Spelling in the U.S.A. Can anyone tell me why the United States spells things differently and has slightly different names for things. For example, railroad instead of railway; mail drop instead of mail box. Color instead of Colour; Math instead of Maths, etc. etc. etc. I believe that Canada has English spellings, doesn't it? When people talk of English do they mean English English or American English?
British puts more accents on the vowels I believe. They also use terms like "Bloody" or some other terms....now where the heck is Steffan when you need him....
I have emphasized the differences, but there are more similarities than differences. I have just received a book from the U.S.A. which is perfectly readable and well written by English (English) standards. The differences are really only slight and easily fallen into. I said mail box when it should have been post box in English.
There is another point that has been troubling me for a long time. I was told that English was accepted by the Americans as the national language by one vote. Is that right? If it is then what was the language that nearly won? French?
I didn't think that the US had an offical language. I thought that is was just excepted that English was the mostly widely used language, and became a given. *shrugs*
I was told that there was a meeting of a kind - perhaps your parliament - where there was a vote. I can't think what other languages would have been considered. French, possibly, but not very likely, I would have thought. But you have many immigrants from various countries so it could have been one of their languages. It was very lucky for me, if my information is correct. I would hate to have to learn, say, French because it happened to be the worlds accepted language, just as they do not like having to learn English for the same reason.
There was a British rebel in what is now the U.S.A? I guess that there would have been a good number of rebels who originated from Britain and, even, from England. Please don't forget that England was a country by itself once, a long time ago. I don't know when? I think that my own vague origins many years ago were Viking, at least on my fathers side. Tarbuck means Thors Brook which, surely, means a loud brook probably in the north of England. So I wasn't English if you go back far enough. But, then, none of us would have been if you really dig up the very ancient past. After all, we all had only one (or rather two) originators, didn't we?
The reason why English is simply cause that was the majority language. French isn't because it was minority. The USA did gain French speaking Louisania (wich Americans know) and (Very Small) parts of French-Canadien-British Quebec as well. The US just made there own version of English to be different from Britain. (so did Canada, but it stayed loyal to the crown). The US and Can. aren't the only countries that have there own version of English, Austrailia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland etc. have their own versions as well. The main reason why because they wanted to be different, and/or they had more than one culture/language, so they incorporated other pronocations and spellings as well. English isn't the only languagen that has different versions. Canada has it's own version of French (called "Canadian French, or sometimes "Quebecois"). Mexico has it's own version of Spanish, and Brazil has it's own version of Portugese. So does all the former colonies that had French, Spanish etc. as there language.
No-one seems to have heard of this 'meeting' that I was once told about - perhaps my information was wrong - perhaps English was merely used because, as you say, it was the majority language. I can understand people wanting their language to be a little different, but it becomes difficult when it gradually expands so that you can tell what the other people are talking about at all. Parts of England have their own English - Ata gang wam? Means, in a part of the north, Are you going home? The Irish had, and so far as I am aware still have, their own language, I believe. I think that they adopted English, again, because it happened to be convenient.
You must mean the declaration of independence for that meeting. For the other British English languages, you must mean Gaelic and Welsh, and those aren't English languages. For other English languages, that have different accents, those go back to the Middle Ages/Renecansie (sp), where Britain was under control by different Kings (Take Scottish for example). They-like colonies-wanted their own version of English as well. Back to the US, why didn't French become a language? Because the US had a very small French population, also in later years, (after the revolution and before WWI), France became an American enemy.
In response to your question, Philip, I thought I had heard that about the U.S. as well but the language that came a close second was Spanish...I can only say that I wish Canada had stuck with one official language instead of officially recognizing French as it did so many years ago. As an English Canadian I say be grateful that your country wasn't foolish enough to try and have two official languages as we have...It has become a financial burden that is bankrupting our country (along with all the other foolish stuff that our Government is pushing down people's throats!). I am frustrated that there are items that I cannot get from the U.S. because the company doesn't want the extra expense of printing their packages in french and english. I am frustrated that the official second language is spoken by no one that I know but I still have bilingual signs in my part of the country yet when I was in Hull, Quebec all their signs were only in French!
French has always been an offical language, even when the British beat the French in the 7 years war. A fair percent of Canadian population speaks French, and French is a part of Canadain history and culture. What my point is: French was an offical language, but it wasn't equal to English. It was Trudeau and Crechetien who made French 51-49 percent equal, and those stupid laws.
generally, us british, we use more, old fashioned spellings. And pronouce the nouns more i think. But i can't talk really, I'm no good with both my fluent languages. (french and english)
The place of origin of the person concerned is no guarantee that they can even speak the language of the country that they are born in. English law is a good system in some respects and a dreadful one in others. In theory you can do anything you like so long as there is no law against it - in practice there is a law of somekind against almost everything you can think of, and many of the things you can't even think of. That is the basis of American law, although by statute it will be very different now, I guess. The biggest difference is in the court. In America the court has no jurisdiction over costs - expenses involved in bring and maintaining the trial. In England that is essential. Here a plaintiff may be awarded damages - say one shilling - or, now, perhaps 5 pence. The costs of the action may be awarded against him. That means he could easily have to pay the opponents costs which could quite easily be 20,000 or, maybe, a million pounds. I am speaking, of course, of civil actions.
