Wrixlings

The game being “English purism”, we often talk about “foreign” language features imported into English. Therefore the word “foreign” pops up quite a bit in our discussions. However, I just wanted to make some quick points about the word “foreign”, its derivitives, and how we gloss them in Anglish.

Johnny Foreigner

“Foreigner” is easily translatable as outlander, which is attested with that meaning.

“Foreign country” is likewise easy to set over into Anglish with attested outland.

But what about “foreign“? The attested form is “outlandish”. However, the meaning of this word has shifted so much as to be surely unrehabilitatable; I suspect it will now always retain hints of derisoriness even if we were to reappropriate it for the meaning of “foreign”.

A couple of options, therefore, present themselves to my mind.

(1) Change the pronunciation. Outlandish with its current main sense to stay as it is; with the sense of “foreign” it could be pronounced with the first, not the second, syllable stressed.

(2) Use the wordoutland instead which has an attested adjectival meaning of “foreign”, attested up till this very day, indeed (so sayeth the OED (pbui)).

I suspect strategy two is more likely to suceed.

We do of course also have the word “abroad”. Abroad, abroadland, abroadish? Perhaps, but maybe not. I think I’ll stick with outland (adj. and noun, country) and outlander (noun, person).

Foreign Foreign vs. Anglosphere Foreign

A final note before I wind this quick post up.

I often find myself, much to the confusion of others, referring to “English” but meaning “anglospheric”; that is, ‘of the worldwide Anglo-saxon culture, community, history, and language’. This is a kind of “foreigner lite”, I suppose, where Spaniards, Brazilians, and Chinese are all ‘foreign foreign’, and Aussies, Americans, and Canadians being kind of ‘home foreign’.

I don’t really find “anglospheric” to be satisfactory; and certainly, on Anglish grounds it is unacceptable. So what to say? “English speaking lands” doesn’t quite tickle my linguistic g-spot. English outlands? Not sure. Need to think on it a bit more…

Bryan Parry

April 2012