Outsourcování

The English invasion continues. Today’s word is clear to anyone who works in software. It’s the process of shifting work off-site, especially programming or call centers. Strangely, the Czech spelling retains the original English spelling, with only a Czech ending tacked on. This isn’t always the case. For example, the word manager changes to manazer in Czech. Some may protest that these anglicisms are detrimental to the Czech language. Afterall, there are perfectly serviceable words in Czech for such things. But I think that’s both naive and dangerous. Languages evolve, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. The danger comes from a sense of being under threat by this perfectly normal and natural linguistic evolution. Extremists may even try to enact legislation to prevent linguistic mixing. Let’s hope that we outsource dumb ideas like that…maybe to France.

23 odpovědí na “Outsourcování”

  1. Great idea, Fred!

    I often chuckle at the English language, because it absorbs foreign words like a sponge.

    I think a lot of these English words will be replaced with Czech ones when the Czechs grow weary of the English influence, and that legislation will not be necessary.

    Fred píše o vlivu anglických slov na češtinu. Podle jeho názoru je to přirozený vývoj jazyka, proti kterému nelze bojovat. Já mu odepisuji, že se pochechtávám, jak angličtina vstřebává cizí slova.

    Já si myslím, že mnoho těchto slov bude časem nahrazeno českými slovy, až Čechy omrzí vliv angličtiny, a že nebude třeba na to psát nějaké zákony.

  2. Fred,

    have you ever heard or read the word „google“ used as a verb? I’m sure you have. Now what’s the problem? These things happen. Meanings of words change thru time. Complaining is useless. Once a word exists, there’s no need to be afraid to use it…

    ÚČJTK – prof. Macurová k doc. Šlédrové (kdysi dávno, jak se traduje na FF UK): „Jasňo, jestli je Ti zatěžko říct ‚prdel‘, tak jsi u mě hovno lingvista.“

  3. Uh, Karel, maybe you should, like, ya know, kinda read a bit first, perhaps https://www.slovodne.cz/slovodne/vyguglovat/

    It would be interesting to find out more about the Czech influence on English. Everyone knows about Capek’s robot, and the good ole golem. What else is there?

    If language is a virus, then it seems that English has developed a genetic capacity for expansion, while Czech seems to have found endurance.

  4. Reading this, I’ve been thinking for a little while about the origin of word „robot“. Maybe Mr Capek called it so just because he thought they are good for labour – robota.

  5. To Fred: I have read that one before. That’s why I wrote it. I love the way words „travel“ from one language to another, I really laugh hard sometimes, how funny the new words sound. And I’m not afraid to use any word if I feel it’s THE word I need at the very moment. Okay, this was probably a misunderstanding, let’s forget about it.

    And to your question: I think that „pistol“ comes from „píšťala“, but I don’t know that for sure.

  6. I’m personally fascinated by linguistic change. Think of the word „suck“. Years ago, it was a beneign word describing the phenomenon of suction. Then it became a term to describe oral sex, and it was vulgar. Nowadays, it still implies oral sex, but is more widely used for any distressing situation. It’s not considered (by most people) as exclusively vulgar. Similarly, euphemisms can themselves evolve into vulgarities. Both Water Closet (W.C.) and Toilet were originally sweet inoffensive words meant to mask the dirty business of human waste elimination. But today, if you use too much profanity, you will be said to have a „toilet mouth“.

    Recently, I read an article that explained that the Czech word „sranda“ comes from the verb „srat“, to shit. In the old days, this „have a shit“ was a vulgarism, but now it is a respectable word used by grandmothers countrywide to mean „fun“.

    I think, like Karel, that this is great. It’s normal and natural. Efforts to fight it are wrong headed and futile. If languages didn’t change, it would be a boring world.

    And one of the great levers of linguistic evolution must surely be miscommunication. In the old west ignorant settlers would call any Germanic immigrant „dutch“, not understanding their protestations that they spoke „deutch“. As a result, we have innumerable „Lost Dutch Man Mine“ sites dotting the country, none of which probably have a thing to do with anyone from Holland.

    With slovo dne, and my dedication to a complete lack of serious research, I am proud to advance this cause of miscommunication. I hope and believe that I have contributed mightily to people not understanding each other.

    Someday I’ll lose my edge, and with it my lucrative and highly respected position at this illustrious website. Then I guess we’ll have to outsource the work…

    Fred (soon to be replaced by an underpaid new graduate in Delhi)

  7. Karel: according to Webster’s Dictionary of 1985, you are probably right. They say „pistol“ comes from the Czech „pištal,“ meaning „pipe.“ I’ve never seen „pištal“ (which of course doesn’t mean much), but SSJČ doesn’t list it either, so I don’t feel so bad. It looks as if Webster meant „píšťala,“ but they didn’t spell it correctly, which is very unusual for Webster, to say the least.

  8. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pistol

    „small hand-held firearm,“ c.1570, from M.Fr. pistole „short firearm“ (1566), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be from Ger. Pistole, from Czech pis’tala „firearm,“ lit. „tube, pipe,“ from pisteti „to whistle,“ of imitative origin, related to Rus. pischal „shepherd’s pipe.“ But earlier form pistolet (1550) is from M.Fr. pistolet „a small firearm,“ also „a small dagger,“ which may be the literal sense; though some connect this word with It. pistolese, in reference to Pistoia, town in Tuscany noted for gunsmithing. Pistol-whip is first recorded 1942.

  9. I also read that „Howitzer“ comes from „houfnice.“
    And „hatchek“ is used in phonetics, although I am not sure how commonly–my professor used the word and was surprised when I told her it sounds Czech.

  10. Bren, taky Bren gun, which is light-weight quick-firing machine-gun, tedy lehky kulomet, pochazi ze slova Brno, kde se puvodne vyrabel plus Enfield v Anglii, kde se vyrabel pozdeji.The Concise Oxford Dictionary of current English, Sixth edition 1976.

    A uz vice ceskych vypujcek urcite nenajdeme.

  11. Jeste k ty pistoli, Chestertonuv otec Brown pri jedne prilezitosti pouziva termin „donkey’s whistle“. Nemam tuseni jestli to pouziva ve vyznamu „pistole“, ale co zase ten osel? Ma to snat bejt nejakej osli mustek nebo co?

  12. I disagree strongly with the first entry here. Words like „outsourcovani“ are not an example of language evolving. They are an example of people who want to sound „cool“ by peppering their language with foreign words (much like the „moi/ciao“ crowd in the States, as George Carlin refers to them). They don’t sound cool, they sound like idiots, plain and simple. Speak your own language or speak English.

    A good example of language evolving would be Fred’s example of how the word „suck“ has evolved in its usage and connotation.

  13. V ramci rozsireni jazykove srovnavacich hratek dodavam, ze existuji take jine jazyky nez cestina a anglictina. Puvod slova pistole se na pr casto odvozuje od krasneho italskeho mestecka Pistoia.

  14. Anglictina je potvora. Chci-li, aby nekdo hopefully English speaking pochopil (vyhledal, napsal na letenku ci udelal hotelovou rezervaci…)spravne moje prijmeni (Such, s hackem nad „S“), naucil jsem se rikat such foneticky, tedy [sac] s hackem nad c. Muj rod dostava na frak, ale funguje to skvele.

  15. Pane Lahváku: Díky Vám a ze zvědavosti jsem si přečetla zmíněnou Chestertonovu povídku, kterou jsem neznala. Bohužel nemám tušení, co ta „Donkey’s Whistle“ je. Hledala jsem to po všech čertech na internetu a nejsem y toho o nic moudřejší než předtím. Z kontextu se to vyčíst nedá, ale myslím, že pistole to nebude, protože jednak ten Flambeau neví, co to je, a ten by to musel jistě znát, a jednak (či druhak?) se o tom otec Brown vyjadřuje jako o něčem příšerném. Zní to na nějaké mučidlo. Dále si myslím, že pistole by se nehodila k Flambeauovi a jeho vtipkářským výtržnostem; ta by pro něj byla příliš primitivní. Také mě napadla další možnost, že totiž nic takového neexistuje, a že si otec Brown to jméno „Donkey’s Whistle“ vymyslel jen proto, aby toho Flambeaua poškádlil a přivedl do rozpaků. Nevím. To jsou jen moje úvahy. Každopádně je to moc pěkná povídka.

  16. Pardon, zase překlep. „nejsem Y toho o nic moudřejší než předtím“ mělo být „nejsem Z toho o nic moudřejší než předtím“.

  17. Do angličtiny se z češtiny dostalo také slovo žába. A to v Hvězdných válkách, kde George Lucas jednou svou postavu pojmenoval Jaba Hutt.

  18. Ale teď je mi zase divné, proč Flambeau otci Brownovi tak neomaleně vyhrožuje násilím. Flambeau přece žije v mylném domnění, že ten kříž má on sám, tak by spíš dávalo smysl, kdyby mlčel místo aby od vyhrožoval. Taková hloupost se už vůbec nehodí k jeho charakteru. Asi to moc rozebírám, a to se nemá. Vždyť je to jen povídka.

  19. No, nejsem odbornik, ale co se obohacovani anglictiny ceskymi slovy tyce, udavaji se jako ucebnicove priklady krome „robota“ take sexualni haraseni – „harassment“ a tunelovani – „tunneling“.

    It is said that English language was also enriched by czech words „harassment“ – haraseni and „tunneling“ – tunelovani.

  20. Kláro: A s harašením je to přesně naopak, než říkáte. To čeština si přivlastnila ten anglický „harassment“ a vytvořila si z něj nové podstatné jméno. (Do té doby existovalo jen okrajové expresivní sloveso „harašit“ se značně úzkým významem, např. „haraší ti ve věži!“).
    Hmmm, a „harass(ment)“ údajně pochází z francouzštiny, kde to znamenalo „poštvat na někoho psy“. :-)http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=harass

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