
by leaffin at 09:01 PM on June 01, 2005
Sorry for my absence around the site. I've been travelling, off in my own world, and without consistent and cheap internet.
I'm currently in Utila, Honduras, and what started out with me just getting my open water certification in scuba diving has turned into me joining a divemaster class. That's how life on the road seems to work out for me. You never know what to expect. As a sidenote, as just typed that last sentence, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement. Oh right... just a a little gecko climbing up the wall next to the monitor. Everyday stuff. And a couple of weeks ago, we couldn't go out diving because a hurricane was supposed to hit. It never did, but exciting in a pee-your-pants sort of way, nonetheless.
But I actually wanted to talk about something much geekier. Linguistics.
Although Spanish is the official language of Honduras, here on the Bay Islands, English is the main language. But not your everyday traveller sort of English. They speak what many call "Pidgeon English." Compared to American English, the grammar and word order is much different, and the accent is definitely a bit tricky at times. It's basically standard Caribbean English, I think. Some words are a bit different... for example, instead of saying, "She's mad at him," they'd say "She's vexed at him." Add in different pronunciation, and they say "She's wexed at him." Much different.
I kinda like it. I like languages lots, and I like hearing about differences between similar languages (Does everyone know what "fanny" means in British English? It's much different than the American meaning.). That linguistics class I took in college might have made me a bit more sensitive on the behalf of the islanders, but when people say that the Bay Islands English is inferior to other forms of English, it bothers me. Similarly, why not accept Ebonics as a way to speak? I'm not suggesting you teach it in schools or anything, but strictly linguistically speaking, both Bay Islands English and Ebonics are forms (or dialect, in the case of the Bay Islands) of English that are spoken by certain groups of people.
Why do we have to say that the more widely-spoken Englishes (is that a word?) of the world are superior? Any opinions?
comments (7)
I've never heard of such drivel...
...I speak in numbers..
by Lockheed at June 1, 2005 10:59 PM
I'm a practical kind of guy, so I think it comes down to being able to communicate effectively. If you have a society where people only know their subculture's vernacular, it gets pretty hard to communicate between subcultures. This lack of communication can cause unnecessary conflict.
When it comes to different variations of a language between countries, I don't think it matters. It doesn't matter as long as everyone in that country can communicate with the same language. I fall into the group who wants a national language. I don't care what it is, as long as everyone can speak it. I want all road signs, manuals and labels in one language. It's such a waste of space and paper to print things in multiple languages. I want public schools to only teach in that one language. (I'm not saying students can't learn other languages.) This idea is crucial if different groups of people want to communicate effectively with each other and their government.
In order to communicate effectively, it's your responsibility to learn the language of the country you live in. If I were to visit France, I could get by with english, but if I were to move there, I'd be sure to learn French. It's the only way I'd be able to become a part of that society and get a social foothold.
As for which dialect is better: In the US, I doubt anyone would be impressed with the vocabulary of someone speaking street slang. Who's going to hire someone who speaks in slang? I can't think of a better way for someone to cement themselves into their socioeconomic class than to not learn how to speak proper english.
When you talk about Bay Islands English, I don't think it is inferior to other forms of English. It's only a problem if it is only spoken by a small group of people. If everybody in the country can understand it and speak it, then there is no problem.
Maybe some languages better than others. You could look at which ones have a larger vocabulary or have an ease of pronunciation. Maybe it's easier to write or has a way of being more precise in meaning or more descriptive. I'm sure that if you analyzed it enough you'd have pluses and minuses for every language. I bet you could narrow it down to a few top ones. Of course, it is impractical, if not impossible to get everyone in the world to speak the same language, even if it happens to be the "best" one. So, it's kind of a moot point to argue which is better.
What does "fanny" mean in Britain??
by MrBlank at June 2, 2005 10:34 AM
Well, here in canada the slang is a combination of english and american (with some distinctly candian expressions here and there)
Fanny here refers to a rear end, ass, butt, you know that kind of thing. I did look it up the net and find that it has a more vulgar meaning in England:
"Fanny can have many meanings:
Fanny is a slang US English word for buttocks and an impolite British English sexual slang word for vagina " - http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/fanny
interesting difference
by chuckwoolery at June 2, 2005 4:10 PM
It's odd how many educated rich blacks still axe u questions. either they can't lose it or they won't.
by anna at June 2, 2005 6:27 PM
I like your fanny.
by snaggle at June 3, 2005 2:41 AM
I was just on Utila this past week and heard about a book called "Wee Speak" which ostensibly treats the Bay Island vernacular specifically. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate it yet. Keep an eye out if you're still there...
by Rantirator at June 23, 2006 1:09 PM
Hi. You seem a lovely and likable lass and I like your blog. I stumbled across it with a random search for "Spanish fanny," just to see what that might produce. Initially I had figured that there must be a Spanishfanny.com, but to no avail. El oh well!
Language is of course subjective, and slanguage, if you will, evolves into what might be considered subspecies of a given language.
Thought for the day. Rather astonishing to think that, if one accepts the theory of evolution, and that the conditions for life are the result of "dead" stars, then all languages--To say nothing of our computers and all that humans are and do--are products of nature, the result of an immense explosion estimated to have occurred some 14 billion years ago.
It has been truly fun but I must continue onward now with my neverending quest for Spanish fannies! Be well, citizens! :^)
Mr. B.
by Mr. Bigglesworth at February 20, 2007 7:14 PM