I remember reading my friends-of-friends list...

[conuly]

And one of your (vuestra) friends had posted about how people shouldn't borrow words from other languages when there's a perfectly good word in English. For example (and this is the example given), one shouldn't say manga because comic works just as well. Except comic doesn't work as well. Comic is the broad term for that sort of thing. Manga describes a specific type of comic.

Of course, I didn't say that. I just pointed out that manga is really not a Japanese word, it's an English word, magazine, which the Japanese borrowed from us first. We're just taking it back :)

It's funny how language works, isn't it?


_{And anyway, if she really dislikes borrowings, I suggest she purge her speech of all words whose origins are in the Norman invasion. Don't say you eat beef, you're really eating cow. Not pork, pig. Rich people live in big houses, not mansions. And so on.}

(edit) Okay, so maybe I was wrong when etymologizing manga. The point about borrowings not being evil still stands.

Comments

[xxrosencrantzxx.livejournal.com]

I'm not big on entomology, but whatever its origin I do agree with you that 'manga' has a totally different meaning than just plain 'comic.' It denotes a very specific type of comic, which has subsets of its own etc...

But, it's still different.

P.S. You friended me, I friended you back, and I am rather glad that I did. Your journal is quite entertaining. Might I ask wherever on the web you found me? Just for my mixed up files and all.

[conuly]

Etymology. Entemology has to do with insects.

I think I found you on mock_the_stupid. Fell in love with the icon, and I think that if you made it, you should wander over to book_icons and post it because everybody loves bunnicula. Unless you wanna keep it yours, that is.

And then I liked the journal proper, so I added you.

[xxrosencrantzxx.livejournal.com]

I knew I should have bothered to look up the 'e' word, but I was far too lazy. Alas, I have fallen afoul of a linguist!

As for the icon, I wish I had made it but I'm graphically-challenged, so I commanded one of my talented minions to make me a Bunnicula icon. By 'commanded' I mean asked nicely, and by 'minion' I mean friend.

It all worked out though.

[conuly]

Never offend a linguist. We have l337 dictionary skilz.