Surlingu vs. Slangu

by Micki Marbh. At all times there has been a standard language with a certain norm in grammar and vocabulary which was regarded as the "high language", mostly spoken by the elite, aristocracy and royalty but also used in public discourse, communication by letter and the jurisdiction, while people on the ground used a more common interpretation of that standard language. If you look i.e. at the English language, there is the "Queens English" and then, on a national basis, separate versions of English in Scottland, Wales & Irleand. Even English cities and regions have their differences in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Let's call those variations "Common English" in contrast to the standardised "Queens English".

We find those constellations all over Europe, i.e. in Germany the city of Hannover claims to speak the "perfect German", while Bavarians in the south are proud of their "own German-based Bavarian language". In earlier times, Latin was spoken by the Roman elite while the peasant population turned to a more "vulgar" Latin which later gave birth to languages such as Spanish, French, Romanian and Italian.

Today, similar rules apply to Eulingu, with a standardised Eulingu called "Surlingu" and its common counterpart "Slangu" which offers an even simpler but maybe less consistent approach.

Let's have a closer look at some examples:

Surlingu

EU Estum manger un panu kon marmeladu d'aprikoti

EN I eat a bread with apricot jam

Slangu

EU Em mange un pan kon marmelad d'aprikoti

EN I eat a bread with apricot jam

or

EU J mange un pan kon marmelad d'aprikoti

EN I eat a bread with apricot jam

While reducing the standard "estum" to the slang "em" or "j", changing the verb "manger" to "mange" by cutting off the "r" and finally eliminating the suffix "-u" in "panu" and "marmeladu" we are able to conclude, that the speaker understands "Surlingu" but tends to use a simpler "slang" version in order to express him/herself, assuming that those variations do not minimise the meaning of his/her words, mostly found in close-knit communities.

What does this mean for Eulingu?

We definitely encourage "Slangu" and embrace diversity, while keeping the standard with "Eulingu".

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© 2010 Amiki d'Eulingu