From: Andrew Jarrette
Message: 36574
Date: 2005-03-02
> > Curious that such an unusual language
> > would become the current most widely spoken language in the
world, in
> > terms of geographical extent and numbers of speakers as a second
> > language.
>
> Not really so curious. It only shows that a neat spelling system
is not
> as important as whatever gives a language its political and
cultural
> prestige. The army and the navy behind it, for example ;)
>
The main reason is it's so heavily creolised (because of the
Nordwestblock and pre-Celtic component?) and therefore without the
inflectional complications which beset its self-prestigious
competitors, French with its numerous verbal forms, not to mention
the complicated noun paradigms of German (it seems only Slavs find
German uncomplicated
;-).
Torsten
______________________________I'm afraid I'm a bit ignorant: what is the Nordwestblock, if you please?
Andrew Jarrette