If I was a language dictator …
We are all prisoners of our mother tongue, in a way. Often we like to believe that our way of speaking is natural and healthy, while other languages are exotic and indulge in nonsense that no Christian person can understand. At the same time, we probably realize deep down that speakers of these languages could see us the same way.
In my more megalomaniacal moments, I have sometimes pondered what features I would incorporate into the Swedish language, if I was an almighty dictator. Now let’s remember that linguists are not supposed to have opinions about “good” and “bad” languages, but sometimes it is hard not to be struck by a feeling of: “Why don’t we have this extremely practical … ↪