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tumblr post by seokoilua: it's so wild to me that some people just speak english all the time… like they can't switch it off to speak in a #real language when they need to
this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
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About the only language with more flexibility is Mandarin Chinese.
Its pretty much the defining feature of English. It has so many shared words, rules and logic and can borrow so effortlessly. That realistically speaking so long as you understand the language you can do some wild stuff.
The concept of "English doesn't have a word to express x, y, z." Is basically nonsense. English can absorb and adapt anything to it self.
It's both why it's such a mess and frequently clowned on as a language as well as its greatest strength.
English is just the borg of language.
That's nonsense. Inflectional languages can modify the meaning of words in subtle ways by prepending prefixes or appending suffixes (often both), and this applies widely across the vocabulary. In place of that, English uses function words compounded with content words to form new terms, but these pairs are hard-defined. E.g. ‘get’ adopts different meanings if it's ‘get on’, ‘get off’, ‘get up’, ‘get down’, ‘get in’, etc. But you can't say something like ‘make in’ and expect it to have anywhere near the same shade of meaning as ‘get in’.
I do recognize and appreciate the flexibility of English, but isn't that opposite to the "precision"? (I'm sure there's a more appropriate linguistic term but that's not my geek area)
As you said, all the borrowing allows it to express almost anything, but very often in ad-hoc, incoherent ways.
Btw, I didn't mean that English doesn't have a word to express X, just that several, very specific words in Italian often get translated to the same, broader-meaning English word (that can then become more specific with extra adjectives/qualifiers/whatever)
very specific words in Italian often get translated to the same, broader-meaning English word
That sounds like a translation issue.
Language shapes the way people interpret the world. If you think in Italian then this precision is defined by that language and may or may not exists.
The article you mention states:
I'd add you don't think in any language. You express yourself in a language.
a multilingual can write what you wrote. Monolinguals are shaped by the limits of one language (and mostly a poor utilitarian corner of that language.) They can't think of something with which they have no words for or don't even feel like they're missing words for something they need to communicate
Ooh, that sounds like a fun game. What are the words you're talking about? I bet I could find a more precise word (or sometimes compound words or phrases) that expresses that concept very exactly.
I second this game idea. It sounds fun, and like it could be helpful for other non-native English speakers who want to learn more vocabulary.
Also, what a lot of non-native speakers might not understand is that sometimes, especially with English, the correct translation is to leave a word untranslated.
You know, since all words are English words, as long as you get the grammar correct 🤣
(joking but it's kind of true though)
You're right. English can be real tricky. I've known Spanish speakers to say "scape" instead of "escape," because similar words in Spanish that have English counterparts usually drop the e-. For example, escuela -> school; estudiar -> to study; hell, even Español -> Spanish. There are loads of examples of this pattern, but a handful of words (like "escape" and "escalate") defy it. It's gotta be so confusing.
Yeah, I'm not sure where we got the e- prefix from, but once upon a time it seems to have been used to modify the meaning of words. Obviously it's no longer in use, just a relic of lost grammatical rules.
And now we have a new e- prefix, such as email and e-bikes. I wonder if future linguists will think that "escape" refers to a digital lawn 🤔
Just wait until you see the new VR psychological horror by Guillermo del Toro, Escape the E-scape
I do think that we will eventually lose the distinction between movies and video games in favor of "immersive story experiences."