British versus American English spelling (Warning Rant)

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#2227709 30-Apr-2019 08:00

SirHumphreyAppleby:

We'll have to disagree on this one.

So bae thyt saentyment wae all lyk thys speylling shod bae?

If so, who then adjudicates when we "officially" update words, meanings and spellings?

Language and writing exists to serve us, not the other way around. If a language becomes fixed and immutable, it dies.

I wholeheartedly agree that everyone should be taught a high standard of reading, writing and comprehension of tongues native and foreign. People should be encouraged to see the beauty in both historic and modern prose and be able to enjoy and appreciate the power of strong, clear oratory.

That said, we shouldn't try too hard to police our languages, lest they die and become irrelevant. English (and other languages) will and should continue to evolve and the power of a language lies in it being an efficient and effective tool to foster understanding and connection between the largest number of people possible.

In that role it is inevitable that spellings, grammar, idioms and conventions will change and this should be celebrated as a sign that the language is thriving and not decried as a loss.

Rikkitic

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#2227713 30-Apr-2019 08:17

I prefer British spelling as a matter of personal taste. It just 'feels' better to me. I also don't like the idea of contemporary American culture overwhelming everything, like a bulldozer clearing a forest. I don't see why the American way of writing dates should take precedence over the way the rest of the world does it, or why they insist on NTSC instead of PAL, or 120 volts instead of 240. I hate the way they just assume everyone else does things the same way they do, or should. But I can live with American spelling if I have to, as long as it is at least correct. What really stops me in my tracks is made-up spelling, especially when it is based on Kiwi phonetics. That is just a bridge too far for me.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Azzura

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#2227714 30-Apr-2019 08:20

Holy Mackerel..Jumpin Jesus! Lord liftin ---- Millameters...ya don't say.

Millimeters or millimetres ...sorry I could not resist --- It's the Maritimer in me ;)

Lizard1977

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#2227716 30-Apr-2019 08:32

FineWine:

"Now I realise that the English language is a polyglot of a multitude of languages and because of the poly-ethnic movements of population......"

Have I just written a "double entendre" ??

I was thinking tautology more than double entendre.

As an aside, my gripe is with American pronunciation. I've noticed my 4-year old daughter frequently saying "I can't" with a hard "a", rather than a soft "ah." She gets it from the (few) American movies she (occasionally) watches, like Frozen. Trying to explain accents, and why it matters (it really doesn't, it just hurts my ears) to a 4-year old is one of the new frustrations my life has introduced to me.

evilengineer

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#2227718 30-Apr-2019 08:37

Azzura:

Holy Mackerel..Jumpin Jesus! Lord liftin ---- Millameters...ya don't say.

Millimeters or millimetres ...sorry I could not resist --- It's the Maritimer in me ;)

It's definitively millimetres. Unless you're a Yank. 😀

evilengineer

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#2227727 30-Apr-2019 08:55

Rikkitic:

I prefer British spelling as a matter of personal taste. It just 'feels' better to me. I also don't like the idea of contemporary American culture overwhelming everything, like a bulldozer clearing a forest. I don't see why the American way of writing dates should take precedence over the way the rest of the world does it, or why they insist on NTSC instead of PAL, or 120 volts instead of 240. I hate the way they just assume everyone else does things the same way they do, or should. But I can live with American spelling if I have to, as long as it is at least correct. What really stops me in my tracks is made-up spelling, especially when it is based on Kiwi phonetics. That is just a bridge too far for me.

If you want a prime example of the Americans insisting on being "different" you can't beat the lunacy of taking the frankly bonkers Imperial measurement "system" and then using a slightly different version to everyone else. And then making it even more confusing by referring to their version as "English Units" because they don't like the word "Imperial". 😏

Anyway, we're all doomed.

First law of language entropy: Everything decays to American English.

New Zealand is already well on its way. Can't decide to go with Aubergine or Eggplant, Courgette or Zucchini, constantly referring to trousers as pants and an inability to decide whether the street level of any given building is the Ground Floor or Level 1.

And don't forget those crazy American keyboards with the quote marks and @ symbols in the wrong places. 🙃

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Rikkitic

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#2227733 30-Apr-2019 09:02

evilengineer:

If you want a prime example of the Americans insisting on being "different" you can't beat the lunacy of taking the frankly bonkers Imperial measurement "system" and then using a slightly different version to everyone else. And then making it even more confusing by referring to their version as "English Units" because they don't like the word "Imperial". 😏

Anyway, we're all doomed.

First law of language entropy: Everything decays to American English.

New Zealand is already well on its way. Can't decide to go with Aubergine or Eggplant, Courgette or Zucchini, constantly referring to trousers as pants and an inability to decide whether the street level of any given building is the Ground Floor or Level 1.

And don't forget those crazy American keyboards with the quote marks and @ symbols in the wrong places. 🙃

You would think they would have learned after crashing their Mars lander!

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Azzura

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#2227738 30-Apr-2019 09:16

evilengineer:

Azzura:

Holy Mackerel..Jumpin Jesus! Lord liftin ---- Millameters...ya don't say.

Millimeters or millimetres ...sorry I could not resist --- It's the Maritimer in me ;)

It's definitively millimetres. Unless you're a Yank. 😀

Where I come from is a Bilingual (English/French) province. French would most likely spell it millimetres. English could be either spelling. We'd most likely call millimetres "the French" spelling.

It wouldn't necessarily get labeled "the US" spelling or Canadian. I don't think Canadians would say "Yank" so much in Canada (well some really old Canadians and those from UK people might say Yank).

"Yank" is a bit of a derogatory term where I come from. And I actually do find it that way. But it is not so much in NZ....so I live with it (a bit Blasé about it).

FineWine

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#2227739 30-Apr-2019 09:22

Lizard1977:

FineWine:

"Now I realise that the English language is a polyglot of a multitude of languages and because of the poly-ethnic movements of population......"

Have I just written a "double entendre" ??

I was thinking tautology more than double entendre.

Oh you cunning linguist 😀

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

FineWine

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#2227745 30-Apr-2019 09:25

evilengineer:

First law of language entropy: Everything decays to American English.

New Zealand is already well on its way. Can't decide to go with Aubergine or Eggplant, Courgette or Zucchini, constantly referring to trousers as pants and an inability to decide whether the street level of any given building is the Ground Floor or Level 1.

And don't forget those crazy American keyboards with the quote marks and @ symbols in the wrong places. 🙃

What about those upside down light switches ?

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

FineWine

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#2227748 30-Apr-2019 09:29

Azzura:(a bit Blasé about it).

Ah yes the dropping of the acute accent (') above a, e, o, n. eg. "cafe" and "café"

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

Dell

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MikeB4

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#2227804 30-Apr-2019 10:19

Having dealt most of my life with persons from a wide range of cultures, learning levels, disabilities, "English as a second language" and so on I just don't care about the how and concentrate on the what. I have too many other things to get my under garments in a reef knot to care if it is 'program' or programme' I understand what @Behodar is saying I have two sons with dyslexia and we taught them to read sentences and not words.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.