Newsgroups: sci.lang,scot.general,soc.culture.celtic
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!gatech!rutgers!gw2.att.com!nntpa!mac-118.lz.att.com!user
From: rte@elmo.lz.att.com (Ralph T. Edwards)
Subject: French and English and German was various pairs of other languages
Message-ID: <rte-2405951355230001@mac-118.lz.att.com>
Sender: news@nntpa.cb.att.com (Netnews Administration)
Nntp-Posting-Host: mac-118.lz.att.com
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs
References: <3nqtn1$b7v@bertha.gssec.bt.co.uk> <11MAY199514133135@cc.weber.edu> <D8H0wB.6nz@rci.ripco.com> <17MAY199508184980@cc.weber.edu> <D8rGGz.5FM@midway.uchicago.edu> <3ph342$o3m@clarknet.clark.net> <1995May23.171634@ecid.cig.mot.com>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 18:55:23 GMT
Lines: 32

In article <1995May23.171634@ecid.cig.mot.com>, morganb@ecid.cig.mot.com
(Bernard T Morgan) wrote:

> In article <3ph342$o3m@clarknet.clark.net>, (*Expletive Deleted*)
thedavid@clark.net () writes:
> >  
> > As for the question of the language-group most widely
> > employed on that island whereon London is found, why
> > not just "Insular?" Or perhaps "Islandic?"
> > 
> >                              David                                
> 
> How about Franco-German?
> 
> Bernard.

In which case French should Germano-Romance, since it has a hefty
substratum of Germanic words.  I was recently reminded of this when my
officemate wanted a translation of Honi soit qui mal y pense.  My French
is a little rusty, and I couldn't quite recall the litteral meaning of
Honnir (modern spelling).  Then I thought of German Hohn/h"ohnen and
realized it must be "scorn(ed)".  A glance at my  Etymologisches
W"orterbuch confirmed this, down to including Honi soit...
as evidence of the entry into French of this word from Old Frankish. 
However the count of Germanic words in French is surely lower than the
French superstratum in English.  The German in French also seem to be more
down to earth than the French in English.  Does "superstratum" have a
formal meaning in Linguistics?  It seems more appropriate for the French
in English than substratum.

-- 
R.T.Edwards rte@elmo.att.com 908 576-3031
