You’re probably familiar with the fictional Smurf community invented by Belgian cartoonist Pejo in the 1950s and the subject of many filmed adaptations, but perhaps you are unaware of a raging linguistic debate between two rival camps of the mostly-male, all-blue society.
Smurf language is characterised by the use of the word ‘smurf’ in place of many common nouns and verbs. For example, one smurf might say to another: ‘Let’s go smurfing in the smurf,’ and the other will, apparently, understand. Context means everything.
However, in what might or might not be a parody of tensions between French- and Flemish-speaking communities in Belgium, a 1972 publication, Smurf Versus Smurf, revealed that residents in the north of the village and those in the south frequently argue over precisely how the term ‘smurf’ should be used in language, claiming not to understand one another’s usage.
Linguistics is truly everywhere!
