Friday, April 09, 2010
"Let me to go"
This video clip of an Idaho soldier held prisoner by the Taliban is hitting the news today.
At one point Bergdahl says "Let me to go. Get me to come home."
Those are phrases that NO native speaker of English could ever utter, even when tired and strained. Either Bergdahl is intentionally using strange phrases, or he's carefully emphasizing the non-native bits of the script they're ordering him to read.
(Judging from the captions on the video, it's a safe bet that his captors have only a marginal knowledge of English, so they wouldn't notice the difference.)
In either case, he's giving us a clear signal of duress. I hope the Army has linguists who can understand this signal, and I especially hope and pray those linguists are loyal, which doesn't seem to be a common quality in the Army of Nidal Hasan. ¶ 12:55 PM
At one point Bergdahl says "Let me to go. Get me to come home."
Those are phrases that NO native speaker of English could ever utter, even when tired and strained. Either Bergdahl is intentionally using strange phrases, or he's carefully emphasizing the non-native bits of the script they're ordering him to read.
(Judging from the captions on the video, it's a safe bet that his captors have only a marginal knowledge of English, so they wouldn't notice the difference.)
In either case, he's giving us a clear signal of duress. I hope the Army has linguists who can understand this signal, and I especially hope and pray those linguists are loyal, which doesn't seem to be a common quality in the Army of Nidal Hasan. ¶ 12:55 PM
