• truthblogs said on Aug 04, 2006....

  I say! Utterly preposterous it is old chap!

• mrhowto said on Aug 04, 2006....

  Glad you agree. I think we should write to W3C and insist at least 'dual' spelling compatibility within all new web browsers. Waddya reckon?

• Elevator said on Aug 04, 2006....

  Lets face it, the English language is very borrowed and has a mixture of rules, so mixed that there may as well not be many, if at all. I welcome some americanisms, yet reject others. There are things about British English that i don't like, but alot i respect. Does anyone else have a region of English from around the world that [i]they[/i] don't like?

• Expendable said on Aug 04, 2006....

  When I was in school in England I had to learn how to spell and punctuate again - and the definitions changed. Then when we move back to the States I had to relearn everything again. I like colour.

• mrhowto said on Aug 04, 2006....

  True I guess, it is partly our fault we took our language around the world and forced upon people. Pikeys have no excuse though. Oh yeah...one more thing though, why do Americans think we're Austrailian when we talk over there lol? We sound nothing like them.

• 00purple666 said on Aug 04, 2006....

  [color=purple] Right This is where my english Language course comes in handy. Some extracts from an assignment of mine...When Julius Caeser invaded in bc 54/5 the original celtic tribes that lived in Britain used Gaelic along with Ireland and scotland, wales used welsh.The romans bought us Latin...When the vikings invaded they brought the norse language which was very close to the old english'anglo saxon language already used..The Normans bought the old french language The use of old english and this merged creating middle english which the poet Chaucer used.Next along came the 'Renaissance' in Europe the most famous person of that era was Shakespeare, Shakespeare gave the English language many phrases and sayings which are still used today "To be or not to be......" being the most well known quote. Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continued to change. Settlers from Britain moved across the world - to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, Asia and Africa, and in each place, the language changed and developed, and took in words from other local languages. For example, 'kangaroo' and 'boomerang' are native Australian Aborigine words, 'juggernaut' and 'turban' came from India.So in Britain now, because of American and Australian TV programming, we use many parts of Australian and American English. And words from many other languages - French, German, Spanish, Arabic, even Nepali - have been borrowed. So English continues to change and develop, with hundreds of new words arriving every year. For better or worse, it has truly become the world's international language.So modern day English is truly as diverse as the people living in England.I do agree then words like innit n txt spk are annoying [/color]

• mrhowto said on Aug 04, 2006....

  It giveth me beef(or beeth).

• thenack said on Aug 04, 2006....

  Well, in SA we spell like u guys in UK. did you notice that in you initial sentence, thw one on writng properly, ....it seems Murphy was involved here, or is that a froydean writing error? (-; Enjoy the wknd, TN

• Expendable said on Aug 04, 2006....

  1. Yanks don't know the difference. 2. Mel Gibson vs Hugh Grant. Sorry, Aussies are hotter.

• mrhowto said on Aug 04, 2006....

  TN - yes... I noticed, felt too lazy to change it and wondered how long it would take before someone noticed. Looks like you won the prize. ;) Expendable: 1. lol. 2. lol. Well I can't really comment on that one, because if I start trying to think of hot english guys, I just might pop a blood vessel...and people will question my sexuality lol. However, in the female corner, we do have Liz Hurley,Kate Bekinsale, Keira Knightly and Kate Winslet. Which kinda levels the balance a bit.

• Zayda said on Aug 04, 2006....

  When I was learning to write/spell, I lived in Alaska. I distinctly remember being reprimanded for spelling color as colour and theater as theatre.

• GrapeKoolaid said on Aug 04, 2006....

  When I first learned english, I learned from a proper British lady named Mrs. Brodure(I'm amazed I still remember her name). She made me say things like "bonnet" instead of the "hood" and "lift" instead of "elevator". I said things like "mind the gap" and "cheers" back then. Now I live in the states and say, "What up?" This is how we butcher the english language around here now. Imo fin to do it(translated: "I am fixing to do it") Imo go(translated: "I am going to go") Lemme know if'n you find out(translated: Let me know if and when you find out) 'Mon, S'go(translated: "Come on, let's go") Lemme ax y'all a muthafuckin' question(translated: "Yes, I have a question for the panel") Any others?

• Expendable said on Aug 05, 2006....

  There's also this strange thing in American TV where if you get a British actor, he usually plays a bad guy. The only reason James Bond & Harry Potter are so well liked is all the filming is done by Brits. But Aussies are good guys. Sounds a bit naff, don't it?

• Susmaryosep said on Aug 05, 2006....

  You should listen to Malaysians speak English...! Yucks!

• hotaka said on Aug 05, 2006....

  I read that scribes used to change the spelling of words to match the local pronunciation. Once the printing press was invented a fixed spelling, based on the royal pronunciation, was established. Over the last five hundred years pronunciation has changed but spelling has remained the same. I heard once that an American somebody-important was asked to change the spelling of words to phonectically match the pronunciation. But partway through his job was cancelled. Apparently, most words in English are spelled as they are pronounced, it is only about 500 words, all of which are common, that have irregular spelling. These are things I have read or heard. I have not tried to verify these things for myself.

• Elevator said on Aug 15, 2006....

  The English language works on three main drives: - 1. [b]It always 'wants' new words.[/b] Recent events that happen internationally digs up words from that area and it either gets crafted into a new English word, or it gets used forever as it is as a newly claimed English word. 2. [b]It always 'wants' to find different shades of meaning in words.[/b] English words can mean something under the surface of what the word would suggest. For example, a doughnut is a baked good. If someone does something silly, you call them a doughnut. A genie is a fictional character that lives in a jar or whatever, but when you 'genie' a box of matches it means you set it alight. 'Buzzing' can mean making a phone call or it can mean being stoned. 3. [b]It always strives towards simplicity[/b]. It happens in most English dialects. The shortening of words, or abbreviations in a more grammatical form. For example, Aircon is air conditioning.

• Susmaryosep said on Aug 15, 2006....

  All I know is I can write good english, but don't ask me why.!

• GrapeKoolaid said on Aug 15, 2006....

  LOL Susm, you reminded me of a saying, which goes: I don't speak no bad American. I speak good American, dammit. These words were actually uttered by a friend of mine. Given, English was his second language, but I found the humor in that statement regardless.

• Susmaryosep said on Aug 15, 2006....

  English my second language too! I love it, but it's killed by SMS and texting.. We all should read P.G. Wodehouse.

• mrhowto said on Aug 15, 2006....

  Lol, can't believe this post is still going - good on yerz(scuse da pun)! elevator - v good points...innit ;)

• Susmaryosep said on Aug 15, 2006....

  Let's talk about the English League :-)) that's soccer man!

• Elevator said on Aug 15, 2006....

  Well, i only like 'Football' for the world cup. We need more Americans on this one, i'd like to know more about America's influence on the English language.

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