In his opinion, writes Vremya Novostei, most of those who studied English at universities and especially in courses still use not the classical version of the language but its pitiful likeness. And therefore the existing state of affairs should simply be legalized by adding a new dialect to the 6,800 languages spoken in the world. Mr. Nerriere himself in an interview with the American newspaper International Herald Tribune called it "Globish" (Globish).
"This is not a language in its pure form," says the linguist-inventor. "A language is a means of spreading culture, but this is a tool - it is nothing more than a means of communication."
It should be noted that previous attempts to create a universal language of world communication were not particularly successful - Esperanto, which claimed this role, for example, was nevertheless recognized as very difficult to learn. According to Jean-Paul Nerriere, with Globish such problems can be avoided if only because its dictionary includes only one and a half thousand words, with which almost all everyday concepts can be explained. For comparison, the Oxford Dictionary offers 615 thousand words for learning. In addition, Globish welcomes the active use of repetitions and gestures. And a standard dialogue resembles the famous joke about MGIMO graduates - "How much watch?"
Meanwhile, one cannot but acknowledge the merits of such broken English. For example, long requests with introductory constructions are unlikely to be understood by a hot dog vendor somewhere on a Latin American beach. But abrupt and simple command phrases with a minimum of grammar will allow you to get what you want.
Meanwhile, the process of globalization itself has made a significant contribution to the creation of such a language. In particular, international computer slang, understandable nowadays not only to system administrators and programmers, but also to active users of chats and ICQ services, has become so entrenched in speech that it could well create the basis for the so-called Globish. This is confirmed by the fact that the creator of the new universal means of communication previously was the head of the commercial department of IBM.
Nerriere does not hide the fact that the idea of creating this language came to him while working at IBM. "At a meeting where representatives of 40 different nationalities were present, while waiting for two American speakers, we began to converse in a kind of distorted English," he recalls. "We understood each other perfectly, unlike the Americans, who thought we were talking complete nonsense."
In the coming month, Jean-Paul Nerriere intends to release a textbook of Globish grammar, in which he will describe in detail the principles of constructing sentences understandable to 88% of the world's population. The newly minted linguist claims that, unlike English, which takes years to learn, Globish can be mastered in 182 academic hours. Mr. Nerriere also considers regular listening to extraordinary love ballads in the spirit of Frank Sinatra to be an excellent way to memorize Globish vocabulary. Undoubtedly, such distortion of language ultimately leads to the formation of rather clumsy and cumbersome constructions. But the Frenchman Jean-Paul never tires of repeating that the main task of the new language is by no means literary. "This is not the language of Hamlet, but a tool that is used when ordinary English is not understood," he says.
By the way, Globish has another goal. By creating it, Jean-Paul Nerriere, on the one hand, strives to preserve his native French in its pristine purity, and on the other hand, hopes to force the British and Americans to learn at least some language. The enterprising computer specialist is already preparing a special version of the textbook for English-speaking countries.