Lager, NOT larger!

[531Man]

I do like Christmas ones though...

Like "Hanky"?

 

[DavidDetroit]

I know that what makes parts of this thread enjoyable is being able to complain. I like to complain, get things off my chest, too.
I still feel some obligation to point out that all grammatical errors come about because of a confusion. It does not mean the offender is unintelligent.
If you were to tell someone that "their" mainly shows possession, and ensure the person understands that one point, that would be the last time they use it incorrectly (barring being tired or an honest mistake).

I also want to take this time to complain about someone being a know-it-all, fun wrecker.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

My gripe about American and it's spelling is that they refer to it as English. It's might have been once, but it's no more English today than Québécois is French !

AA
Read Bill Bryson's book Made in America about the English language moving with the Pilgrim Fathers. With the exception of the spelling he argues the UK has changed the language more than the US.

 

[An Ankoù]

AA
Read Bill Bryson's book Made in America about the English language moving with the Pilgrim Fathers. With the exception of the spelling he argues the UK has changed the language more than the US.

I've read it CC, and Crystal's Histories of the English Language and others. My argument is that English is the language the English speak, in all its varieties, and the Americans speak American or American English etc for the Scots. English, then, is a family of languages. Hence my reference to Québécois as a member of the French family of languages.
I suppose you could say that American, Mancunian, Glaswegian Australian are all dialects, but then what do we call regional usages within, say, the US?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Who are the English? All regions have their dialects what unites us is the language can still be understood, well apart from Glaswegian.

 

[DavidDetroit]

@An Ankoù
"English," when mentioned in context, is already known to mean "American English," and has been in the dictionary for decades. I don't think we should be disallowed from using the single word.
Anyway, I wouldn't place so much significance on it; over here we already are aware of the small differences and it's not a big deal.
If the two were so different, why is this post able to be understood by everyone in England? I would be more concerned with why we aren't all still speaking Old English--a perfectly good language.

 

[DocAnna]

@An Ankoù
I would be more concerned with why we aren't all still speaking Old English--a perfectly good language.

Erm... Old English isn't quite that easy... evidence for the prosecution entered by Mr Chaucer:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye,
So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages,
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Points if you know where this is from without Mr Google!

 

[Clint]

Ah,olde English...didn't they replace the with ye and S with F..
So we could have an olde English thread and swear a lot without getting banned.
Piff Oss! See...not offensive at all.
One curiosity in language is the persuasion to call multiples bunches...I thought only flowers and bananas came in bunches.

 

[DavidDetroit]

Erm... Old English isn't quite that easy... evidence for the prosecution entered by Mr Chaucer:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye,
So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages,
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Points if you know where this is from without Mr Google!

I was just joking around with the Old English comment. Sorry I didn't use the the /s for sarcasm.
Edit: I'll be more absurd in the future.

 

[Clint]

I was just joking around with the Old English comment. Sorry I didn't use the the /s for sarcasm.

Oh dear...the English are quite fickle about ye olde Shakefpeare an all that stuff...you've opened up a righte olde canne os wormf..

 

[DavidDetroit]

wormf.

The language I speak is derived from the same source, so am I allowed to say "Old English" without getting into trouble?
Like I said, should have used the "/s" for clarity.

 

[DocAnna]

Oh dear...the English are quite fickle about ye olde Shakefpeare an all that stuff...you've opened up a righte olde canne os wormf..

Oh I was just super chuffed for an excuse to quote the original Chaucer text in a home brew forum

 

[RichardM]

I know that what makes parts of this thread enjoyable is being able to complain. I like to complain, get things off my chest, too.
I still feel some obligation to point out that all grammatical errors come about because of a confusion. It does not mean the offender is unintelligent.
If you were to tell someone that "their" mainly shows possession, and ensure the person understands that one point, that would be the last time they use it incorrectly (barring being tired or an honest mistake).

I also want to take this time to complain about someone being a know-it-all, fun wrecker.

A mistake is a mistake, how does honesty come in to it?

 

[Clint]

The language I speak is derived from the same source, so am I allowed to say "Old English" without getting into trouble?
Like I said, should have used the "/s" for clarity.

My post is a piff take...I'm not bothered what you say Dave..I'm Welsh!

 

[RichardM]

My post is a piff take...I'm not bothered what you say Dave..I'm Welsh!

And we all know that Welsh is an older language than English.

 

[DocAnna]

Ok first of all I’m a wee bit worried that in quoting Scottish poetry and then Chaucer I am … err how do I put this … perhaps coming over as a wee bit posh, I’m not, I just married someone who studied English and was brung up proper like. Anyway so I hav’nae that much a clue as to spek proper like.
This thread has though made me think about how language evolves and I’m going to give evidence as to how spelling and language changes. Much as though I’m wound up by use of American English use … preserving such things in aspic is maybe not the best either.
Here’s the first bit of Beowulf which I struggle to read … and that’s because language does (grudgingly) move on ( this is ‘English’ as it was)

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,

 

[DavidDetroit]

A mistake is a mistake, how does honesty come in to it?

"Honest mistake" is an idiom. A person could know the right word but use the wrong one, accidentally, and so it wouldn't be a constant occurrence.
It's like knowing how to keep score at bowling and making an error--an honest mistake that could happen to anyone.

 

[An Ankoù]

@An Ankoù
"English," when mentioned in context, is already known to mean "American English," and has been in the dictionary for decades. I don't think we should be disallowed from using the single word.
Anyway, I wouldn't place so much significance on it; over here we already are aware of the small differences and it's not a big deal.
If the two were so different, why is this post able to be understood by everyone in England? I would be more concerned with why we aren't all still speaking Old English--a perfectly good language.

Haha, I thought that would put the cat among the pigeons. No offence meant, I was thinking rather how to classify different branches of such a big language family. And you're right: first American English is a damn sight easier to understand than, say, Geordie and second, somebody learning the language is learning English whether he's learning it in London, Dublin or Chicago.
You would get pisssed off though, if every time you use a new application, it's spell flags up your non-American spelling as an error no matter how many times you reset the system language. Oh, Old English was around at the time Beowulf was written. I'm sure it was a perfectly good language in its day. Here's a bit:

Beowulf (Old English version)

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning.

... and it's still easier to understand than Geordie!

As Anna has got in before me, I'll add the translation (not mine, I'm not much good at OE)

LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,
from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
awing the earls. Since erst he lay
friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
till before him the folk, both far and near,
who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
gave him gifts: a good king he!

The website said "modern English", but I reckon it's Geordie.

 

[An Ankoù]

Ok first of all I’m a wee bit worried that in quoting Scottish poetry and then Chaucer I am … err how do I put this … perhaps coming over as a wee bit posh, I’m not, I just married someone who studied English and was brung up proper like. Anyway so I hav’nae that much a clue as to spek proper like.
This thread has though made me think about how language evolves and I’m going to give evidence as to how spelling and language changes. Much as though I’m wound up by use of American English use … preserving such things in aspic is maybe not the best either.
Here’s the first bit of Beowulf which I struggle to read … and that’s because language does (grudgingly) move on ( this is ‘English’ as it was)

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,

I see you were thinking along the same lines and we crossed in the post.

 

[Clint]

Ok first of all I’m a wee bit worried that in quoting Scottish poetry and then Chaucer I am … err how do I put this … perhaps coming over as a wee bit posh, I’m not, I just married someone who studied English and was brung up proper like. Anyway so I hav’nae that much a clue as to spek proper like.
This thread has though made me think about how language evolves and I’m going to give evidence as to how spelling and language changes. Much as though I’m wound up by use of American English use … preserving such things in aspic is maybe not the best either.
Here’s the first bit of Beowulf which I struggle to read … and that’s because language does (grudgingly) move on ( this is ‘English’ as it was)

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,

Piffed again..