Think Twice Before You Bend

I just accidentally ran across a FB post in which trans-gendering is justified by the claim that the word "man" once referred to humans of either sex and "she" was not invented until the 13th century. These people are wonderfully creative, almost as creative as the average priest or minister who lies his way through the Scriptures and the Creeds.
 
I don't suppose I have to point out to any of my readers that different languages express natural distinctions in a variety of ways. That distinctions of tense, for example, are in some Indo-European languages, no more significant than distinctions in aspect, that is, how an action is viewed, whether as completed or not.  Even in Ancient Greek, the distinction between Aorist and Present is, in the subjunctive, more a distinction of aspect than of tense, and there is a residue of aspect in the distinction between Latin perfect and imperfect, as there still is in certain dialect regions of Italy, where the remote past is still used as an everyday tense.
Highly inflected languages don't require and may not even have true subject pronouns. In Modern Greek and Italian, they are used only for emphasis or clarity,  and did not really exist in the ancient tongues.  So, while one could say that Latin and Ancient Greek had no word for "she," it would be more than a little misleading to suggest that encouraged gender ambiguity.  Of course they could always make do with words meaning "this" or "that" in the feminine gender, because those languages like the Germanic and Slavic languages were permeated by the masculine/feminine distinction. Even today in modern Greek and Serbian and even Italian it can be hard to get around saying actress, teacheress, and doctoress--though Leftist Italians try to avoid the feminine forms.  
The whole subject of linguistic vandalism as an instrument of social revolution is worth a great deal of study, if only because it is only by being aware of the savage destruction of English in recent years that we can keep our own minds clear.  A recently published study of American political speeches reveals they are written and delivered at the thirteen year old level.  Of course, that is today's thirteen, which is the 19060's nine and the 1900's five.  
 
In both Greek and Latin, there were words (anthropos, homo) we translate as man that distinguished us from the other beasts, along side of words that distinguished male humans from female humans (aner, vir). So in older Germanic languages, one could distinguish wer, man as male, from the generic man, which may have begun as a gender term.  Of course "man" is still used regularly to refer to the species, but feminists and lesbians cannot be expected to know any more about grammar than they know about physiology or history or logic.
 
This is where sexual perversity gets you. You begin by not knowing where to put you whatever is and you end up telling lies and ruining language. I am reminded of a famous passage in De  Quincy's essay on Murder as a fine art:
For if once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.
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Thomas Fleming

Thomas Fleming is president of the Fleming Foundation. He is the author of six books, including The Morality of Everyday Life and The Politics of Human Nature, as well as many articles and columns for newspapers, magazines,and learned journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Greek from the College of Charleston. He served as editor of Chronicles: a Magazine of American Culture from 1984 to 2015 and president of The Rockford Institute from 1997-2014. In a previous life he taught classics at several colleges and served as a school headmaster in South Carolina

18 Responses

  1. Allen Wilson says:

    I can relate to this article when it comes to studying German with Pimsleur. Apparently, (according to the well-endowed YouTuber Trixie, of the “Don’t Trust the Rabbit” channel) the word Fraulein is no longer used as a form of address by younger Germans, because it’s considered “offensive”. Which means that Feminism has been washed into the brains of younger Germans successfully. It certainly is absent from the third edition of Pimsleur, at least in level 4.

    Let’s look at a little history: I bought the first edition of level 1 in 1990. It was recorded in the late 70’s or early 80’s. Then, in the late 90’s, I bought level 2, second edition, and got the first edition of level 3 on a close out deal. I think the second edition came out in the mid 90’s. I bought levels 4 and 5 a little over a year ago, maybe two years. They are third edition, and were released some time around 2005 or so. There is no noticeable difference between the first and second editions that I can tell. The third edition, however, is different.

    It’s been years since I went through the first three levels, but I believe that “Fraulein” was used in level one, 1st edition. I don’t remember it after that. As for the third edition, I had to take a year long hiatus from level 4 and then was able to return to it recently. I keep getting confused, first, because they are not always clear in distinguishing between “you” and “y’all”, and second, because the informal forms, which used to be used only between friends or close acquaintances in the first and second editions, is now used with total strangers in the third edition. I keep reverting to the formal, and I get more than a little annoyed at this change in usage, not just because it’s troublesome for me after having learned the correct usage to begin with, but also because I hate it just on principle. So the revolution marches on in Germany, and the formal form is in danger of falling into disuse.

    Also, when it comes to the floors in a multi-story building, Germans now use the French word, not their own.

    Aside from all that, don’t even get me started about the use of “Okay”, which is now common. It’s enough to make one wish Kaiser Bill the Second had won the war.

  2. Dot says:

    Mr. Wilson: Have you ever checked out Udemy for their German courses? One of different levels is being offered now for $9.99 on sale this week. There is another German course that is taught by the immersion method. I tried it because I had German when I went to college but it was difficult for me. My son is learning photography.

  3. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    I have gone through four levels of Pimsleur Italian several times with my wife, once or twice through the French, the two levels of Modern Greek, and only two levels of German. They are very useful but if and only if they are supplemented by traditional grammar books and vocabulary building. I’ve been reading and writing French for over 50 years, studied the grammar pretty thoroughly and can therefore spot the mistakes and omissions. In all the courses I have tried, for example, they only teach one way of expressing each English thought, and it is often the way most compatible with English. The refusal even to mention grammar wastes an enormous amount of time and can seriously mislead students. By the end of level 4 Italian, the only subjunctive forms are a few forms of to be and to have in present and perhaps one or two in imperfect. The plain fact is that Italians use all four tenses constantly. They never even allude to the remote past, which means in Sicily, where they use it constantly, you are at a loss, and it also means you can’t even read a serious newspaper. Fortunately, I had memorized the Italian verbal system, plus dozens of irregular verbs before I ever tried a Pimsleur. After Pimsleur, the Linguaphone courses are a good extension. They present formal grammar, albeit briefly, and by the end of the Italian they are using the formal pluperfect and all tenses of the subjunctive as well as introducing about 10 times the vocabulary. Now LP has a sort of baby course, which is extremely useful for people who need to communicate about more than booking a room and getting train tickets. On the PC/youth dialect. You don’t want to speak that way. I bought some French and Italian CD’s for street French, and when I tried out my new vocabulary on Claude Polin, his face wrinkled up as if he were sucking on a lemon filled with fungus: “My god, where did you learn to talk like that. You sound like my students!” Udemy gives video courses. For some things they can work, but you are tied to your computer. I used to have a rather good series of videos done by the Italian ministry of education. But I don’t like having to watch TV or a video screen. Besides, the act of opening a grammar book, looking for things, etc is part of the process. In shortcutting, these computer systems don’t let you strengthen your abiliti

  4. Allen Wilson says:

    Dot, thank you for suggesting Udemy. Like Dr Fleming, I also don’t like having to watch video, though of course there are some subjects better suited to video than others, such as, say, an introductory course on the different forms of architecture, or art.

    Dr Fleming, thanks for the information about Pimsleur, which I was planning on moving away from anyway. I’ve already got levels 4 and 5 of French, but then after that I’ll try an FSI course on a language, perhaps Italian, just to see how those courses work, and I’ll look into Linguaphone. It seems that grammar book study should come first, then audio. Eventually I’ll try that approach.

    I wonder how long it will be before they start forbidding the use of “he” and “she” in schools, as in Sweden? How long will people put up with this evil? Just long enough for an entire generation to get brainwashed? The idea you have raised is intriguing: sexual perversion tied to linguistic perversion. It makes sense. After all, confusing one would confuse the other. Here we are getting close to the heart of it. Language is supposed to describe reality, and confusion of perception of reality causes confusion of language, and vice versa. Confused perception of reality must be connected, on some very fundamental level, with confusion of the sex drive, otherwise the sex drive could not be perverted. Self deception obviously comes into play, and lying. Morality and language must be closely connected. The revolution wants to control and subvert our language while they subvert and destroy our morals.

  5. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    I didn’t know there was a French 5. I’ve had some of the FSI tapes–French and Serbo-Croatian. They are maddeningly stultifying–what I listened to sounded like the speech of zombies who didn’t know what they were saying, speeded up to increase the hypnotic effect.

  6. Allen Wilson says:

    French 5 came out with the 3rd edition. I think French 4 did as well, but mostly likely was released earlier than French 5 by a couple years, maybe more. I believe the main reason for the 3rd editions in the first place was the monetary union: they needed to re-record lessons so that “euro” was used instead of “franc” or “mark”. They took that opportunity to update the German course with bad informal usage. The German language really seems to be changing in a major way and not for the better. All of it is driven, of course by the revolution.

    Pimsleur is planning a level 6 for all the major languages.

    I suppose that when the Union falls apart, they’ll have to re-record again to reflect the new national currencies.

  7. Allen Wilson says:

    I think your right about FSI. It’s probably a good supplement to something else, but not the best choice for a main course. I just want to see if there’s any reasonable benefit in using one.

  8. Dot says:

    I once took a Pimsleur course to learn some Greek but it was geared for those who planned to travel to Greece. Udemy offers thousands of courses that cover a broad range of interests. Some courses offer more in depth learning of a language through skype. They are not only for internet computer learning as you stated but can be used on any device for communication, even when travelling.

    Pimsleur and Udemy are not the only online courses. These online courses are popular and competitive. With the COVID – 19 restrictions, even churches are using whatever means they can to reach the people. Learning styles vary greatly for adult learners and what works for one may not be suited for another.

  9. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    Yes, indeed there are many, and I have checked out a great many by looking at free lessons or at series owned by friends. Different methods work for different people, of course, but I reject out of hand Rosetta Stone, Udemy, and other systems that tie you to a screen. I do most of my audio listening while I am walking, making breakfast, or doing exercise and other mindless activities. Doing two boring things at the same time gives me satisfaction, knowing that I am making a better use of time. I don’t listen to many recommendations unless they are from people who have mastered a few languages. Most Americans–I should say 95 % of people under 60–have not mastered basic English. They cannot use shall/will or should/would properly. They not only lack any knowledge of the subjunctive, but they cannot even use the future perfect and past perfect properly. Listen to a Babbel ad and you will see what kind of expectations people have. The basic premise of all audio and internet systems is completely false. It is: We should learn a language naturally the way children do, without studying grammar or memorizing vocabulary. The reductio ad absurdum is to apply this to classical languages. The fact is that small children are swimming in a sea of their native language and cannot get anything without learning how to express their desire. From the age of about three on, they are speaking and hearing and eventually reading and writing some form of English for 12 hours a day. What grown-up has 12 hours? And who of us is surrounded by monolingual speakers of the language we wish to learn? Of course, if you want to speak like a moronic punk, just rely on one of these programs exclusively. In addition to Pimsleur or Linguaphone or State Department recordings/computer programs, the learner must do two things: First, he must start reading as soon as possible, if only comic books or familiar passages from the Bible. He also has to memorize grammar and vocabulary. Writing letters is also excellent.

  10. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    PS to Dot. When you were looking for a Greek course, what did you have in mind? I’d be happy to help you find something useful for your purposes.

  11. Dot says:

    What I had in mind was simple. I just wanted to understand some of the words the priest was saying when giving his sermon in Greek.
    At first people spoke to me in Greek, then I politely told them, in Greek, that I didn’t understand. Now they speak in my language – English. Currently, the priests at the church speak English. The Dean speaks briefly in Greek but the emphasis is in English. I believe this is the trend.
    Because of this pandemic, all services are being held in the auditorium with only a certain number of people who can attend. I imagine this is the way it is all over. In the meantime, the interior of the church is gutted and is being remodeled. It is going to be quite beautiful when completed.
    Basically, I think this COVID 19 is going to bring about a change in the way people live their lives. We no longer are a Christian nation and this virus is keeping people from freely going to church without concern of getting sick. It will end, and everything will go back to normal – or near normal.

  12. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    You are right on both counts. The trouble is, though, that “they” have made their point, and the bishops–Catholic, Orthodox, PECUSA, LCA–have gone along. From now on Christian worship is a privilege to be granted or withheld by Caesar. Joe Caesar or Don Caesar would be unwise to exercise that privilege more frequently than Trajan did, but a line has been drawn in the sand, the line has been reinforced by concrete and steel plus a moat filled with snapping federal agents. It will be a long time before the leaders of a major fragment of Christendom will dare attempt to cross it.

  13. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    PS I have been going over various comments on the Lord’s Prayer, and on Orthodox websites, they simply give a standard English translation which begs all sorts of questions and distorts the meaning of what was written by Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, and John Cassian. Small wonder that so many American converts to Orthodoxy are confused. Greek is the language of the Greek Church, the language of the New Testament, the oldest language used by the Eastern and Western churches. I have met silly TradCats who have deluded themselves into thinking the early Popes used Latin–the epistle of Clement rather gives the answer to that one. No time spent learning classical/koine Greek is wasted, and it leads quickly to some use of Modern Greek.

  14. Dot says:

    Dr. Fleming; I was told that the Greek prayed at the Liturgy is the classical Greek of the New Testament. When the priest gives his sermon he uses the Greek of the people. The Dean of the church and the associate priest have doctorate degrees. With that knowledge and level of education, I have 100% confidence in them and what they teach.

  15. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    What they told you was, as we used to say, “good enough for government work.” I’m sure no one is interested in the topic, so I shall keep it very brief. When scholars refer to “classical” Greek, they are usually talking about the Attic dialect (Athens) as used, roughly, in the period of the Fifth and Fourth centuries BC, while “ancient” Greek covers more ground and includes everything in every dialect from Homer (8th century BC) down to at least the age of Justinian (Sixth AD). I am speaking now in very general terms. In the Hellenistic period, after Alexander’s conquests, Greek was spread to the East–Anatolia, the Middle East. Egypt–and a somewhat modified form of Attic became a lingua franca, with some natural changes of grammar and some influences from Ionic dialects. This language became known as the common tongue, or Koine. Simple right? Except that Koine developed over time. In one direction, it became cruder, simpler, and dropped some of the grammatical refinements. This is the Koine of the New Testament. On the other hand, learned writers such as Plutarch and Lucian, deeply read in the Attic classics (such as the works of Lysias and Plato), were constantly refining and upgrading their language. This bifurcation increased in the Byzantine period, as some writers even after the Fall of Constantinople continued to Atticize, while others either lapsed into the popular patois or made a conscious decision to aim their works at a more popular audience. After Greece was liberated in the 19th century, two versions of the language were in competition: the purified dialect, which preserved many features of the better Koine, known as the katharevousa, and the more popular demotic, the language of the people. The official language, however, was the katharevousa down till roughly 50 years ago, and there are still adherents. The insistence that language is not an art that preserves tradition and beauty is a revolutionary rallying cry everywhere, and, alas, even conservative Greeks often refuse to understand this. Serious literature has been written in both dialects, and Cavafy incorporates both–and, indeed, some even older forms. In the Church, the NT Scriptures are written in a rather ungrammatical version of Koine, while the most important translation of the OT, the Septuagint, is older and in rather more traditional Greek. Some of the great Greek Fathers, Basil of Caesaraea, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Athanasius write in a Greek well beyond the capacity of the NT writers. Sermons in the USA, when they are not given in the barbaric yawp of current American, are, I believe, typically in Demotic, though in the old days, preachers and editorial writers and college professors wrote on a higher level. Even highly educated Greek priests do not always have a solid command of any version of Ancient Greek. This is partly because it is so relatively simple for them to learn it, that they take for granted they are fluent. The average Greek who went to decent schools was taught Ancient Greek, but they often seem to resent it. So your confidence might well be justified, but then again….. I was once flying to Zurich from Chicago, and I noticed that the man sitting next to me was reading Plato’s Protagoras in Greek. I betrayed too much interest, and in a rather supercilious manner, he asked if I knew what he was reading. I said, of course, Plato’s Protagoras. As he spoke, I realized he was an educated Greek–turned out he was a physicist working for some place like Fermilab. “So, you think you know Greek, do you? Had to memorize it for your fraternity?” No, I replied. Every educated American is required to be fluent in Latin and Greek. He scoffed contemptuously and handed me the volume and asked me to translate. When I finished, he laughed and said, “This calls for a drink, I’m buying!” I replied, “No, United Airlines is buying.” We started on bourbon, switched to wine, and wiped out the evening with brandy, as “we tired the sun with talking/ and sent him down the sky.” The next day was a nightmare, even getting to downtown Zurich to get a train ticket and then enjoy the thrill ride through the Alps as the world went madly spinning on its own account. Still, it was worth it.

  16. Robert Reavis says:

    Tom,
    This is a little off topic but was St Clement’s first letter to Corinthians composed in Greek and does the original still exist ? I ask because I have always thought that letter was one of the oldest still extant but have no idea why I thought so.

  17. Avatar photo Thomas Fleming says:

    Yes, Robert, in Greek, as so many of the earliest documents are. It’s a subject worth exploring.