siampolee
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Post by siampolee on Dec 18, 2016 13:07:44 GMT 7
Here below is a delightful collection of visual and aural learning aids to enhance the residents of the American colonies to speak and of course to write and spell English correctly.  |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Dec 18, 2016 13:10:45 GMT 7
So which is the 13th floor?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 13:48:01 GMT 7
Language is a constantly changing thing. That's what makes it so interesting. I cringe when I hear septics asking "Do You Speak American?' The language is called English, just because more Americans are now it's native speakers than the rest of the World still doesn't make it American. One Americanism that annoys me is the use of the word 'gotten'. Technically it's correct but it has fallen out of use in proper English speaking countries but still widely used in America. A person sits on his arse not his ass, that is a type of donkey. Lift is what it does, I suppose it's technically correct but the English use elevate in a totally different context. A trunk is what is found at the front of an elephant not the rear of a motor vehicle. There are of course numerous other examples and as time goes bye these examples will grow until the they will become so different that films produced in Hollywood with American actors will have to have English sub-titles. Then they can call the language 'American' until then it remains essentially English. I have what Americans consider to be a thick Scottish accent. A schoolteacher recorded it when I was in Mexico and played my voice to Brits. They said that my diction was clear. He argued the point with them and they pointed out that he suffered from the common American affliction of not finishing words. Later, talking to several Mexicans, including English teachers, they said they preferred British English due to the fact that we do put in the effort to pronounce words fully. They also pointed out that while they knew we had multiple dialects, every Brit they spoke to in Mexico neutralised said accent to make themselves understood. On the contrary, they said that Americans put in no effort and got angry when the locals didn't understand them. There's a video clip of me being interviewed in Mexico. After the ( two ) lengthy videos were completed I was approached by a university professor and told in all his years I had been the most patient and considerate interviewee he had seen. If you saw the six honeys that interviewed me, you wouldn't have been in a rush either  |
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me
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Post by me on Dec 18, 2016 14:37:12 GMT 7
So which is the 13th floor? 12A |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Dec 18, 2016 14:39:36 GMT 7
So which is the 13th floor? 12A Thank you, that helps. I was born in a house with number 13 and I like to be sure  |
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me
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Post by me on Dec 18, 2016 14:39:45 GMT 7
If you like fun....count the stories of the building and then go in the lift. If you are very observant you may note that some floors take longer than others to pass through. Often you will find a difference between the outside count and the inside...peopele who do not want your to know they exist.
More common than you may think.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2016 16:02:05 GMT 7
For what it's worth - My poor, poor, dear jokio, 5. Aluminium vs aluminum..............I don't think the English added anything, you guys had trouble trying to pronounce a word with 5 syllables so you shortened it to 4 4. p**sed. It means angry, not drunk...............The term means you are drunk, because you have been on the "p**s", nothing to do with being angry. 3. All of your car terminology sucks.................No, it's ok, the Yanks just couldn't help themselves and had to go and make up their own. 2. Ground versus first floor......................Read the blether's post. It makes perfect sense to call the floor that is on the ground level, the ground floor. Even a drunk, stoned, braindead Kentucky backwoods redneck hillbilly can see the logic in that. 1. Colour, labour, favourite...............I always use the correct spelling and go with "ou", just to p**s the Septic Tanks off.  |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Dec 18, 2016 16:06:50 GMT 7
BTW what's with December 18th and the 18th of December.
Written on 2016-12-18
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Post by Soutpeel on Dec 18, 2016 20:56:38 GMT 7
BTW what's with December 18th and the 18th of December. Written on 2016-12-18 2016-12-18 is the ISO standard of writing the date 18th Dec is the UK way Dec 18th is the Septic way Why no idea... but dd/mm/yyyy or yyyy/mm/dd are both logical progressions, while mm/dd/yyyy makes absolutely no king sense |
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joko
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Post by joko on Dec 19, 2016 1:40:35 GMT 7
  Floor #2 = first floor... Uh huh. That makes total sense. No one anywhere ever has ever been asked "do you speak American?". Sorry, Teknorak, I don't believe the premise of your complaint. |
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joko
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Post by joko on Dec 19, 2016 1:44:16 GMT 7
::2. Ground versus first floor......................Read the blether's post. It makes perfect sense to call the floor that is on the ground level, the ground floor. Even a drunk, stoned, braindead Kentucky backwoods redneck hillbilly can see the logic in that.::
Fine. Call it ground floor. In hotels, they call it floor "L". All well and good, but whatever you call it, it's the first floor. The floor above it is the SECOND floor. Or the Mezzanine, but lets not bring that into this at this point.
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AyG
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Post by AyG on Dec 19, 2016 5:34:30 GMT 7
And Americans aren't even consistent. It's September 11th, but 4th of July.
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Post by Soutpeel on Dec 19, 2016 8:39:06 GMT 7
::2. Ground versus first floor......................Read the blether's post. It makes perfect sense to call the floor that is on the ground level, the ground floor. Even a drunk, stoned, braindead Kentucky backwoods redneck hillbilly can see the logic in that.:: Fine. Call it ground floor. In hotels, they call it floor "L". All well and good, but whatever you call it, it's the first floor. The floor above it is the SECOND floor. Or the Mezzanine, but lets not bring that into this at this point. A mezzanine is technically not counted as a full floor, its a half or intermediate floor, dont get confused with your limited grey matter And yes its grey not gray..as its origin is the old english word... grǽg |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2016 10:46:00 GMT 7
And Americans aren't even consistent. It's September 11th, but 4th of July. Sorry, I thought you said they were incontinent, I was going to say that's a bit harsh. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2016 18:27:25 GMT 7
As an English teacher, I tell my students that both North American and British usage of the language are okay. Use one or the other, it's fine, but you should at least try to be consistent. On a personal level, there's parts of UK English that I find really annoying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, y'all started the language and all that... but.. Here's my five most annoying Anglicisms... 5. Aluminium vs aluminum. Why do you add this extra syllable and change the stress within the word? 4. p**sed. It means angry, not drunk. 3. All of your car terminology sucks and borders on effeminate. Bonnet? That’s something girls wear on Easter. It’s not the hood of a car. Boot? Nope. Trunk. Trunk almost rhymes with Trump, therefore it’s awesome. Plus its got cool hard sounds like /T/ and /K/ in it. Same goes for Lorry verus Truck. Lorry sounds like an adjective for being sad. I feel so lorry today. Truck is hard and truculent and befitting the vehicle it’s describing. 2. Ground versus first floor. This confuses me to no end. Why is it that British people call the floor that is the second above the pavement the first floor? No, it’s the second floor. 1. Colour, labour, favourite, behaviour, armour, flavour, honour… it appears this unnecessary “u” only appears in syllables ending in /r/, but this spelling is archaic, anachronistic and should be scrapped. |
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Jan 4, 2023 21:15:53 GMT 7
Jan 4, 2023 21:15:53 GMT 7
