French a dead language or not

[#40 :]

Wait.  What about the French Steryotype guys in Bend Her?  Now I'm reallyconfused.  Much more then normal.

[#41 :]

Just because they were French doesn't mean they were speaking French. The French language is dead, not the French culture or French stereotypes. That's the way I saw it anyway.

[#42 :]

 

Originally posted by SQFreak:
All right! A 986-foot tall vacuum cleaner!

::Wipes away tears of laughter::

Righto, SQFreak.  France is still populated by Frenchmen, they just speak English instead of French.  By the way, if anyone doesn't know why that's funny, it's because the French are very protective of their language; I believe laws have been passed at one time or another making it a crime to dirty it up with words or phrases from other languages.  The result in 3000: sorry! 

I think fromage is confusing the embellished-but-still-grounded Eiffel Tower with the hovering, rotating pyramid at Giza.
I really like that 

[#43 :]

 

Originally posted by Vintage Dave:
I think fromage is confusing the embellished-but-still-grounded Eiffel Tower with the hovering, rotating pyramid at Giza.
I really like that   

Actually he's talking about the hovering Eiffel Tower towards the end of "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles", just behind Pazuzu & Son.

"And now, bon nuit, bon nuit to you all."

[#44 :]

Thanks, Teral.  Note to self: Re-watch TMLH.

[#45 :]

It's dead in the same way Latin is currently dead. 

Languages like English that are not 'dead' are constantly being subtly changed by the people that speak them, and are in constant use.  Latin is called a 'dead' language because nobody speaks it as their native tongue, and it no longer changes. 

It still EXISTS, however, and it does still have uses, if limited compared to English.  Most people still know some very basic Latin phrases, even if they're not aware that they are Latin, and it does have uses (it's used in Biology to classify organisms and give them a globally consistent name).

French, in the year 3003, seems to be pretty much the same way to me...

[#46 :]

Yeh, that's well put.  It's more or less what I was getting at, but I figured it made Professor Farnsworth's reaction to the translator seem strange.  Because you'd think he'd recognize it.  Never mind the mystery of how he programmed a machine to translate into a language he didn't know, my interpretation of his reaction is that he really didn't recognize the language, as if it had been lost completely.  I suppose he could just be a shut-in and not have ever picked up any French even if most people were aware of its existence...

Edited because I can't even spell "as"

[#47 :]

Or maybe ot's just the Professer rember the 2nd episode were he said giant birds don't exist then walks up to giant eggs saying that he will make breakfeast and that he hopes everyone likes eggs but the egg hatched and the bird started eating the Professer or the time when the professer said those were BENDER'S EMOTIONS NOT LEELA'S IN I SECOND THAT EMOTION that was funny when

Leela flushed nibbler down the toilet saying she learned from Bender

[#48 :]

 

Originally posted by A guy from 2003:
 or the time when the professer said those were BENDER'S EMOTIONS NOT LEELA'S IN I SECOND THAT EMOTION that was funny when

Leela flushed nibbler down the toilet saying she learned from Bender

Come again? When did Leela do that?

[#49 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
 Come again? When did Leela do that?

second

[#50 :]

Just a thought - what if Professor Farnsworth's Universal Translator wasn't translating into French at all, but into Creole? Haitian or Seychellois Creole could easily have died out in the next thousand years.

Also, Bender's head got left behind in the 20th century in Roswell that Ends Well, maybe he picked up some French Canadian radio while he was stuck in the ground.

[#51 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
"And now, bon nuit, bon nuit to you all."

Did anybody else find that freaky the first them they saw it?

[#52 :]

That was a little odd to be certain, though it was kinda funny to see the little gargoyle smiling and the big one acting all serious.

[#53 :]

If French is a dead language, I won't miss it.

*ducks a volley of croissants*

More on topic, not all of the Professors inventions work, perhaps his translator is one of them.

[#54 :]

in "Bend Her" the have the republic of french stereotypes