I read with amusement Babel In Euroland, by Tamara Thiessen (Saturday -- June 10). It seems to me that this "new" form of speaking is one practiced by many immigrants within our own borders. As a second-generation Canadian whose parents emigrated from Germany in the '50s, I have heard their language, and mine, evolve into its own distinct form of Eurobabel. With English words creeping into their German lexicon, I find myself replying to them in English with a dash of German and French for spice. (Yes, I am a product of the Trudeau-era French-language efforts for kids on the Prairies.)
For me, " Put it in the Schublade" and " Nimm die Garbage 'raus" meant it was time to clean my room. But my favourite was a delighted exclamation over the antics of a particularly nimble bovine: " Die Kuh ist über den Fence gejumped."