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English is a mishmash of at least 4 different languages (Old English, Old Norse, French, and Latin at the minimum), which is why English has very little consistency and is why it's not gendered anymore like German or Spanish. Had the mishmash not occurred, modern English would sound more like modern German since Old English was very close to Old High German.
This language fusion has allowed English at least one decisive victory over all other languages, it has the highest ratio of information density to transmission speed of any language. More complex concepts can be communicated in less words basically, making it very efficient.
Whereas Mandarin/Cantonese, Japanese, German all have very high information density but take considerably longer to communicate with. French has also experienced a fusion of different languages and now has a higher transmission speed than even German. So technically the French are more efficient than Germans at communicating.
I like all the German tidbits left in the language like little chocolate chips.
Someone sent you a message. Are they a messager? No no, a messeNger. You booked passage on a boat, are you a passager? No no, you are a passeNger.
Japanese has a high information density?
Yes, particularly written Japanese. However the written form is so overly complex that even native speakers can't understand it sometimes. Which means information loss, ergo less efficient to communicate with. It also takes a very long time to write with in the first place. In English you're selecting 26 alphabet characters to spellout/define whatever concept your trying to communicate. In Japanese, there are over 50,000 characters to select and their various combinations. In an attempt to standardize, Japan requires all students to at least learn ~2200 characters (joyo kanji) in addition to the standard ~140 hirigana/katakana characters.
Mandarin and Cantonese have similar issues, only they up the fuckery by being tonal languages, which loosely translates to every word having a different meaning depending on how you pronounce it. Very similar to how english speakers can ask a question in a spoken sentence by raising the pitch on the last word-- without directly phrasing the sentence as a question. (eg: I'm going to work? instead of I'm going to work.)
In Mandarin, 'ma' can mean 'horse', 'mom', 'hemp', or 'scold' depending on how you pronounce it. Now do that for every word in the sentence. Whereas the english words read (same as reed) and read (same as red) both have to do with the concept of reading. In context it's easy to determine if the speaker is talking about reading or color--- or reading or a plant... but english has only a few words that do this-- instead of every word.
I believe Japan produces such good draftsmen because they are all forced to precisely draw these complex characters from an early age.
Being a Boomer, my weeb is weak, but I have heard that spoken Japanese takes shortcuts in conveying information, that it does not really have a method for pluralization and that it only as two tenses.
If that's true, then spoken Japanese could be said to get the gist across quickly by conveying less information, but how would that count for information density? Of course, as vintage Japanese movie dubs demonstrate, and Boomer movies like What's Up, Tiger Lily? parody, a Japanese fella can deliver an entire sonnet's worth of words to say something that equates to a concise single sentence in English.
I've heard Japanese dialogue that is so heavy with borrowed English words that it pretty much was English, that seems like it shouldn't count for info density lol.
Supposedly, the Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan claimed that Japanese is the easiest foreign language to learn, which could also imply a low info density. I'm still trying to come to grips with that.
In Mandarin, 'ma' can mean 'horse', 'mom', 'hemp', or 'scold'
Young Indiana Jones thought that this was ridiculous, and I agree with him. Stereotypical Asian lack of creativity on display: why invent a new word when we can just tack on a completely different meaning to an existing word. The same sort of thinking with the much-memed Indian electric pole that is absurdly draped in wires.
Hī!
If you're a professor I'd love to sit through a few lectures on this topic. Your writing style is easy and engaging to read. Thanks.
Not a professor or in academia. lol. Just a STEM career rando with a job in the private sector. I'm frequently tasked with breaking down technically complex information so that non-STEM people (management/clients/etc) can understand it-- so nothing here but practice and a whole lot of reading/experience.
I had to look up STEM to see what it is. Thanks for the information. Yes, you do admirably well in explaining things. I'm a welder by trade and most in my field are not even able to speak about the job with any proficiency much less trouble shoot things. Even a job supervisor at one point didn't understand why the welding equipment we had on shore was grounded improperly. I used the word "inadequate" which he failed to understand. He got pissed off at me, failed to take action so I did it myself. This sort of ignorance would drive me crazy on a job. It would have been nice to have a knowledgeable person who could explain it to them without curse words even if they deserved a good cussing out to drive the point home. I'd be more like the Gordon Ramsey of welding so that didn't get me far.
On one job where the supervisor and all the foremen were instructing the entire shop to set their machines wrong I finally wrote to the manufacturer who informed me I was perfectly right.
The very next day the argument started up again and I tried to explain the settings when the supervisor told me he's emailed the manufacturer and was told he was right. I told him, "No, you didn't. I emailed them and was told my settings are correct. I can go to the office and have the email printed out if you'd like to see it". Supervisor walked off in a huff. Foreman came to me a few minutes later and said, "Ok, I get it, your welds are good and that's not a problem but why are you setting up the machines this way and everyone else is setting them the other way". Me: "Because, you're all wrong and I'm right.". He walked off angry. Obviously I don't have your skills. LOL.
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