English, Spanish, French... Oh My!

English, Spanish, French… Oh My!

Today’s big controversy on CNN seems to be the Spanish version of our beloved, but barely singable, National Anthem. To which I say: bollocks!

The Founding Fathers spoke English, but they emphatically left the notion of a national language out of the Constitution. The anthem itself has ignoble beginnings as an 18th Century drinking song, “To Anacreon….” The Spanish version itself is soulful, rhythmic, and has a nice flair.

I think a lot of the racists and xenophobes don’t get it about language. It’s what any first year linguistics student could tell them: any human language is capable of expressing any human thought. Duh! That’s not to say I don’t love English. After all, I was an English major and have a doctorate in English Literature. But, I’ve also studied French, Italian, and other languages enough to know that each language is as “good” as the other, though each has its own special “flavor.” The important thing to keep in mind is the concepts behind the anthem, not the Englishness of the individual words.

To those who worry about Spanish being some kind of barbarian language—remember that Spanish is a direct descendant of Latin. Latin was a language of written literature, science, and law long before the Anglo-Saxons were able to scribble out syllables in runes on granite rocks. Sixty percent of English vocabulary comes from Latin, by way of Old French. Old French is itself a close relative of both Spanish and Latin. Otherwise, our National Anthem would probably sound like a cross between “Beowulf” and Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath’s Tale.”

Grow up and get over it, ye nativists! Once, your ancestors were “bog Irish” or Polish or Italian poor immigrants. A brief review of the excellent film, “Gangs of New York,” should reveal to you that in immigration, as in the Bible, “there is nothing new under the sun.”

New Computer at Last

New Computer, at Last!

It took five years and $1509, but this week I finally got my new computer! It’s a dual-core Pentium D that runs at a swift 3.2 GHz. Thanks to my new job, it’s all been possible. So far, that’s about all I’ve used it for, too—work. But Ever     Quest runs great, and so does a shooter Brad lent me, called F.E.A.R.

Other than that, nothing exciting’s been happening. I did attend Easter Vigil Mass last night at St. Gregory’s. It was a nice service, though not for the faint of heart, coming in at 2:20 minutes’ duration.

Tomorrow: More work, and a visit from the Esplanade manager. I’m going to sign my 15th lease here. And inveigle a new carpet out of the manager.

Siegfried and the Nibelungens [sic]

Siegfried and the Nibelungens [sic]

Apropos of nothing, I was watching a 2-part movie on Sci Fi Channel last night (I had recorded it from last week), and found it interesting. It was titled “Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King.” At first, I thought it was just another bit of Sword and Sorcery fluff, but then when the hero killed Fafnir and made off with his loot, including the RING, I knew something else was afoot. Indeed, this turned out to be a pop-culture retelling of Siegfried’s saga, replete with Brunhilde and lots of tragic romance. Not bad, overall, but I had to stifle a guffaw when one of the characters brandished “the ring of the Nibelungens.”

O Death

O Death

O Death, O Death, rock me asleepe,
Bring me to quiet rest;
Let pass my weary guiltless ghost
Out of my careful breast.
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
For I must die,
There is no remedy.

My pains, my pains, who can express?
Alas, they are so strong!
My dolours will not suffer strength
My life for to prolong.
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
For I must die,
There is no remedy.

Alone, alone in prison strong
I wail my destiny:
Woe worth this cruel hap that I
Must taste this misery!
Toll on, thou passing bell;
Ring out my doleful knell;
Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
For I must die,
There is no remedy.

Farewell, farewell, my pleasures past!
Welcome, my present pain!
I feel my torment so increase
That life cannot remain.
Cease now, thou passing bell,
Ring out my doleful knoll,
For thou my death dost tell:
Lord, pity thou my soul!
Death doth draw nigh,
Sound dolefully:
For now I die,I die, I die

-- Attributed to Anne Boleyn