American English

[dan-cat]

Do what the hell you like, just don't use it around me.

Col

LOLZ ure momma is uber failz

 

[ChipperT]

It's not his fault. It's the old hypocritical viewpoint where someone generalizes an entire country in the exact same fashion they accuse the people of that country as being.

Besides, if he were to cease and desist, I would have no one to bait, and I am becoming a master at that activity.

 

[Fifty2One]

WOW - that rant was up to par with Charlie Sheen or Muammar Gaddafi

 

[Minkey]

American English is a lazy and slovenly way of speaking and writing English.

As much as I dislike the fact we have American English I wouldn't agree it's lazy or slovenly it simply evolved from English.

As we know lot of American English words are different to English in spelling and pronunciation but if you look into the origins of the word aluminium it was original spelt in English as aluminum and pronounced that way. When it made it's way over to the US is became aluminium it then over time became reversed - iirc it was at the time the aluminium trade began. Go figure - language is an odd beast.

 

[ChipperT]

Sometimes it is difficult for an American to understand British (and many times Canadian) spelling of certain words that seem to be pronounced the same as we do:
Centre (why is that not prounounced "cen-tree"?), behaviour, checque all come to mind.

 

[Vassago]

The English language, regardless of the native speaker or writer, is still one of the hardest languages to learn because of all of the differences in sounds produced by the same combination of letters. I would hate to learn English as my second language, be it American or British.

 

[SimonB1978]

The English language, regardless of the native speaker or writer, is still one of the hardest languages to learn because of all of the differences in sounds produced by the same combination of letters. I would hate to learn English as my second language, be it American or British.

Honestly, English as a second language is really not that hard, if you put aside the freaking "th". That thing is unpronounceable. Way fewer grammar rules than French (my first language).

If you think there is a big difference between American and British English, you should see (or actually hear) the difference between France's and Quebec(Canada)'s French. Quebec people that goes to France are sometimes better understood speaking English, go figure...

People writing in English makes way fewer mistakes (not typos) than people writing in French. People over here want to pass laws to protect French language, yet they cannot write it properly!

 

[Vassago]

But there are still languages out there that almost make perfect sense. There are specific combinations of letters and pronounciations that are almost universal. Spanish and Japanese have been especially easy to learn, verbally anyway. Now writing Japanese with their three written languages, that can be more of a challenge.

 

[ChipperT]

If you would like a difficult language to learn, try Gaeilge (Irish Gaelic). Spoken words rarely resemble the written version. Spellings can totally change depending on the word before and/or the word after.

 

[ColinEssex]

Besides, if he were to cease and desist, I would have no one to bait, and I am becoming a master at that activity.

You're not even off the starting blocks yet sonny.

Come back when you think you might be.

Col

 

[ChipperT]

You're not even off the starting blocks yet sonny.

Come back when you think you might be.

Col

Ah, the quarry rises yet again. Isn't fishing the most marvelous sport?

 

[Galaxiom]

... if you look into the origins of the word aluminium it was original spelt in English as aluminum and pronounced that way. When it made it's way over to the US is became aluminium it then over time became reversed - iirc it was at the time the aluminium trade began. Go figure - language is an odd beast.

The element was originally named Aluminum by Humphrey Davey but was changed to Aluminium to conform to the -ium suffix used in many elements.

It remained fairly obscure as it was not practical to make until the availability of cheap electricity. I expect that its makers adopted the older name when it went into commercial production in the US and popularised this spelling which is why the US officially reverted the name in 1925.

 

[Galaxiom]

Honestly, English as a second language is really not that hard, if you put aside the freaking "th". That thing is unpronounceable.

The "th" comes originally from theta and passed to English from one of its ancestors, Old German. German subsequently supplanted it with "d" so "the" became "de" etc. This change began in High German and took several centuries to reach Low German.

The temptation to substitute is quite clear within English where "de" or "da" is substituted for "the" by some. It is particularly tempting when speaking at speed because "th" requires the tongue to move quite a long from the position used for many other syllables.

The blend of the "th" and "d" is also evident in Spanish where the letter "d" has a much softer pronunciation with a tendency toward the "th" sound. My surname includes "th" and when I was in Peru nobody would even attempt to pronounce it until I changed the spelling, replacing the "th" with "d".

I was helping a Chinese person improve their pronunciation and realised that the "th" was a big problem. Their worry was with the embarrassment of allowing the tongue to come out so far. Once he covered his mouth with his hand he could speak it perfectly.

People over here want to pass laws to protect French language, yet they cannot write it properly!

English is so widespread because it adopted words from so many languages providing multiple words for much the same concept but carrying the subtle differences from their origin. French origin words are used to in English to convey a sense of the exoctic or formality such as in "cuisine" versus "cooking".

"Protecting" languages stagnates them and overlooks the fact that until recently they had always been dynamic.

Also as I like to remind those who criticise US English, the spelling of the word "color" passed to the US before dictionaries were invented when this spelling was still common among the relatively few literates at the time.

Ultimatley British English adoped the French incluenced "colour" (from "coleur")

 

[Thales750]

The "th" comes originally from theta and passed to English from one of its ancestors, Old German. German subsequently supplanted it with "d" so "the" became "de" etc. This change began in High German and took several centuries to reach Low German.

The temptation to substitute is quite clear within English where "de" or "da" is substituted for "the" by some. It is particularly tempting when speaking at speed because "th" requires the tongue to move quite a long from the position used for many other syllables.

The blend of the "th" and "d" is also evident in Spanish where the letter "d" has a much softer pronunciation with a tendency toward the "th" sound. My surname includes "th" and when I was in Peru nobody would even attempt to pronounce it until I changed the spelling, replacing the "th" with "d".

I was helping a Chinese person improve their pronunciation and realised that the "th" was a big problem. Their worry was with the embarrassment of allowing the tongue to come out so far. Once he covered his mouth with his hand he could speak it perfectly.



English is so widespread because it adopted words from so many languages providing multiple words for much the same concept but carrying the subtle differences from their origin. French origin words are used to in English to convey a sense of the exoctic or formality such as in "cuisine" versus "cooking".

"Protecting" languages stagnates them and overlooks the fact that until recently they had always been dynamic.

Also as I like to remind those who criticise US English, the spelling of the word "color" passed to the US before dictionaries were invented when this spelling was still common among the relatively few literates at the time.

Ultimatley British English adoped the French incluenced "colour" (from "coleur")

Exactly, so American English is the only true English. Silly Britts, always thinking that they have a global empire.

 

[Galaxiom]

Here is a good example of what is so good about English.

Translate "the" from English at Babylon to:

German: das; dem; den; der;

Spanish: el, la, los, las;

 

[Galaxiom]

Exactly, so American English is the only true English. Silly Britts, always thinking that they have a global empire.

No. Both modern US English and modern British English are derived from 16th century English. Both are valid English variants as is Australian English and several others.

 

[AnthonyGerrard]

No. Both modern US English and modern British English are derived from 16th century English. Both are valid English variants as is Australian English and several others.

The thing that makes Aussie and American English differant from the English version, is the say the tendency to uses words like 'awesome' to describe the most banal things, from a cheese sandwich, a gig , right the way up to where it should be used.

Thus destroying the richness of the language and nuance , and making communication more difficult.

Yes English is a rich language, always changing and borrowing from others. But as an American or Aussie speaks it - who would know?

 

[Galaxiom]

The thing that makes Aussie and American English differant from the English version, is the say the tendency to uses words like 'awesome' to describe the most banal things, from a cheese sandwich, a gig , right the way up to where it should be used.

The strength of superlatives is dynamic. They go through phases where they become common and other superlatives replace them. I supsect that the British usage lags behind other variants in this aspect Pommes are so difficult to impress.

Thus destroying the richness of the language and nuance , and making communication more difficult.?

That is a silly generalization.

Yes English is a rich language, always changing and borrowing from others.

English doesn't borrow. We take words for keeps.

 

[AnthonyGerrard]

The strength of superlatives is dynamic. They go through phases where they become common and other superlatives replace them. I supsect that the British usage lags behind other variants in this aspect Pommes are so difficult to impress.


That is a silly generalization.


English doesn't borrow. We take words for keeps.

I agree - that the British are unlikely to call a sandwich awesome, or a gig even - but at least with what they do say, you know what they mean.

If an Aussie told me a gig was awesome - frankly - its so prevalent, to describe anything above the admitedly terrible, I would have no idea if it was a really a good show or not.

If thats not destroying the language - I dont know what is.

 

[Rabbie]

There are many differences in meaning between English and American. for example Bum means different things on either side of the atlantic, as do many other words like pavement, fanny, pants etc. I am sure we could find many more examples with a little thought.

My original point was not that one variant was superior to another - IMO that is as silly as saying German is better than French or Italian - but that they are in fact very similar but different languages and that it might be better to recognise this in the names we give them.

For those that would like to investigate the Australian version there was a bock called "Lets stalk Strine" by Afferbeck Lauder which provided an amusing insight into Australian usage.