Do you speak American?

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Index »
Community »
Debate and Serious Talk »
Do you speak American?

2008-08-19 09:49:35

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

Myself wrote:
"...I'd be glad to offload all of you mispronunciating, grammatically erroneous..."

That's what I'd like to get rid of . I don't mind the diversity and the different dialects or accents in your speech... that would be ridiculous, as we have a massive range of the same over here in the United Kingdom (as Jord's demonstration nicely made clear). The mispronunciating part was mainly a joke, but I believe a great part of it is derived from the fact that you spell the damn words wrong in the first place! I would just like to see you formally respect and adhere to the English grammatical and spelling system when you write! For example, what real reason is there behind dropping the 'u' from 'colour' other than simple laziness? You should know yourself Kmarion being of French descent that the word 'colour' has European roots- which we respect in our own 'mixed melting pot' version of the word (English is of course an amalgamation of many many languages). The only reason and excuse I can see why you guys would want to butcher words like that is the same reason none of you want to wait 10 minutes for a burger in a restaurant and choose to go to Burger King instead.

You're right, each English school doesn't produce its own Shakespeare. But at least everyone that leaves school with the basic fundamental 'reading and literacy' skills has the right reading and literacy skills. Damn your bastardisation of our beautiful writing!

Really I'm just full of pent up and repressed rage from all the years that Firefox has underlined my posts for using 's's where there should be 'z's and so on. Damn it all to Hell!

Last edited by Uzique (2008-08-19 09:51:02)

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 10:18:07

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

Uzique wrote:
Myself wrote:
"...I'd be glad to offload all of you mispronunciating, grammatically erroneous..."
That's what I'd like to get rid of . I don't mind the diversity and the different dialects or accents in your speech... that would be ridiculous, as we have a massive range of the same over here in the United Kingdom (as Jord's demonstration nicely made clear). The mispronunciating part was mainly a joke, but I believe a great part of it is derived from the fact that you spell the damn words wrong in the first place! I would just like to see you formally respect and adhere to the English grammatical and spelling system when you write! For example, what real reason is there behind dropping the 'u' from 'colour' other than simple laziness? You should know yourself Kmarion being of French descent that the word 'colour' has European roots- which we respect in our own 'mixed melting pot' version of the word (English is of course an amalgamation of many many languages). The only reason and excuse I can see why you guys would want to butcher words like that is the same reason none of you want to wait 10 minutes for a burger in a restaurant and choose to go to Burger King instead.

You're right, each English school doesn't produce its own Shakespeare. But at least everyone that leaves school with the basic fundamental 'reading and literacy' skills has the right reading and literacy skills. Damn your bastardisation of our beautiful writing!

Really I'm just full of pent up and repressed rage from all the years that Firefox has underlined my posts for using 's's where there should be 'z's and so on. Damn it all to Hell!

How is losing a single letter in the mix of millions of immigrants being lazy? Some of your preconceived notions about "yanks" confuse me. We've had millions of immigrants from all over the world. Try to expand your intellectual horizon beyond Europe. I think your pent up Firefox rage has influenced your judgment.

Americans usually aren't going to Burger King because they are just being lazy. Most of them aren't given the luxury of time to spend in a restaurant. We are preoccupied working and raising families (Our work week is longer than yours). Maybe, just maybe, one day we can find the time to sit down at a nice restaurant, have a burger, and bitch about how our "American" language is being butchered. Until then we've got better thing to do with our time.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 10:20:06

sergeriver: Cowboy from Hell; +1,928|7177|Argentina

chittydog wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
I am not of English descent. Language is usually based on origin. Mexicans, Cubans, etc.. speak variations of Spanish.
That's debatable too. How many Spanish speaking Latinos are really of Spanish descent? If anyone has a number, it would helpful to post it.

I speak Spanish but I'm Russian/Yugoslavian descendant.

2008-08-19 10:21:46

IG-Calibre: comhalta; +226|7162|Tír Eoghan, Tuaisceart Éireann

och sure a canny spake american big yin, do ye ken ulster scots or are ye a dafty wain?

2008-08-19 10:22:20

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

Well the British people work harder and longer hours than any other country in Europe and we still find time to respect our language in its written form. The English language is still preserved and used properly here and we are still experiencing the influx of millions of immigrants and other cultures- but all the same they're taught the correct way to read and write the English language.

Kmarion wrote:
We've had millions of immigrants from all over the world

I can almost guarantee that Britain has a wider ranging immigrant population and a greater number of immigrants than the USA. Perhaps not in terms of pure-quantity, but in terms of diversity of culture. I'm quite sure the range of cultures in a modern British city would make an American city look like Berlin circa 1940.

So what really is your excuse? If a Pakistani family that know no English can migrate to England and learn the proper version of the language, then why are American immigrants and the mixing of culture in America an excuse for altering the language in arbitrary and pointless areas?

Yes, this is an argument in the art of pedanticism .

Last edited by Uzique (2008-08-19 10:24:06)

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 10:34:57

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

Uzique wrote:
Well the British people work harder and longer hours than any other country in Europe and we still find time to respect our language in its written form The English language is still preserved and used properly here and we are still experiencing the influx of millions of immigrants and other cultures- but all the same they're taught the correct way to read and write the English language.

So what really is your excuse? If a Pakistani family that know no English can migrate to England and learn the proper version of the language, then why are American immigrants and the mixing of culture in America an excuse for altering the language in arbitrary and pointless areas?

Yes, this is an argument in the art of pedanticism .

It's not an excuse it's a fact. Your culture keeps Mr.Pakistani in line. Americans do not have a single culture. The only thing that binds us together is our law. Have you ever been to the states? There is really no comparison. The British are highly concentrated geographically. Travel from our southwest to the northeast and you'd be amazed by the extreme variations in dialect.

I can almost guarantee that Britain has a wider ranging immigrant population and a greater number of immigrants than the USA. Perhaps not in terms of pure-quantity, but in terms of diversity of culture. I'm quite sure the range of cultures in a modern British city would make an American city look like Berlin circa 1940.

The key is how fast our immigration boom came to be. I'm pretty sure your language has also changed quite a bit since it's inception. It's a natural process. How many variations of Arabic are there?

Spanish has been spoken much longer than English in North America. We have no official language. There is a reason for that.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 10:36:04

Poseidon: Fudgepack DeQueef; +3,253|6958|Long Island, New York

Kmarion wrote:
Travel from our southwest to the north east and you'd be amazed by the extreme variations in dialect.

Hell, travel from Long Island to Brooklyn and you'll be amazed by the extreme variations in dialect.

Hence my location.

I don't know of one other fellow LI'er who doesn't pronounce it "Lawn Guyland".

2008-08-19 10:43:59

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

Poseidon wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
Travel from our southwest to the north east and you'd be amazed by the extreme variations in dialect.
Hell, travel from Long Island to Brooklyn and you'll be amazed by the extreme variations in dialect.

Hence my location.

I don't know of one other fellow LI'er who doesn't pronounce it "Lawn Guyland".

Floridians are protected by the Spanish influence. Considering our southern neighbors we should sound all "hillbilly like". But we generally don't .

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 10:45:29

2tuff: Positive Karma Here!; +357|7196

I am American, I speak American.

2008-08-19 10:50:54

topal63: . . .; +533|7138

I like many things British, one of them being an origin; as originators; of the metaphorical tongue I now possess. Go read please and develop an appreciation for the language you enjoy - its heritage is British, without a doubt.

It certainly is not American, it's English. And if we spoke Greek here in American well then it would be Greek. But, it isn't Greek, it isn't really Spanish and it isn't American - the heritage of our first conflict, colonization, law, literature and language is what it is: English.

2008-08-19 10:58:08

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

I'd like to personally thank the Romans.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 11:12:50

oug: Calmer than you are.; +380|6939|Πάϊ

Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.

Umm actually it's us you should thank, if anyone

Srsly you're right though, languages don't change voluntarily. Any changes that might occur, do so normally through the masses. I can't think of a single case where the choices of some elite minority have made an impact. Language change is always a natural process.

As for the OP, I take it that it was a joke, otherwise there's nothing there to debate really. Not seriously at least! American language! lol It's a dialect. Live with it.

_ƒ³

2008-08-19 11:20:42

topal63: . . .; +533|7138

Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.

I'd like to impersonally thank mindless nature, for evolution and thus me.

2008-08-19 11:25:07

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.

The Romans had very little to do with the modern formation of what is 'English'.

More like Saxons and French, as well as other European middle-age invaders.

The ancient language of Latin sure was a good backbone for the languages of those invaders though.

Last edited by Uzique (2008-08-19 11:26:35)

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 11:27:13

chittydog: less busy; +586|7255|Kubra, Damn it!

oug wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.
Umm actually it's us you should thank, if anyone

Srsly you're right though, languages don't change voluntarily. Any changes that might occur, do so normally through the masses. I can't think of a single case where the choices of some elite minority have made an impact. Language change is always a natural process.

As for the OP, I take it that it was a joke, otherwise there's nothing there to debate really. Not seriously at least! American language! lol It's a dialect. Live with it.

There's always someone else to thank. English falls under the giant Indo-European language family which traces a lot of its roots to Sanskrit which pre-dates the Romans and Greeks.

2008-08-19 11:28:28

topal63: . . .; +533|7138

jord wrote:
chittydog wrote:
jord wrote:
England is older than it's colonies...?
Would you become less English if you moved to a new English colony? Would that invalidate your claim to the language? How about your kids?
If I moved to an English colony and had kids with someone from Spain. Then the English heritage would drift further and further away as time progresses.

It's not practical to rename a whole language just for the sake of what. Patriotism? The American dialect isn't distant enough. Soon enough you'd have people from all over asking for their own language because of their accent.

The place where I live, I could tell you 30 words that are unique to this county. Words that don't make sense to anyone else. So you'd have to rename it to Lancastrian too.

Ghetto speak is fairly far removed, maybe we should adopt that as our standard American language. That way we can certainly distance ourselves from the Queen's English, stick a feather in our cap (baseball cap worn sideways) and call it ??? I don't know... bling-bling?

Uzique wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.
The Romans had very little to do with the modern formation of what is 'English'.

More like Saxons and French, as well as other European middle-age invaders.

The ancient language of Latin sure was a good backbone for the languages of those invaders though.

You do realize he wasn't referencing a language context, but rather a link in the chain; the heritage; of western civilization as a whole.

Last edited by topal63 (2008-08-19 11:32:25)

2008-08-19 11:30:12

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

topal63 wrote:
Uzique wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
I'd like to personally thank the Romans.
The Romans had very little to do with the modern formation of what is 'English'.

More like Saxons and French, as well as other European middle-age invaders.

The ancient language of Latin sure was a good backbone for the languages of those invaders though.
You do realize he wasn't referencing a language context, but rather a link in the chain; the heritage; of western civilization as a whole.

Well Romans are by no means the beginning of that chain .

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 11:30:34

topal63: . . .; +533|7138

Link,

PS: LOL, I meant link in a chain, not a web-link.

Last edited by topal63 (2008-08-19 11:47:06)

2008-08-19 11:34:12

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

Most of Western philosophy that has shaped and moulded our 'heritage' and society/civilisation is Ancient Greek- the works of great thinkers such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotles. If by 'heritage' you meant the civil-construction and unison of Europe, then yes the Romans were one of the great early empires that built roads and basic infrastructure / unified government across the continent. But the 'true' root of Western civilisation and thought is more appropriately placed under the achievements of the Ancient Greeks.

Read Plato's The Republic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)

The Romans were just a military and imperialistic force that 'united' Europe, but much of their own society and civilisation was based on Greek-hijacked ideologies- as well as sprinklings of good 'ole European paganism .

Last edited by Uzique (2008-08-19 11:34:50)

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 11:34:18

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabets_ … _the_Latin

topal63 wrote:
You do realize he wasn't referencing a language context, but rather a link in the chain; the heritage; of western civilization as a whole.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 11:36:35

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

Kmarion wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabets_derived_from_the_Latin

See if you were exclusively talking about the language and not the 'culture, heritage and history' etc. then really my first post was more on the mark. The earliest versions of recorded and written English (such as Chaucer) were actually a sort of underclass-peasant 'revolt' against the aristocratic French-speakers and Latin-speakers. You could thank the Romans for the Latin alphabet- but the alphabet and the format of written language isn't really the 'true' heritage of the language itself; it's a framework, a skeleton.

If you are talking about an entire heritage then again, I'm all for the Ancient Greeks who came before the Romans in that chain- the Greeks made most of the huge advancements in thought, society, mathematics, medicine, sciences etc. The Romans were the authoritarian conquerors of Europe that built our infrastructures and founded our centralised systems of government/power and systems of law and justice.

Last edited by Uzique (2008-08-19 11:41:16)

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

2008-08-19 11:57:02

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

Uzique wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabets_derived_from_the_Latin
See if you were exclusively talking about the language and not the 'culture, heritage and history' etc. then really my first post was more on the mark. The earliest versions of recorded and written English (such as Chaucer) were actually a sort of underclass-peasant 'revolt' against the aristocratic French-speakers and Latin-spekers. You could thank the Romans for the Latin alphabet- but the alphabet and the format of written language isn't really the 'true' heritage of the language itself.

Refer to my previous remark about the diversity of American culture. This was all to illustrate the larger point of language constantly evolving. Undoubtedly English was the butchering of a previous language. Borrowing and changing according to the local populace. Like I said before, it's natural. Especially when immersed in a society that has had to endure a (rapid) onslaught of varying cultures. This is not at all limited to European influence. There is a uniqueness here that you are refusing to recognize.

If you want I'll go all the way back to Lucy. Trump card ..lol.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 12:00:13

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6873|The Twilight Zone

American language doesn't exist. Its more like a dialect of English. I speak English.

https://www.shrani.si/f/3H/7h/45GTw71U/untitled-1.png

2008-08-19 12:05:37

Kmar: Truth is my Bitch; +5,695|7021|132 and Bush

.Sup wrote:
American language doesn't exist. Its more like a dialect of English. I speak English.

Sure it does. And it can be yours for the $37.80.

Xbone Stormsurgezz

2008-08-19 12:07:36

Uzique: dasein.; +2,865|6891

You've read Mencken's works?

_{libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual}. _{http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/}

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Index »
Community »
Debate and Serious Talk »
Do you speak American?

Board footer

Jump to

BF2S Forums Do you speak American?

Myself wrote:

Uzique wrote:

Myself wrote:

chittydog wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Uzique wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Poseidon wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

oug wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

jord wrote:

chittydog wrote:

jord wrote:

Uzique wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

topal63 wrote:

Uzique wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

topal63 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Uzique wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

.Sup wrote:

Board footer