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Re: Quartz/Halogen incandescent bulbs



Zach Wolff wrote:
English borrows from other languages at a rate greater than
any other known modern languange.

This is an example of what I will call a "memorism", in hopes that my
creative coinage will someday show up in Webster. A "memorism" is a
factoid once heard or read somewhere, which one has implanted in one's
memory so indelibly that one continues to recite it automatically
without taking note that it was or has become incorrect. A "memorism"
can also be a fact that was memorized incorrectly; or two facts that
have become entwined and garbled.

If your "memorism" ever was true, it's certainly out of date by decades
at least. Many "new" English words are simply new usages of existing
English words (monitor, channel). Most new English words now borrow
from or combine other English words rather than borrowing from other
languages (laptop, daycare). Also, other languages have begun borrowing
from English at an accelerating pace.

English has, over centuries, borrowed from a *great variety* of other
languages; perhaps that's what you meant to say.

Your bold manifesto seems a bit flawed, but I do agree with your (and
Mark's) basic premise that the English language has always changed over
time and will surely continue to do so. "The grammarian view point is
rapidly dying" does seem a substantial overstatement of the rate at
which change is progressing :-)

Best wishes,

Larry
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Larry Cartwright <exit60@ia4u.net>
Elderly Teacher
Charlotte HS, Charlotte MI USA
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