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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Quote about the "English language purity" #166540 03/06/2007 10:49 AM Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 gobbledygookie stranger gobbledygookie stranger Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 I'm looking for a famous quote about the "English-language (nonexistent) purity"... where the language is analogized to a whore, or something like that. It's a really good quote... I saw it on Wikipedia once, but someone removed it from some reason... I'd really like to see it again. So, if anyone can help me out, I'll appreciate it... Thanks, gobb Edit: kodus on the new forum design... Last edited by gobbledygookie; 03/06/2007 10:50 AM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: Quote about the "English language purity" gobbledygookie #166544 03/06/2007 12:25 PM Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 gobbledygookie stranger gobbledygookie stranger Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 Found it! "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that the English language is as pure as a crib-house whore. It not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary." James Nicoll, 1846-1918 Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: Quote about the "English language purity" gobbledygookie #166552 03/06/2007 4:00 PM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh James Nicoll, 1846-1918 It was a Candaian, James D. Nicoll, who said it on Usenet. He was born in 1961 and is still alive. It's a great little quotation. Ceci n'est pas un seing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: Quote about the "English language purity" zmjezhd #166561 03/06/2007 7:57 PM Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 gobbledygookie stranger gobbledygookie stranger Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 8 You know too much O_o Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: Quote about the "English language purity" gobbledygookie #166563 03/06/2007 8:36 PM Joined: Oct 2000 Posts: 5,400 rego park of troy Carpal Tunnel of troy Carpal Tunnel Joined: Oct 2000 Posts: 5,400 rego park You know too much No, it's not that he knows too much, it's that he knows so much, (and what more remembers the details!) and is so generous in sharing his knowledge. my other obsession Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: Quote about the "English language purity" gobbledygookie #166614 03/08/2007 1:24 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 belMarduk Carpal Tunnel belMarduk Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 Originally Posted By: gobbledygookie Found it! "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that the English language is as pure as a crib-house whore. It not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary." James Nicoll, 1846-1918 HA ! I love this quote. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,915 Posts230,285 Members9,208 Most Online4,606 Sep 17th, 2025 Newest Members JerryC, blvd, Tony Hood, Wood Delivery, Forix Richard 9,208 Registered Users Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 25 A C Bowden 6 JerryC 1 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 11,140 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,974 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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