Which english do you prefer?

[lofight]

As others have said, lettre isn't used but I'm wondering if it was just a badly chosen example - or a misunderstanding in your notes since British English does use metre rather than the American meter, centre rather than center, litre rather than liter.

There are some fascinating books out there on the historical of different dialects of English - both within the UK and between the UK and North America.

he gave some other too, but also lettre..

I have never, ever seen anyone using the spelling "lettre" instead of letter in England. I think your teacher is confusing this with other words like centre and metre.

He really said lettre, and it stood on our papers while he was explaining it.

I think the OP meant litre/liter. Not letter/lettre.

i don't mean litre, i really mean lettre, it was in our papers while he was explaining it.

I think you mean "litre" as opposed to "liter".

Oh, I see I've been beaten to it by at least two others...

again , i mean lettre.

Another useless poll. Perhaps MacRumors could give a short course in polls or something? Moronic.

i don't find this useless. Already 6 pages have been written with interesting discussions..

There might be a liter vs. litre, but not letter vs. lettre.

probably...

 

[jaded-mandarin]

American English for the main part decides to re-write words so the practitioners can put less effort into speaking/reading/writing.

Changing words so that they spell as they're pronounced. Which I guess is efficient, but none the less lazier. I think American-English could be considered a harsh statement, a bleak evaluation of the American public, and the fact that they doubt the general public has the intelligence to read a work and understand it's true pronunciation, in the split second of time from reading to speaking.

Eg:

Color,center,donut,mom,realize,liter.

Each one just a simplified version of the original, edited to ensure that people don't get it wrong, when if they had two braincells to rub together, they wouldn't in the first place.

 

[WinterMute]

There is no 'British English'. It's called English.

I prefer English over lazy bastardized [sic] versions.

So why spell "bastardised" incorrectly then?

 

[yellow]

Each one just a simplified version of the original, edited to ensure that people don't get it wrong, when if they had two braincells to rub together, they wouldn't in the first place.

Wow.. thanks for the massive generalization of the entire American populace based upon your pedantic notions of Americanized English.

 

[ezkimo]

American English for the main part decides to re-write words so the practitioners can put less effort into speaking/reading/writing.

Changing words so that they spell as they're pronounced. Which I guess is efficient, but none the less lazier. I think American-English could be considered a harsh statement, a bleak evaluation of the American public, and the fact that they doubt the general public has the intelligence to read a work and understand it's true pronunciation, in the split second of time from reading to speaking.

Eg:

Color,center,donut,mom,realize,liter.

Each one just a simplified version of the original, edited to ensure that people don't get it wrong, when if they had two braincells to rub together, they wouldn't in the first place.

That is probably the most pretentious thing I have ever heard.

Also one of the least thought out.

 

[RHD]

Wow.. thanks for the massive generalization of the entire American populace based upon your pedantic notions of Americanized English.

Actually it is quite interesting how American English and UK English have evolved in different directions over the last few hundred years. Some things that are considered correct in America but wrong in the UK are in fact old English which was considered perfectly acceptable everywhere in the 18th century. For example "gotten". "Gotten" isn't considered correct in the UK now but it is in America. It was perfectly correct in the 18th century it just got dropped from usage in the UK and continued in America.

I really wish the wretched Word spell check would use correct UK English after you have set it to that option instead of continuing to use the American version. There seems to be no difference at all between the US spell check and the UK one. It's rubbish.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Americans are adept at butchering a great language in one fell swoop; the opening of the mouth.

Clever. No, but really, just because it's different doesn't mean it's incorrect.

The lacadaisical culling of vowels is absurd, and often words' origins are obliterated by incorrect pronounciation: "chassis" is to be said sha-see; a word of obvious french origin.

The word originally is from Latin, with a hard "c" up front.

I've also noticed how the intonation and complexity of the average American's sentences is, somewhat poorer than that of which I'd like to hear; "Um"s and "Er"s are, in the most part, thoroughly irritating.

Because there are no uneducated people in England? In all honest, this is true, a lot of people have trouble with articulation in America. The didn't read enough books.

I'm sure there's a lot more that I could mention but I believe it to be wrong that international students should be taught American English; I spend enough time correcting chinese students at college when they mention "sidewalk" or "soccer" as it is, thankyou very much!

I think you said "thankyou very much" because you knew no one else would thank you for such an elitist and snobbish view of a language that has evolved differently.

I like British people for the most part, it's people like you, with your presumption of superiority, that bug me. So unless you have the verbal competency of some of the better members of your House of Commons, I'm sure even you, mighty Brianstorm, make your fair share of mistakes.

 

[yellow]

Actually it is quite interesting how American English and UK English have evolved in different directions over the last few hundred years.

Yes, it is interesting.

But to boil it down to "American English is stupid because Americans are stupid" is incredibly condescending and I won't read such tripe without commenting.

Just what are you people basing your ridiculous assumptions on? Television? Tourism?

 

[jaded-mandarin]

Wow.. thanks for the massive generalization of the entire American populace based upon your pedantic notions of Americanized English.

That is probably the most pretentious thing I have ever heard.

Also one of the least thought out.

Actually if you put your useless labels to one side and re-read, you'll see that I'm commenting on the notions of the powers that changed the word's format, as opposed to the actual general American public. I was commenting that it's unfortunate that they felt they had to change the words to simplify language for the public, when anyone with any intelligence wouldn't need this to be done for them. I'm not saying you don't have intelligence, in fact I'm more veering towards the sarcastic point that it is clear you do, hence why I see it as unfortunate that the powers that be felt the need to adopt.

But thank you both for going on the defensive immediately, criticizing it being the least though out, even though you both completley misinterpreted its point.

 

[maxrobertson]

Maybe as an American I'm biased, but I really dislike the overdone spellings in English especially British English. I personally think we should simplify them further because English is a very complicated language, especially if you aren't familiar with it. Why are night, light, etc spelled like that? Those extra letters don't mean anything, but I doubt that will happen.

And I don't think it's lazy at all. It doesn't make any sense for a written language to be as hard to use as English. Even people who have years of experience and aren't lazy and stupid have to remember special rhymes (I before E) to spell basic words, and that's a really stupid issue. The language should be fixed, and they did some good work a long time ago when they simplified some spellings.

Also, how the heck can you say that spelling words how they're pronounced is a bad thing? That's what a language is for: taking what could be spoken and preserving it. It shouldn't be some romanticized thing that is preserved long after people have realized its flaws. English evolved from a huge number of languages, and that makes it hard to master. The only reason people say it shouldn't change is because they want it that way just so they can talk down to people.

As for which is best, I dunno but I hear American women love English accents.

Ha, yeah American women love accents in general. I think Spanish is considered the sexiest.

 

[Brianstorm91]

I think you said "thankyou very much" because you knew no one else would thank you for such an elitist and snobbish view of a language that has evolved differently.

I've the feeling that it may well be an English idiom, but I can't disagree; I do make mistakes, but it still remains that interjections aren't my most favoured of words.
In response to the poster who mentioned the two English dictionaries in Word: I agree: the differences seem to be few and far between, at least in my version.

 

[yellow]

even though you both completley misinterpreted its point.

Which appears to be that you are obviously right, and all dissenters are wrong?

No, I definitely got the point.

I was commenting that it's unfortunate that they felt they had to change the words to simplify language for the public, when anyone with any intelligence wouldn't need this to be done for them.

Who the hell is this "they"? So there was an American Powers That Be conspiracy that dumbed down the language sufficiently for the illiterates and uneducated? Ah-ha. I bet that's never happened anywhere else in the world, with any other culture or language.

So, borrowing your argument, what stops me from saying that the (UK) English of today is incorrect because of it's divergence from Middle English? Or further afield (and further into ridiculousness) all languages that borrow their roots from Latin?

 

[ezkimo]

Actually if you put your useless labels to one side and re-read, you'll see that I'm commenting on the notions of the powers that changed the word's format, as opposed to the actual general American public. I was commenting that it's unfortunate that they felt they had to change the words to simplify language for the public, when anyone with any intelligence wouldn't need this to be done for them. I'm not saying you don't have intelligence, in fact I'm more veering towards the sarcastic point that it is clear you do, hence why I see it as unfortunate that the powers that be felt the need to adopt.

But thank you both for going on the defensive immediately, criticizing it being the least though out, even though you both completley misinterpreted its point.

Reading your original post it comes across that simplification, for the sake of efficiency or to make things more clear, is worse. How is changing spelling from colour to color for the sake of clarity and efficiency lazy. The logic is faulty.

 

[Gelfin]

I saw a parody piece once in which an English man working in the U.S. begs Americans to stop stereotyping him on the basis of his accent. He couldn't cope with everyone simply assuming he was intelligent and refined no matter how much he tried to insist and demonstrate he was neither. Perhaps this was on The Daily Show. I can't remember.

Regardless, say what you will about American pronunciation, but you will never hear anyone render the word "nothing" as "nuffink" on our shores.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

I've the feeling that it may well be an English idiom, but I can't disagree; I do make mistakes, but it still remains that interjections aren't my most favoured of words.

It is an idiom here as well, I was commenting on it as if it were not. The rest of my post still stands.

 

[skunk]

I would like to state here that I am appalled by the British posters above who are displaying such ignorance of their own dialect in their criticism of US English. Please allow me to dissociate myself entirely from their misplaced illusions of cultural and linguistic superiority.

 

[MalcolmJID]

One thing that really gets my goat that Americans say, is that they "could care less". It only gets to me because it's used at a time when they don't actually care, so to say they could care less actually implies that they do care. Argh.

"I couldn't care less!".



Also, no smart alecs who will post "I could care less about your post"

 

[yellow]

One thing that really gets my goat that Americans say, is that they "could care less".

I didn't think this was strictly an American verbal faux pas, but it bugs me too.
There's plenty of odd things that have slipped into (American) English.

Such as pronouncing prescriptions (that you get at the Pharmacy) as "perscriptions". Wrong, but just about everyone does it.
I think it's an example of how a dialectal anomaly spreads and becomes rote speech.

 

[themadchemist]

I would like to state here that I am appalled by the British posters above who are displaying such ignorance of their own dialect in their criticism of US English. Please allow me to dissociate myself entirely from their misplaced illusions of cultural and linguistic superiority.

Misplaced illusions of superiority?! From the British?! Nooo, it couldn't be!

 

[Silver-Fox]

british english, just the way the Americans spell the words differently

 

[Cromulent]

Such as pronouncing prescriptions (that you get at the Pharmacy) as "perscriptions". Wrong, but just about everyone does it.
I think it's an example of how a dialectal anomaly spreads and becomes rote speech.

I've never understood why Americans use the term script either. Surely it is not that hard to say prescription?

 

[themadchemist]

I've never understood why Americans use the term script either. Surely it is not that hard to say prescription?

It's really more of jargon that I usually here only among health care workers. I don't know too many outside the health care field who say "scripts." And as for why folks do it within health care--well, medicine loves jargon and abbreviations.

 

[skunk]

I've never understood why Americans use the term script either. Surely it is not that hard to say prescription?

"Script" was a term in common usage among British junkies back in the 70s - not that I ever used it as such, of course...

Misplaced illusions of superiority?! From the British?! Nooo, it couldn't be!

I meant "misplaced" only in the case of those casting the aspersions, of course.

 

[Doctor Q]

This is the month that I spend talking back to the TV every time I hear "February" pronounced "Feb-you-ary". Do Brits mispronounce this word as often as Americans?

 

[MacNut]

The American version has evolved over time while the British version has stayed the same. In a way I think a lot of the old english words are out of date.

I've never understood why Americans use the term script either. Surely it is not that hard to say prescription?

Next time I write a movie prescription I will say it right. I have never heard anyone say script for any other reason then for a movie.