tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post3212152533771280259..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: anti-Americanismism, part 2lynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52406927911451511252015-08-16T00:03:15.435+01:002015-08-16T00:03:15.435+01:00Referring back to the comments about "eatery&...Referring back to the comments about "eatery", I wonder about the prevalence of its (presumably) younger cousin "sitooterie" which is probably mostly found in Scotland or among expat Scots as a tongue-in-cheek expression for an outside dining area or terrace attached to a catering establishment, derived from "sit oot" i.e. "sit out". I'd be astonished if this has found its way across the Atlantic, but I'm sure everyone in Scotland would have known what it meant even the first time they heard it (and smiled).Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01628722112979043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-1176605158420192292015-03-30T22:27:04.074+01:002015-03-30T22:27:04.074+01:00I've got to wonder whether the South Africans ...<i> I've got to wonder whether the South Africans would say "three comma one four one five nine"</i><br />I don't know about South Africans, but the French, whose use of commas and decimal points is exactly the inverse of ours, most certainly do.Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-25951537871429016792015-03-30T18:34:00.047+01:002015-03-30T18:34:00.047+01:00Using "full stop" for "period"...Using "full stop" for "period" in the US would likely make some people think you were talking like you were reading a telegram--if they were old enough to have seen a movie with someone reading a telegram. <br />And for Ed, who mentioned South African numeric notation, a quick perusal of American, UK, and German websites shows such prices as:<br />$11,500<br />$1332.50<br /> £1,099.96 <br />1.767,75 E (couldn't copy the Euro symbol)<br />I think I've seen " " being used as a placeholder but not in the US.<br /><br />In my experience, in typical American usage the comma is used for financial notation but not for large numbers in other contexts, where things are typically rounded off to the nearest thousand, million, or billion.<br />Oh, and when reading a number, it's always "point", as in three point one four one five nine. I'd have to assume it's the same in the UK. I've got to wonder whether the South Africans would say "three comma one four one five nine".Kirk Poorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45522512455167518682014-07-02T06:45:17.877+01:002014-07-02T06:45:17.877+01:00Above, Lynne had written, "[D]on't be tem...Above, Lynne had written, "[D]on't be tempted to think that Americans have added syllables to burgle, as both words are derived (burgle by back-formation and burglarize by adding a suffix) from burglar."<br /><br />It's worse than you think, Lynne. Try as we might, we Americans just can't seem to win on this front and we deserve a least a little credit here.<br /><br />The earliest usages of "burgle" found to date appeared ca. 1865. They're all American. And it's pretty clear that "burgle" is an American invention because British writers ca. 1870 commented on the peculiarity of this (American) form [1].<br /><br />The American form "burglarize," which now predominates in the U.S. over the meeker "burgle," goes back at least to 1840. And yet "burglarise" can be found in British English at least as early as the end of 1839, though its use over there became rarer as the century wore on. Still, as of this writing, it's apparent that the earliest sightings of "burglarize" and its British cousin are roughly contemporaneous [2].<br /><br />To shorten "burglar" or to lengthen it? Well, AmE has done both. "Burgle" is an American backformation, not a British one. And, honestly, I don't think 19th-century Americans can be much blamed for "burglarize" when their British counterparts were simultaneously experimenting with their own suffix-added form.<br /><br />[1] http://bit.ly/1pIp1iZ (ADS-L message)<br /><br />[2] http://bit.ly/1pVlWrl (ADS-L message)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09359310121912411533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-51192850275163038422013-03-14T21:12:35.697+00:002013-03-14T21:12:35.697+00:00I have to respond to this one,
" 50. &quo...I have to respond to this one,<br />" 50. "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less" has to be the worst. Opposite meaning of what they're trying to say. Jonathan, Birmingham<br /><br />Unless they're trying their hand at irony, of course. But Americans couldn't do that, could they? At any rate: old post on could care less and old guest post on irony."<br /><br /> the first time I heard this said I too thought it wrong, until I considered the intonation: The AmE is indeed not a bad attempt at irony, with the intonation as a rhetorical question.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15393412084887085459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-69181838629425215712013-01-06T16:15:39.477+00:002013-01-06T16:15:39.477+00:00As an American, I had never heard the . (period) c...As an American, I had never heard the . (period) called a full stop growing up, I only heard it called this a few years back actually, so I went the first 30 years of my life, not knowing that it could possible be called anything other than a period. Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-6864047117639848782012-10-28T14:34:00.145+00:002012-10-28T14:34:00.145+00:00Period for the little dot at the end of a written ...<i>Period</i> for the little dot at the end of a written sentence is likely to provoke tittering in the classroom outside North America because it also refers to menstruation. Perhaps this euphemism is why <i>full stop</i> is preferred.<br /><br />When South Africa switched over from the imperial system to metric in the 1960s the notation changed as well (the only example in the world I believe, which strikes me as delightfully pedantic). The dot as a decimal separator was dropped in favour of the comma and the comma separating groups of digits in large numbers was replaced with a space.<br /><br />Therefore two and a half written as a decimal changed from 2.5 to 2,5. Twenty-two thousand changed from 22,000 to 22 000.<br /><br />I think this is the scientifically preferred notation, especially the space as it is unambiguous given the fact some countries use a dot and some a comma to write large numbers.<br /><br /><br />Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8157207328975414192012-10-23T17:13:20.218+01:002012-10-23T17:13:20.218+01:00mrs. Redboots,
I never really thought about the ...mrs. Redboots, <br /><br />I never really thought about the of in there. Or would have (would've). It is just what sounds natural to me. I guess we do not really need thoes words. But It does sound strange to my ears without them.Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45140425313832490092012-10-17T19:58:32.453+01:002012-10-17T19:58:32.453+01:00One of the perils of re-reading this blog is the t...One of the perils of re-reading this blog is the temptation to comment again! <br /><br />I must admit, I prefer "to medal" than "to podium", but would not use either myself.<br /><br />There are two American turns of phrase I find a bit clunky, although I'm quite prepared to accept that this is modern American usage. The first is the insertion of "of" where I don't find it necessary, for example: "I'm not that good of a skater". And the second is the use of "would have" where I would use "had": "If I would have practised more..." (I'd say "Had I practised more", or perhaps "If I had practised more".Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38409247386304134812012-10-16T23:24:50.902+01:002012-10-16T23:24:50.902+01:00If we turned this around to Americans hating Briti...If we turned this around to Americans hating Briticisms, purely based on this article, I would have to say that my 1. pet peeve is British saying pet hate..... That was just plain annoying! But seriously, in regards to Zee instead of Zed, and bi-weekly instead of fortnightly and period instead of full-stop, are just ignorance to the fact that they do not know that Americans do not know these terms. It does not bother me when they use them because I know that in their "language" they are accurate.Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39038960931603452832011-09-07T19:34:55.340+01:002011-09-07T19:34:55.340+01:00We "french" use "liverable" fo...We "french" use "liverable" for deliverable. "liverable" in project management is anything you can fr/"livrer" or En/"deliver" . BTW In French it's definitely correct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60340308586628567112011-09-02T22:42:12.628+01:002011-09-02T22:42:12.628+01:00I rather like 'already', but I take unusua...I rather like 'already', but I take unusual pleasure in yiddish phrasing.<br /><br />I'm reminded of the punchline to a joke in a Tom Stoppard play (a British playwrite, no less!): "Tarsus-shmarsus, I'm Paul already."Fata Morganahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05552770334143504821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26347175000705967672011-08-12T05:13:47.207+01:002011-08-12T05:13:47.207+01:00Another wonderful installment. This whole brouhaha...Another wonderful installment. This whole brouhaha has provided a great deal of mirth.<br /><br />I grew up knowing exactly what the term "Scotch-Irish" meant in American (and before that Irish) history. But, upon further consideration, it would be most impolitic to share me dear Da's thoughts on the matter.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />A Shanty SACC (Spotted American-Celt Catholic)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19764331138907612032011-08-11T17:33:19.221+01:002011-08-11T17:33:19.221+01:00On points 31 and 45:
While I now understand 'r...On points 31 and 45:<br />While I now understand 'rate hike' as newspaperese for a price increase, in my native BrE I might hitch up my skirt to go hiking.<br />Yes, having an 'issue' instead of a 'problem' may be irritating, but when I arrived in N America in 1979 to hear people saying 'I have a problem with that', it took a while before I translated it back to 'I don't understand that' or 'I can't cope with this'.biochemistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-9589531585484467852011-08-11T16:22:43.033+01:002011-08-11T16:22:43.033+01:00Be careful ordering any "regular" coffee...Be careful ordering any "regular" coffee in parts of the US. Such an order will include two cream(s) and two sugar(s). Best to order "black" coffee. Coming from the Western US, I was shocked during my first visit to New York City when a regular coffee arrived diluted by milk and sugar. Regular seems to be a word used to denote the custom or standard rather than an actuality (hence the safety in a black coffee).elcalifornionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49444309606233094542011-08-08T04:00:37.228+01:002011-08-08T04:00:37.228+01:00"Ø said...
Take a deep breath, Anonymous..."Ø said...<br /><br /> Take a deep breath, Anonymous. Not until you've begun to get used to the verb "medal" will we tell you about the verb "podium"."<br /><br />I've seen "medal" used as a verb ... in sports references ... especially as in "he medaled in three events." <br /><br />"To DVR" something has entered the language, but "to podium"????? Oh, dear lord!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-53245695990752485102011-08-07T04:44:52.100+01:002011-08-07T04:44:52.100+01:00Thousand and million started out as an ordinary no...<i>Thousand</i> and <i>million</i> started out as an ordinary noun, and we used to say <i>twenty millions of men</i> and <i>ten thousands of pounds</i>. By the middle of the 19th century, one could say "a thousand men" or "a thousand of men", but "a million men" was considered non-English still. A century and a half (not meaning 100.5 years) later, <i>thousand</i> and <i>million</i> are number words with an unusual ancestry.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44554218542207564792011-08-07T04:08:02.422+01:002011-08-07T04:08:02.422+01:00Actually, I have heard "I got it for cheap&qu...Actually, I have heard "I got it for cheap" more frequently than I would like to think possible. Language is nothing if not fluid. By metonymy with "on purpose", more and more people in my area say they did something "on accident." Whether grammatical or not, it's a regionalism that won't seem to go away.The Old Wolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045582715113798190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50626013821537839642011-08-07T03:06:52.431+01:002011-08-07T03:06:52.431+01:00Take a deep breath, Anonymous. Not until you'v...Take a deep breath, Anonymous. Not until you've begun to get used to the verb "medal" will we tell you about the verb "podium".Øhttp://http//voidplay.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56948261163982017902011-08-06T18:11:37.607+01:002011-08-06T18:11:37.607+01:00About Home counties centered linguistic fanaticism...About Home counties centered linguistic fanaticism, with a twist http://proper-english-foundatio.yolasite.com/<br />You probably already know the website but I couldn't resist.Froggiehttp://www.over-blog.myperfidealbionhome.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-68182367176375520882011-08-05T02:40:21.099+01:002011-08-05T02:40:21.099+01:00Boy, things are getting a tad testy around here!
...Boy, things are getting a tad testy around here! <br /><br />BTW, on this comment:<br />"We don't tell the Cajuns to call themselves 'Nova Scotians' because the land they left is no longer called 'Arcadia'."<br /><br />It actually was known as l'Acadie ... Acadia, NOT Arcadia ... when the ancestors were expelled by "les Goddams" the English, starting in 1755. <br /><br />Some of my relatives by marriage are Scotch-Irish ... well, that mixed with Chickasaw or Choctaw and a smattering of English ... and that's how they've always referred to themselves. <br /><br />On hike: I'm a copy editor (sub editor in BrE), and "hike" to me is headlinese ... On a one-column hed with a tight count, "hike" might fit where "increase" or even "raise" won't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31316034239838299422011-08-04T12:03:49.474+01:002011-08-04T12:03:49.474+01:00Medal as a verb? I've never heard this and if ...Medal as a verb? I've never heard this and if I did it would hurt my ears as much as reading it hurts my eyes. Anyone who uses it that way is just plain goofy.<br />- From western NY, USAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-52120534400129714042011-08-04T02:48:47.531+01:002011-08-04T02:48:47.531+01:00Oh, thanks for that, DRK! Wonderful!Oh, thanks for that, DRK! Wonderful!lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-74175800898281395772011-08-03T20:57:33.133+01:002011-08-03T20:57:33.133+01:00Surely the definitive British word on the correct ...Surely the definitive British word on the correct usage of "that'll learn 'em" was spoken in 1908.<br /><br />" 'I'll learn 'em to steal my house!' he cried. 'I'll learn 'em, I'll learn 'em!'<br /><br />'Don't say "learn 'em," Toad,' said the Rat, greatly shocked. 'It's not good English.'<br /><br />'What are you always nagging at Toad for?' inquired the Badger, rather peevishly. 'What's the matter with his English? It's the same what I use myself, and if it's good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for you!'<br /><br />'I'm very sorry,' said the Rat humbly. 'Only I THINK it ought to be "teach 'em," not "learn 'em."'<br /><br />'But we don't WANT to teach 'em,' replied the Badger. 'We want to LEARN 'em—learn 'em, learn 'em! And what's more, we're going to DO it, too!' "<br /><br />If it was good enough for Wind in the Willows, it's good enough for me.DRKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-28062536612408067482011-08-02T18:48:09.960+01:002011-08-02T18:48:09.960+01:00Thanks. I should know by now that everything has a...Thanks. I should know by now that everything has an answer on the Web, at least every trivial question. RCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com