Battleangel

On the topic of the language debate in the US. Priceless.

More generally speaking though, there is a broader story here. The language debate for starters is not limited to the US. We’ve had the same basic debate in Sweden and as language is an integral part of nationalist discourse and mythos, I’d reckon you can find the same rumbling pretty much everywhere as the hegemonic ideology of nationalism loses its stranglehold.

It’s ironic though, given that language is such a dynamic phenomenon, elusive and ever changing. If one were to assume a stringent and conservative view of say the Swedish language (which I am too guilty of from time to time) one would quickly find that few people really live up to those high standards. Take the dreaded (open) compound words (”särskrivning”) for instance. By that measure alone, most would need additional language training and a slap on the wrist. Not to mention dialects.