Ahh the French

[Dinner]

This is just plain wrong.

The French do not wish to protect their culture against "contamination", they want to preserve a strong cultural sector operating *from* France. It does not matter if they're borrowing from something else, as long as it is preserving a vitality that works locally.

HA! Tell that to the guy who wanted to name his store Le Super Market; ask him how the French word police went after him specifically claiming it was English linguistic contamination. He sued and eventually won after several years and great personal expense. The word police even tried to get him to use the Turkish word Bizarre just because they hated English so much but the guy won claiming it was unfair to legally force him to use a Turkish word instead of an English word. The point is the French understand their linguistic inferiority to English on the world stage so they specifically target English usage and try to restrict it where ever possible.

[Hauldren Collider]

They do that in Quebec, too.

[giblets]

HA! Tell that to the guy who wanted to name his store Le Super Market; ask him how the French word police went after him specifically claiming it was English linguistic contamination. He sued and eventually won after several years and great personal expense. The word police even tried to get him to use the Turkish word Bizarre just because they hated English so much but the guy won claiming it was unfair to legally force him to use a Turkish word instead of an English word. The point is the French understand their linguistic inferiority to English on the world stage so they specifically target English usage and try to restrict it where ever possible.

Bizarre is not a Turkish word. It was originally borrowed from French language. Maybe you were confusing it with bazaar, which is also not Turkish but it isn't French either.

[Hauldren Collider]

In Oerdin's defense, Persia and Turkey both have lots of muslims in them. I can see where he got confused.

[Fake Boris]

Average level of culture, huh? What unit do you measure that in, an upturned nose?

Where people who are good at TV Weekly trivia do not count as "cultured".

[Fake Boris]

HA! Tell that to the guy who wanted to name his store Le Super Market; ask him how the French word police went after him specifically claiming it was English linguistic contamination. He sued and eventually won after several years and great personal expense. The word police even tried to get him to use the Turkish word Bizarre just because they hated English so much but the guy won claiming it was unfair to legally force him to use a Turkish word instead of an English word. The point is the French understand their linguistic inferiority to English on the world stage so they specifically target English usage and try to restrict it where ever possible.

You've just made that up, there is no language police in France.

[Fake Boris]

Every Boris post strengthens the premise that his opinions on just about everything are worthless.

I am telling you what is common knowledge throughout the world.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I don't think your knowledge even rises to the level of "common"

[Elok]

Who would want anything COMMON, anyway?

[Fake Boris]

This thread is an amazing exhibit of typical American "isolationism".

I would like to point out that the opinions expressed here have been confirmed by American friends I made while visiting France.

And since I predict nothing else than: "They must have been snobbish Americans, the kind we ridicule", I wish to point out that one of them was a Texan separatist PBR drinker who wore flip flops, bermudas, and rock band t-shirts, and just bowed before the obvious, while at the same time not caring. I.e. "it's more refined, I just don't give a **** though, I'm fine the way I am."

[Dinner]

Bizarre is not a Turkish word. It was originally borrowed from French language. Maybe you were confusing it with bazaar, which is also not Turkish but it isn't French either.

Bah! The owner of the store successfully appealed the ruling that he couldn't use the store name "Le Super Market" because the alternative they suggested was of Turkish origin (according to the court) so the court ruled there was no "French" option and so he'd be allowed to use the English phrase.

[Elok]

Anecdotal evidence from a biased source is a proud tradition of French culture, I see.

[Fake Boris]

Anecdotal evidence from a biased source is a proud tradition of French culture, I see.

Go ahead, present me with your statistical evidence.

[Elok]

Statistical evidence? Gathered using what, a culturometer? The whole question of who is more "cultured" is entirely subjective. But I'm not going to take your word for it, or that of a Texan I never met and never will, that a country I've never been too is more...whatever the devil you're claiming it is, than my own.

[giblets]

Where people who are good at TV Weekly trivia do not count as "cultured".

That would be ridiculous. People who memorize the family trees of Roman emperors are clearly more cultured.