Poll: American English or English English?

[CrazyBerk]

I use American English. But i'm English. But i don't like doing it D: I prefer English English because its..English! I say pants, candy, closet by force of habit and i don't really pay much attention but i'm trying damnit! *Cry*

 

[klc0100]

South London English

its different innit

 

[Treblaine]

Ever wondered why English is so popular around the world, even compared to French which as had similar exposure, it comes from the strength of English to be flexible and variable to different cultures and for more effective expression, especially through neologisms and onomatopoeias. This is especially true with the many different vernaculars and pidgin forms of English all around the world that can lead to wonderful feats of linguistic expression, whether it be American, English or Jamaican or Australian or whatever.

For example, compare French writing from 400 years ago to present and you will notice the language has not changed much and this is partly down to the long lasting French institute (a powerful government body) that regulates the French language and has rigidly preserved it. This is partly the reason why there are so many silent letters in French as pronunciation changes but the spelling is locked.

The take a look at 400 years ago in English with Shakespeare's writing, where he made up literally hundreds of new words and it is very unfamiliar, furtherer back to Chaucer and you need quite a bit of imagination to figure out what these guys are actually saying. It is precisely how flexible English is that has made it so popular so all the different vernaculars should be allowed to thrive and mix as if we are like the French and try to rigidly enforce one standard then we shall stifle the language's key strength.

There is no "right" spelling, and there is nothing wrong with even making up new words and should be encouraged. Telling an American off for pronouncing aluminium "wrong" is like berating a Jamaican for using Creole phrases.

 

[Conqueror Kenny]

South London English

its different innit

Corse blad. Though in a more formal situation I will use real English, you know the one from England.

 

[The Iron Ninja]

Ever wondered why English is so popular around the world, even compared to French which as had similar exposure, it comes from the strength of English to be flexible and variable to different cultures and for more effective expression, especially through neologisms and onomatopoeias. (and the other stuff)

Also the widespread usage of English might have something to do with this little thing called 'the british empire', you may have heard of it, largest empire ever in history, ring a bell anyone?

 

[wilsonscrazybed]

Let's skip the nationalistic dialogue shall we?

 

[Capt_Jack_Doicy]

All in all what I find most annoying is when an Englishman mispronounces words and then claims his pronunciation is inheirently correct because "we invented the language."

Bang. Nail. Head. We don't 'mispronounce', we pronounce in our versions of English.

Warped vowels come from accents, I'm talking about words like "schedule" which is mostly pronounced in England as something along the lines of "shezoo-ul" instead of "skedjool."

It's not so much that they mispronounce (and it is until they change the spelling) it's the argument that they usually give. "We invented it so we're right" is no better than saying only the Chinese can shoot guns properly because they invented them. "That's how I've always said it" would be less elitist and more accurate.

I guess that's British patriotism, they're cultural identity predisposes them to uplifting their own nation whenever possible.

Americans are more likely belittle others, maybe that has to do with being a superpower?

And British society is in general bitter about losing it's status as superpower, just like Arabic society.

Wow, tangent. I guess I apologize for not being more specific.

i can't see how you can claim your pronouncation is correct and somewhere else is incorrect, your merely guilty of the same arrogance you accuse english people of having.

i don't think its wrong to take pride in the language and beauty with which can be used.

Is the USA really a superpower anymore? its current overstretched military, its sinking economy and massive deficit most of which is owned by China. in the US military current state i doubt it could win a conventional land war, it certainly lacks the diplomatic clout it once had, Russia, the EU and China no longer have the same respect they had.

as for Britain losing its superpower status i don't think that many people care anymore, people seem relatively content with the high living standards etc and I've generally seen an attitude more akin to american, more isolationist in sense of simply not wanting to be involved, obviously this isn't true of the political elite who like the prestige and scramble desperately to maintain it. though there are people who talk about the empire or when Britain was great, but its more borne out of ignorance and pride then any meaningful thought. People seek pride but people learn to be proud of other things, right now were very proud of our cycling (SUCK IT FRANCE), but people our proud of continuing contribution to science, technology, and the arts. That brings us nicely full circle so people are proud of their language just as any of our european neighbours are equally proud of theirs, and after it is the language of Shakespeare, Dickens and Porter i think they have the right to take some pride in it.

 

[M0tty]

Crisps or fries?

I don't know if anyone has pointed this out already, frankly i can't be arsed to trawl through the whole thing (as you can tell i use english english)

Crisps and fries are not the same thing

"Crisps" is the English word for the american word "chips"
"Fries" is the American word for the english word "chips"

I'm talking about words like "schedule" which is mostly pronounced in England as something along the lines of "shezoo-ul" instead of "skedjool."

I've lived in England my entire life and never once have i heard Schedule pronounced "shezoo-ul"

right now were very proud of our cycling (SUCK IT FRANCE)

I found that Hilariously funny, and also that it really highlighs the heart and soul of British Patriotism "at least we'll always be better than the French" =P

 

[chazmizta]

i'm a proud scot so i use British english with a few scots words chucked in as well like "wee" (small). Several of my friends are from the USA so i also use words like "awesome" and "dude". I've lived in england for 5 years, germany for 5 years and scotland for only 4 meaning that i have a very indistinct british accent with a hint of essex and perthshire thrown in as well. One thing i hate is when i say i'm from scotland to an american and they say something like "scotland ... that's in england right?". i also get annoyed when americans pronounce leisure "leesure".

 

[Zemalac]

I prefer American English for everyday use because it's informal and simple. It has stolen words from every other language on Earth, is replete with acronyms and shorthand, and is basically a mutant bastardized offspring of English English, and yet still allows me to be incredibly eloquent. It's a really simple language, with enough variety and oddities thrown in to make it interesting and useful. What's not to like?

Though I have been told that I speak or write with a slight British accent on occasion. Probably comes from reading so much Terry Pratchett.

 

[DrinkCyanide]

I'm Australian so I speak British English especially when I swear so I have alot more variety instead of shit and fuck, Also there are alot more uses for bad words.

And colour without a u just seems incomplete

 

[Mullahgrrl]

Pidgin

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I'm Australian so I speak British English especially when I swear so I have alot more variety instead of shit and fuck, Also there are alot more uses for bad words.

And colour without a u just seems incomplete

It seems redundant to me, but that's my American butt talking. Also doesn't help that I pronounce it "col-er" not "col-our." Although a lot of words don't really work according to the pronunciation I use if you use the British-inspired spellings. Ar-more is more conducive to the spelling "armor." So on, so forth.

Not to say there's anything wrong with the other way, just American spellings work better for me.

EDIT

Pidgin

That's a pretty obscure premise [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin]...

 

[Blayze]

English English. Why? Because it's hilarious to meet someone who expects either RP or BBC Mockney, and then to dazzle them with any of our country's impossible-to-understand accents. Next time, I might try a bit of Brummie (Or, even though they're not English, I might put an Irish accent into "Y HELO THAR").

 

[LewsTherin]

I'm from Canada, so I speak however tickles my fancy at the time. Really throws off the crowd .We spell things CORRECTLY up here. Centre, metre, colour, favourite, zed, armour and all that . Haven't come across gaol before, however.

 

[implodingMan]

I speak Canadian english, so I basically make it up as I go.

 

[hem dazon 90]

i use both. i go to america every summer so im kinda hybrid talking

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

i use both. i go to america every summer so im kinda hybrid talking

All things considered, that's pretty cool.

 

[crepesack]

actually there is a lil descrepency on the origins of "american" english i speak a fusion of british lingo and jargon along with americanisms however as i understand people in england near the north east have a dialect similar to americans