Language

I was talking today with an old friend, Henry Corweigh, who is an emeritus professor (retired) of English at Merton College Oxford. I told him about my recent observations of the corruption of our great language. Henry surprisingly disagreed. He is of the opinion that the English language has always been absorbing words from other languages. He gave me some examples. Willow (pron will-o), which is the American word for willy, menage á trois, which is French for in your dreams mate and aide de campe, which is the word for Graham Norton's helper.

And more than that, Henry said, the English language is constantly evolving and words often develop new meanings. Politics, for instance, means a parrot with a nervous twitch while shampoo is the word for a fake turd.

At that point I called for matron.