To my UK friends: don't lump all us americans together.

[snide_cake]

Even words and concepts born from Classical Latin isn't safe ... like 'aluminium' ... I weep <.<

Yeah, while studying zoology we discovered that Americans like to put K's in words too. For example, mollusc is written as 'mollusck' by American scientists. This extends even to the more scientific of terms, so the Phylum Mollusca is Molluscka in published journals.

 

[Jenova65]

Sorry matey but the English language has been evolving in England for about a thousand years or so, something that it is continuing to do today. That means that however it evolves in England is correct.

I'm not trying to be confrontational or arrogant but america wasn't our only colony, it's just the biggest and one of the youngest, the only one that won't accept second place for anything.

I respectfully disagree, I fail to see words like ''Innit' that as an 'evolution' ;-)

Evolution of language doesn't necessarily occur in a positive direction, particularly when ignorance and stupidity are the social norms of the day.

You're right, it isn't always positive however I think that there is a devolution (or de-evolution whichever is your preference) to the English language now rather than negative evolution, iygwim? ;-)

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Apart from their butchering of the most widespread of the Romance languages I have little against Americans.

What have the Americans done to Spanish now?

Given that half of English (particularly the qualifier 'multi' fro mthe latin 'multus') is made of 'Sermo Vulgi' as termed by Cicero ....? Alot

Even words and concepts born from Classical Latin isn't safe ... like 'aluminium' ... I weep <.<

Yes but English is still considered part of the Germanic language group.

And as I said I don't have a problem with the substance that the majority of how Americans write. The majority of the examples are Medieval Latin/Classical remnants.

Apart from 'BastArd' and 'BastErd' which would be an example of Germanic-Anglo Saxony lingual vernacular ... pardon the pun ... lingual bastardisation.

 

[Sodoff]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

uhm.. before claiming to know how to speak correct english, maybe you should learn the meaning of puncuation and comma's?

oh yea and Stereo Types are always bad.. and most of the time not true..

Except when they are about the Swedes.. uhg The Swedes.. Bunch of land-stealing-mountainclimbing-sauna-enjoying-mooseloving-volvobuilding-stupid heads!



I am of course Danish and so entitled (spelling?) to jokes as lame as those ;P

 

[Jenova65]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

You are not really making your own point well with all the bad grammar and spelling! And racism.

 

[PixieFace]

The amount of shit I got in America for being Irish, every single person thought it was funny to mention wife-beating. I don't exactly know why, but for some reason, everyone I met in America who I didn't know seemed to be under the impression that all Irish were brain-dead, bigoted drunks, and treated me as such. This wasn't in the middle of nowhere either, this was in Seattle.

Aww.

That makes me sad. The Irish are awesome! That's where my grandaddy came from. ...Granted, he WAS a bigoted drunk, but he was still full of awesome stories and gave me his blonde hair and love for delicious starchy foods. That counts for something.

I don't understand people who give foreign travelers flak. I always get so deliriously excited when I see a visiting family or couple hanging out near my beach, so I shower them with necklaces I've made and bother them for conversation. I see no joy in being mean to people who just want to explore.

 

[Jenova65]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

uhm.. before claiming to know how to speak correct English, maybe you should learn the meaning of puncuation and comma's?

oh yea and Stereo Types are always bad.. and most of the time not true..

Except when they are about the Swedes.. uhg The Swedes.. Bunch of land-stealing-mountainclimbing-sauna-enjoying-mooseloving-volvobuilding-stupid heads!



I am of course Danish and so entitled (spelling?) to jokes as lame as those ;P

Fixed that for you

 

[Sodoff]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

uhm.. before claiming to know how to speak correct English, maybe you should learn the meaning of puncuation and comma's?

oh yea and Stereo Types are always bad.. and most of the time not true..

Except when they are about the Swedes.. uhg The Swedes.. Bunch of land-stealing-mountainclimbing-sauna-enjoying-mooseloving-volvobuilding-stupid heads!



I am of course Danish and so entitled (spelling?) to jokes as lame as those ;P

Fixed that for you

Dammit! sorry
Thanks

 

[snide_cake]

A bit off topic but why do you call 'herbs' 'erbs'?

Haha yeah, I had an American stay with us for a bit and asked her the same question. She couldn't answer it.

Used the example of "Henry", ya know...Henry gets to keep his H, why not the herbs?!

Or Henna, or really anything with a H...

 

[Toasty Virus]

I'm Scottish and I get a lot of shit from English people telling me I wear dresses and eat sheep innards...Which is only half true!

 

[Camembert]

Sorry matey but the English language has been evolving in England for about a thousand years or so, something that it is continuing to do today. That means that however it evolves in England is correct.

I'm not trying to be confrontational or arrogant but america wasn't our only colony, it's just the biggest and one of the youngest, the only one that won't accept second place for anything.

I respectfully disagree, I fail to see words like ''Innit' that as an 'evolution' ;-)

Evolution of language doesn't necessarily occur in a positive direction, particularly when ignorance and stupidity are the social norms of the day.

It may not seem like it but I believe people are less stupid and ignorant today than they ever have been. And how can you decide whether evolution of language is positive or negative? It usually works towards verbal economy, which is a good thing, but for the most part language change (change, that is, not extinction, which is another matter entirely) is neither negative nor positive - it just is, although many seem reluctant to accept that.

 

[snide_cake]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

Erm Americans aren't really 'lazy' in nicking the English language, as you so eloquently put.

Sort of the whole shipping English criminals over to America meant that Americans were gifted with the English language to begin with, just like Australia.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Even words and concepts born from Classical Latin isn't safe ... like 'aluminium' ... I weep <.<

Yeah, while studying zoology we discovered that Americans like to put K's in words too. For example, mollusc is written as 'mollusck' by American scientists. This extends even to the more scientific of terms, so the Phylum Mollusca is Molluscka in published journals.

I've never understood why in some regards Americans change latin word formulation in written and spoken concepts, but in some places they keep it. Like 'Honor' (old Anglo-norman = HonoUr).

I don't think I'll ever understand how Americans actually developed these aberrantconcepts concerning language. How confusing it must be in the sciences ... I feel for you x.x

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I'm Scottish and I get a lot of shit from English people telling me I wear dresses

Silly people.

The rule of thumb on telling the difference between a kilt, a skirt and a dress is what you'd grab if you put you hand down the front of one.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Sort of the whole shipping English criminals over to America meant that Americans were gifted with the English language to begin with, just like Australia.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Americans really don't like being told about that. It leaves them with nothing to say to Australians.

 

[Camembert]

right 1) as i live in ENGLAND and speak ENGLISH surely my country as it is our language has right to say what is proper english and what isnt u americans say it is ur language too but no if u want to speak it how u want u prob shud have not bin lazy and nicked our language (im not racist im just saying) 2) i dont do any of that south is farmland thing people just get that from stuff like family guy but i do belive that americans could be a little less fat and less agrresive i went to america last year i belive only 6 people i spoke to didnt tell me to p*ss off

And you find that surprising? It sounds to me as though it's your attitude that was the problem.

And it is very sad that you seem really to believe that because it was spoken there first the English should have more of a say in how 'their' language should be spoken. The biggest load of nonsense I have heard today. We should have a say about how it is standardised in our own country, but anywhere else is none of our business. In case you didn't realise, the very reason English is so prevalent (and in such a healthy state) is its fluidity and its susceptibility to change. The French (if I remember my lessons correctly) attempted a prescriptivist approach towards their own language and it languished in the following decades.

Also I don't think the Americans 'nicked' the English language - if I'm not mistaken the first settlers over there were English, hence the language.

 

[Stephanos132]

Sorry matey but the English language has been evolving in England for about a thousand years or so, something that it is continuing to do today. That means that however it evolves in England is correct.

I'm not trying to be confrontational or arrogant but america wasn't our only colony, it's just the biggest and one of the youngest, the only one that won't accept second place for anything.

I respectfully disagree, I fail to see words like ''Innit' that as an 'evolution' ;-)

Evolution of language doesn't necessarily occur in a positive direction, particularly when ignorance and stupidity are the social norms of the day.

You're right, it isn't always positive however I think that there is a devolution (or de-evolution whichever is your preference) to the English language now rather than negative evolution, iygwim? ;-)

If you like. I just count the days till the next mangling of English that becomes common parlance.

 

[electric discordian]

The difference between America and the U.K. is we export alcohol fuelled 18-30 soccer hooligans who are the largest scourge on Europe since the Third Reich and America export obese holiday makers who wear more cameras than Big brother owned in 1984!

Our exports spend hours on the Costa Brava looking for the perfect egg and chips because this foreign shite is poison.

Yours walk round castles open mouthed, making comments like and this is an actual quotation "Gee why did they build the castle so far from the freeway?" I simply could not answer that question.

Unfortunately we seem to send those least able to represent our respective countries to foreign climes. We are as bad as each other but also as great as each other! The main thing I am jealous of in America is that you can hoist your national flag without being labelled a Nazi!

The St Georges Cross is the equivalent of showing I would imagine the Confederate flag it says something about your character. Unless our national footie team are playing then it's okay.

I will eventually visit America and see for myself how people are, its easy to stereotype without the facts, I always attempt to find out everything before jumping to conclusions!

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Also I don't think the Americans 'nicked' the English language - if I'm not mistaken the first settlers over there were English, hence the language.

Considering English is one language that will unashamedly go through the pockets of other languages for interesting words it can find (like a Womble with kleptomania), I don't think it would matter even if it was nicked.

 

[Camembert]

You're right, it isn't always positive however I think that there is a devolution (or de-evolution whichever is your preference) to the English language now rather than negative evolution, iygwim? ;-)

Whichever is the correct term I think this is false. It is neither negatively evolving nor devolving. It is changing.

Considering English is one language that will unashamedly go through the pockets of other languages for interesting words it can find (like a Womble with kleptomania), I don't think it would matter even if it was nicked.

I completely agree.