UK English Grammar vs. US English Grammar

[Louis VI the Fat]

There is another mechanism.


Frenchmen with little education speak American English. (Or no English at all) Highly educated Frenchmen use British English. It is all to do with status.

Even if my English is a potpourri of British, American and other variants, whenever aware of it I will use British spelling and vocabulary. Not to impress the English speakers, or to make myself better understood to them - but to distinguish myself as a person of education and higher cultural norms to other non-native speakers.

[Vladimir]

There is another mechanism.


Frenchmen with little education speak American English. (Or no English at all) Highly educated Frenchmen use British English. It is all to do with status.

Even if my English is a potpourri of British, American and other variants, whenever aware of it I will use British spelling and vocabulary. Not to impress the English speakers, or to make myself better understood to them - but to distinguish myself as a person of education and higher cultural norms to other non-native speakers.

I need to borrow a pair of Strike's boots before walking through that post.

[Fragony]

HA we don't have any use for that we are Dutch that is our usual state, highly educated and culturally refined, and if you don't apreciate our higher cultural norms you can sit on it and spin suck it up and spit it out.

[InsaneApache]

HA we don't have any ush for that we are Dutch that ish our husual shtate, highly educated and culturally refined, and if you don't aprecshiate our higher cultural normsh you can shit on it and shpin shuck it up and shpit it out.

Admit it, you talk English like that. All you Dutcsh do.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I need to borrow a pair of Strike's boots before walking through that post.

Go on then! Have at it!

[Fragony]

Admit it, you talk English like that. All you Dutcsh do.

HA I speak 5 languages like that

[rvg]

Scottish accent is my personal favorite flavor of English. The U.S. midwestern is of course the gold standard, but Scottish is just plain fun.

[Subotan]

I can't speak for the British but every American I know rages out when they see the difference.

British spellings are pretty much the only things which differentiate "us" from "you", so one's nationalist, patriotic spirit is roused when we see "color".
Also, Humour > Humor.

HA we don't have any use for that we are Dutch that is our usual state, highly educated and culturally refined, and if you don't apreciate our higher cultural norms you can sit on it and spin suck it up and spit it out.

Pah, Dutch is just a mish-mash between German and English.

[Fragony]

Pah, Dutch is just a mish-mash between German and English.

Without actually being German or English. Small place, big world.

[miotas]

I don't care if overseas people spell words wrong differently, but I do get annoyed if they say my spelling is wrong.

Another difference is in the spelling of Centre, litre, metre.

Scottish accent is my personal favorite flavor of English. The U.S. midwestern is of course the gold standard, but Scottish is just plain fun.

I'd love to be a Scottish standup comedian

[Tellos Athenaios]

Louis is right: the world is quite rapidly shifting towards the ‘Asian English’ by which I mean the English as commonly found in manuals and PR-material of Asian consumer goods manufacturers. That's the kind of grammar which does away with all possible cause for confusion by simply omitting all of it. On the upside they do introduce a far more rich phonology to English: namely the Asian accent.

[Kadagar_AV]

In most part of the world where I have been to, English English is seen as more classy. Usualy, the lower classes speaks more American English, while educated people speak English English.

I, for one, much prefer the English version...

My girlfriend speaks this perfectly accented brittish that the educated class in England speaks, I find it extremly sexy.

Specially compared to, say, the broad dialect in Texas or such. I dunno, it just doesnt have much class.

Sorry SFTS, nothing personal ;)

[Pannonian]

Louis is right: the world is quite rapidly shifting towards the ‘Asian English’ by which I mean the English as commonly found in manuals and PR-material of Asian consumer goods manufacturers. That's the kind of grammar which does away with all possible cause for confusion by simply omitting all of it. On the upside they do introduce a far more rich phonology to English: namely the Asian accent.

Ah, but which Asian English should prevail? East Asian, based on Japanese English and to a lesser extent Chinese English, or South Asian, based on Indian English?

Thinking about it, I think Indian English has British English as its standard, so it's not really an autonomous dialect after all. East Asian English has all sorts of fun with undefined determiners that lose seven degrees of sense when translated back and forth. One doesn't understand how common and important the is until one has tried to make sense of a Jap-English lyric.

[rvg]

Let the Euros learn whatever kinds of pidgin english they prefer. In the end, we'll screw everyone over and switch to Spanish.

[Viking]

I use British spelling to distinguish myself on teh intrawebz. I believe I speak American English, which is opposed to speaking with an accent.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Louis is right: the world is quite rapidly shifting towards the ‘Asian English’ by which I mean the English as commonly found in manuals and PR-material of Asian consumer goods manufacturers. That's the kind of grammar which does away with all possible cause for confusion by simply omitting all of it. On the upside they do introduce a far more rich phonology to English: namely the Asian accent.

Rich phonology will be the death of English, the extreme lack of inflection and limited phonological range are what make the language malleable and intelligable through a variety of accents. If you introduce subtleties it will be like learning Welsh!

How the Welsh manage I don't know, well actually they don't; they have a different written standard that bears no relation to any modern spoken form.

There is another mechanism.

Frenchmen with little education speak American English. (Or no English at all) Highly educated Frenchmen use British English. It is all to do with status.

Even if my English is a potpourri of British, American and other variants, whenever aware of it I will use British spelling and vocabulary. Not to impress the English speakers, or to make myself better understood to them - but to distinguish myself as a person of education and higher cultural norms to other non-native speakers.

This is exactly the same in England, "Standard" English is really South Midlands stripped of most of it's peculiarities. It is the language of Crown Clerks (Chancery Standard) and thence out modern politicians. Queen's English (as spoken by the aristocracy) is actually different, and I don't find it that attractive. One is a mark of education, the other of Class.

My own accent is primarily Surrey-based (my Father's) with moderations from my Mother's coarser rural Hampshire and a (surprisingly few) articles from my upbringing in Devon.

In the Provinces, people speak with an accent closer to an Eastern American in general, but different in particulars.

[Subotan]

Without actually being German or English. Small place, big world.

Touché.

[Samurai Waki]

I remember in High School I used to write words like "Gaol", "Tyr", "Cheque", and "Aluminium" just to piss on my English Teacher's shoes, so-to-speak.

[rvg]

I remember in High School I used to write words like "Gaol", "Tyr", "Cheque", and "Aluminium" just to piss on my English Teacher's shoes, so-to-speak.

Yeah, all those words piss me off immensely. Especially "cheque". For God's sake, people, write in English.

[ajaxfetish]

I wonder. Do the British and the Americans get annoyed when they see grammar different from their's? Also, what are the other differences in English grammar? And what about Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa? I started to be aware (and worry) of how I write in English when I started to chat with the world.

Well, I'm currently studying linguistics, and I find the differences fascinating. Another interesting one: after a coronal consonant (one pronounced with the tip of the tongue), American English does not allow the diphthong [iu]. You'll find it after other American consonants (huge, cute, pure, beauty), but not after coronals. British English does allow [iu] after coronals, however, hence the different pronunciations of words like news, tune, lurid, presume, and suit.

Anyway, if you're interested in finding more differences, you can check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America...sh_differences

Ajax

[Husar]

Another difference is in the spelling of Centre, litre, metre.

Oh yes, those are the ones where I got for the american spelling of center, meter, liter because that's exactly the german spelling as well and I don't understand why they do it wrong in Britain...

[Subotan]

Oh yes, those are the ones where I got for the american spelling of center, meter, liter because that's exactly the german spelling as well and I don't understand why they do it wrong in Britain...

It looks better that way. Also, I dunno about other English speakers, but "re" makes me says a shorter "r" sound than "er".

[Sasaki Kojiro]

It looks bettre that way. Also, I dunno about other English speakres, but "re" makes me says a shortre "r" sound than "er".

Fixed

[Louis VI the Fat]

Oh yes, those are the ones where I got for the american spelling of center, meter, liter because that's exactly the german spelling as well and I don't understand why they do it wrong in Britain...

The British spell it as 'centre, metre, etc' to honour their cultural overlords from whom they aquired these concepts.

[Brenus]

I use the English English (even changing the keyboard set-up) in support of our unfortunate cousins who forget their French, in their desperate fight to look as independent country from the USA.
It is probably their only remaining independent path from the USA.

Until when the US will tolerate it is another question…?

“Rule Britannia, Rule on the waves” (the sound ones, at least).

[rvg]

So far, American English is far more useful and informative than any other variation of the language. Just look at the little gem known as "y'all". Perfectly addresses a small deficiency in the simplest and most elegant way.

[pevergreen]

Admit it, you talk English like that. All you Dutcsh do.

And yet when I met The Stranger I found that he had quite a british accent for a dutchman.



Just be thankful us aussies don't type in an aussie accent.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

It looks better that way. Also, I dunno about other English speakers, but "re" makes me says a shorter "r" sound than "er".

I type it that way as well, mostly for aesthetic purposes.

[AlexanderSextus]

There was a band called "The Meters" but there was never a band called "The Metres"

so therefore the correct spelling has now been confirmed.

Oh, and it is Half and aitch not 'alf and haitch.

[Kadagar_AV]

We ALL know that it is only the words that matters, not the thought behind it!

As an example... I could (in this forum) say that the swedish people in general is rapist killers who should not be allowed to exist*.

That would not be blatant racism. However, damn me if I say the F-word
or the N-word.














* I could have a rant about vikings about this, if I set all science aside ;)