Re: lojban as a programming language [was Re: [lojban] Lojban forlay programmers]

[John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org>]

And Rosta scripsit:

> That is a very engaging apophthegm. I wonder if every 
> language has an ideal domain of use...

# From: Karl Van Ausdal <VANAUSDALK@APPSTATE.BITNET>
# To: [Linguist List]
# Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1991 15:48 EDT
# 
# According to the *Oxford Dictionary of Quotations*, 2nd and 3rd eds., the
# quotation "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and
# German to my horse," has been attributed to Emperor Charles V, 1550-1558
# (King Charles I of Spain). ("Je parle espagnol a Dieu, italien aux femmes,
# francais aus hommes et allemand a mon cheval.")
# 
# Bartlett's *Familiar Quotations*, 14th and 15th eds., attributes the same
# statement to Charles V (Charles the Wise) of France, 1337-1380.
# 
# H.L. Mencken, in his *A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical
# Principles*, cites a related Spanish proverb: "Spanish is the language for
# lovers, Italian for singers, French for diplomats, German for horses, and
# English for geese." He does not provide a source.

On another mailing list I frequent, someone said that it's characteristic
that the "notoriously vague" language French was for centuries preferred
for diplomacy.

-- 
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
Please leave your values        |       Check your assumptions.  In fact,
   at the front desk.           |          check your assumptions at the door.
     --sign in Paris hotel      |            --Miles Vorkosigan