After having a semi-serious discussion on IRC with a melting pot of English degree students, English as second language Scandinavians and self-centered Americans on whether Instant Messaging systems like IRC and MSN Messenger are responsible for the deterioration of the English language, this blog entry on Chocolate and Vodka made me laugh.

“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”
– James D. Nicoll

“English is the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up Saxon barmaids and is no more legitimate than any of the other results.”
– H. Beam Piper

Update 04/01/05: I watched StarSpell, a celebrity spelling bee contest for charity on TV while preparing dinner last night, and it proved this on so many levels; Italian, German, French, Latin… at least 4-5 words per each round of ten were very heavily borrowed from another language. Ah well, it was still fun to watch!