Comments on: Mangling the English Langwich

By: Mike Cherim

Mike Cherim — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 04:28:55 +0000

Lol, that’s funny. I know my smelling is okay, but I do have tpynig porblems.

By: Helena Boylen

Helena Boylen — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:29:17 +0000

It’s all very well for you Mike - you don’t have to think carefully about how to spell everyday words like “colour” or “grey” because you spend so much time writing them as “color” and “gray” in stylesheets!

By: Jaybee

Jaybee — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 09:22:37 +0000

You’re right there. It’s centre that gets me every time. I have to keep double checking it. It comes to something when your own language, mangled by the Americans, doesn’t look right to you any more.

By: Gui

Gui — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:07:49 +0000

“colour” or “grey” because you spend so much time writing them as “color” and “gray”

Hi Helena, it’s Mango/Gui

I’ve often wondered why in the US people use “ize” instead of “ise” ie. Organize. Also, what is correct? Color or colour? English is my third language so I am constantly learning

By: Jaybee

Jaybee — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:25:49 +0000

English English it has the u in it. US English it doesn’t. They can’t spell.

ize is also US English we use ise

By: Mike Cherim

Mike Cherim — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:58:41 +0000

Well, fine, it’s pick on the Yanks day I see.

The big question is whether gray/grey is even a color/colour.

By: Jaybee

Jaybee — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:39:33 +0000

Pick on the Yanks!!! Never. We love Yanks.

We just couldn’t eat a whole one.

Come to think of it, having seen Helena in action at a recent Microsoft conference, she probably could eat a whole one.

By: Helena Boylen

Helena Boylen — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 11:07:04 +0000

Hey Mango - I’m not sure about this, I could well be wrong but I think I remember reading that there was a movement to regularise US English in the 19th century to make it “easier” to learn considering the large proportion of non-English speakers then emigrating to the US amongst other reasons.

Jaybee… don’t go telling people that I went to a Microsoft conference. I’ll lose what little credibility I have left. I did spend most of the day either sneering or trying to “liberate” anything that wasn’t tied down - food, drinks, books, software.

I have to say that the low point was queuing up for a free copy of Expressions (to sell on Ebay) only to see Patrick Lauke heading over to me. “What? No, I have no idea what I’m queuing up for…. Expressions you say? Never heard of it!” He didn’t look convinced.

By: Jaybee

Jaybee — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 11:29:00 +0000

I read somewhere, and I don’t know how true it is, that the reason for the differences in UK and US English is that the colonists decided they needed a dictionary and the guy who was tasked with it wasn’t a very good speller so he wrote it as it sounded. Webster then compounded it by doing an official US dictionary and deliberately spelling things differently as he thought our language and spelling was controlled by the aristocracy.

As to my unintentioned slur, I suppose I should clarify that it was a WebDD conference hosted at Microsoft and shhhhhh don’t mention Patrick or we’ll have him on here complaining.

By: Mike Cherim

Mike Cherim — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 03:24:31 +0000

I think we were just in a rebellious mood.