The Film Noir Experience

Yes, that sequence of words I said made perfect sense.--Professor Farnsworth in the Futurama episode "The Honking" in season 2.

I don't really have a plan of action for this entry. I am sitting here, ticking things off my list and watching Futrama in Itallian with the subtitles on. I love Italian, its a great language. I had a nice conversation with one of my coworkers today about language and communication. Specifically, about people who aren't from 'round these parts not wanting to speak what's spoken here.

Now, obviously I have no problem with people speaking what they speak. I've said it before and I'll say it again, language is a resource that we utilize in order to communicate. We communicate any number of things from what it is we want to eat when we're ordering food in a restaurant to where we are from and to which groups in society we claim membership. And, sometimes you do that by speaking a language that is different from what is particular to that region. However, this coworker and I were dicussing what's commonly referred to as "language of wider communication" or LWC. The LWC for an area is more or less the Lingua Franca. Its what everyone speaks enough of to get by. It just so happens that English qualifies as an LWC in large swathes of the world these days and that I currently reside in an English-speaking country so it would make sense that the LWC here is English. My coworker and I are both not from here but neither of us have a problem with speaking English. Its just what you do here. However, there is this one guy at work who also not from these parts (but speaks English) who actually prefers to speak French (although, he's not French and he's not French Canadian and he's not from French Africa. French is a second language for him). If he can get away with going an entire shift without uttering an English word, he does. I think that's interesting. I've never worked with this particular chap, but the guy I was chatting with does frequently and it drives him bonkers. As I said before, I love Italian. I speak Italian to myself all the time (often when I'm walking up the road by myself and I don't think anyone is watching. This means that there is probably loads of CCTV footage of me muttering to myself like some crazy person.) And, I suppose if I could get away with it, I may do something like the French speaking guy, because I could. But, I'd probably get bored with it. When I'm talking to myself, I'm generally working something out or thinking through a problem. And, when I reach a solution I stop. The point is, I'm communicating in some way. I can't imagine being in a situation in which I can communicate with the people around me but I'm specifically choosing not to by choosing to use a linguistic resource that is not widely available. That just seems counter-productive. Although, maybe when he's speaking French he's talking to himself and trying to solve a problem or work something out. Maybe he's choosing to do it in a way that not everyone understands so that he doesn't have to admit some embarrassing secret or something.