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jeff-o wrote:

sturner wrote:

I won't talk about Britain. The less said the better. (they can't even spell color right.)

I think you've got that backwards.  Britain came first, therefore their spelling of 'colour' is correct, and the Americanized version is lazy.

Its not lazy, its more efficient.

Well that would seemingly violate the principle of "if people understand what you meant without too much trouble, whats the problem?"

C. Ives wrote:

Alien wrote:

C. Ives wrote:

Then he was an smurf. I spent a few weeks in Europe this summer, and in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Italy I was extremely happy when the locals made an attempt to speak English to me, no matter how botched it was.  They may have screwed it up, but they made an effort, which they certainly didn't have to do.

There's a difference between being forthcoming in trying to communicate with someone, and simply dropping a foreign word in conversation, as in the example cited above. Especially when your command of the foreign language is so poor as to mess up your attempt at appearing well-versed in said language.

,xtG
.tsooJ

Of course there is, but getting annoyed at someone who obviously has no ability in your language seems . . . annoying.

He probably wasn't a Spanish speaker. It reminds me of one of my friends who greeted a couple of (what I believed to be) Indians with "asalamualaikum" (sp?). He thought they were Pakistanis and, to him, all Pakistanis are Muslims. They looked a little bit pissed.

tomfoolery wrote:

American English is just like real English, but with most of the subtle nuances removed. Whilst arguably simpler (or more logical to Americans) it is no more functional and is certainly less interesting. I'm no arty farty linguist, but English is an incredibly rich and diverse language, that has evolved with and been influenced by many civilisations. I relish its quirkiness.


tF

You are clearly no linguist if that's what you think about American English vs. British English.

Well, I'd love to know what is "simpler (or more logical)" and what "subtle nuances" are removed.

It also may be useful to know that British English now bears are much resemblance to pre-colonial British English as American English does.

tomfoolery wrote:

theatre...

Actually, theatre and theater are two different things, in "American" English anyway.

Theatre being acting - the word that encompasses the dramatic arts and so on, and

Theater being the thing you go to and sit in to see some theatre.

At least, that's what I learned from the AP when I worked for the newspaper.

Colour is the better spelling.
Centre or Center - I could care less.
Humour is the correct spelling.

However, American English does have some proper nuances.

Y'all is the proper multiple second person plural.
Howdy is the proper greeting when you see someone on the street.
Wuzup is the proper greeting when you see someone on the street you plan to mug.

Alien wrote:

resedit wrote:

I could care less.

Couldn't, you American Idiot.

,xtG
.tsooJ

The n't is contracted to nothingness. Another amercan nuance

One man's nuance is another's molestation.

tF

The people at work crack me up. A lot of them can't seem to get their personal pronouns straight. More specifically, the hes and the shes. They refer to men as she's and women as she's. Sometimes they get it right. More often, they don't.

justine wrote:

The people at work crack me up. A lot of them can't seem to get their personal pronouns straight. More specifically, the hes and the shes. They refer to men as she's and women as she's. Sometimes they get it right. More often, they don't.

I've noticed this too… I wonder why it is.