This is a true story, and I report it just for fun.
Once I was in a three-way discussion about the preciseness of various
languages. I was defending English as a robust language, but a colleague
was claiming that any other European language would be more precise. The
third person was Swiss and was visiting my lab.
After a period of debate, the Swiss person said, "Well, I have to go now
because I'm meeting a friend for dinner."
My colleague said. "Now see what we have here. If Heinz had delivered that
message in Swiss or German we would be able to tell if he were having dinner
with a female friend or a male friend."
Heinz responded. "Ah, that's the beauty of English. I don't want you to
know."
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817