The English Common Tongue
This post revolves around a little-known movement related to the "Linguistic Purity" of the English language... Examples of offshoots include: First English; Ednew English ("Renewal" English); or Anglish (named for the tongue's Anglo-Saxon English roots)...
(What? The Purity of the English Language? you may ask...)
For example, when we write in Plain English, we tend to favor words of Germanic or Norse origin over those of French or Latin or Greek (or other even more obscure) etymology. That is, our "common" language (ཕལ་སྐད་) is loosely tied to its Saxon roots—and it is, to this day, those words of Norman origin tend to maintain a sophisticated flair, or formal quality, or fancy-pants-ness, about them. (For comparison, see this list, which includes: book vs. literary; thinking vs. pensive; ask vs. inquire; buy vs. purchase; follow vs. ensue; forgive vs. pardon, etc.)
So one reason to favor Anglish terms over words of various other origins is that, by drawing on the power that comes from their plain language, it imparts a closer, more intimate, and natural feeling to our language—a meatiness, a heft, or weight. In general, then, Anglish wordbits (morphemes) have more meaning for the native English speaker than "foreign" wordbits. The breadth we gain in English by these variegated origins (of French, Latin, Greek, et al) thus sacrifices a depth we lose out on by having a language so stratified by its etymology.
Again, our compound words of non-English origins are often disguised to the average speaker—this, fortunately, is not generally the case in Tibetan. Tibetan is a tongue deeply rooted in its creation of meaning by the fusing of its wordbits. Likewise, there is some movement within the language to speak "pure" Tibetan. As when Buddhism made its way to Tibet, new terms, new compound words, are coined in order to fill the linguistic vacuum...
Perhaps Buddhist terminology for English translations should begin looking to begin the arduous process of coining a new Buddhist English, one that has a deep and intimate connection with its native speakers... Rather than simply relying on Sanskrit loanwords, which will for centuries remain foreigners wandering a slightly estranged land, garnering the wispy tidbits of meaning, hither and thither, from nothing more than how it sets itself within this crowded environment...
(What? The Purity of the English Language? you may ask...)
For example, when we write in Plain English, we tend to favor words of Germanic or Norse origin over those of French or Latin or Greek (or other even more obscure) etymology. That is, our "common" language (ཕལ་སྐད་) is loosely tied to its Saxon roots—and it is, to this day, those words of Norman origin tend to maintain a sophisticated flair, or formal quality, or fancy-pants-ness, about them. (For comparison, see this list, which includes: book vs. literary; thinking vs. pensive; ask vs. inquire; buy vs. purchase; follow vs. ensue; forgive vs. pardon, etc.)
So one reason to favor Anglish terms over words of various other origins is that, by drawing on the power that comes from their plain language, it imparts a closer, more intimate, and natural feeling to our language—a meatiness, a heft, or weight. In general, then, Anglish wordbits (morphemes) have more meaning for the native English speaker than "foreign" wordbits. The breadth we gain in English by these variegated origins (of French, Latin, Greek, et al) thus sacrifices a depth we lose out on by having a language so stratified by its etymology.
Again, our compound words of non-English origins are often disguised to the average speaker—this, fortunately, is not generally the case in Tibetan. Tibetan is a tongue deeply rooted in its creation of meaning by the fusing of its wordbits. Likewise, there is some movement within the language to speak "pure" Tibetan. As when Buddhism made its way to Tibet, new terms, new compound words, are coined in order to fill the linguistic vacuum...
Perhaps Buddhist terminology for English translations should begin looking to begin the arduous process of coining a new Buddhist English, one that has a deep and intimate connection with its native speakers... Rather than simply relying on Sanskrit loanwords, which will for centuries remain foreigners wandering a slightly estranged land, garnering the wispy tidbits of meaning, hither and thither, from nothing more than how it sets itself within this crowded environment...
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