Trying To Understand The English

[NotHardUp1]

I would suggest the idiom evolved in parallel with other verbs ending in "ing" and the speech pattern developed to treat them similarly.

We are dealing with the crisis. The verb can be transitive or intransitive. The future tense phrasing would be we will deal with the crisis.

He is running with the assumption that all voters can be swayed. He will run with the assumption he cannot lose.

So, whether sloppy or unnecessary, the speaker falls into the pattern of meet with when meet could have been perfectly adequate.

Many such evolutions simply creep in from the spoken informal use, which isn't as deliberate or intentional, and gradually are accepted in written and standard use.

Of course, there may be some other ethnographic origin in the U.S., perhaps an influence from another group, but most corruptions of English here are simply out of thoughtlessness, which absolutely is a legitimate grievance against Americanisms.

On the other hand, our innovations with the language have been made popular by much of the rest of the world which enjoys them and copies them quickly.

 

[unloadonme]

one can say im skint if poor
or the rich say i have financial mitigating circumstances

Or, in either case, one can say that one is in Queer Street.

 

[unloadonme]

On the other hand, our innovations with the language have been made popular by much of the rest of the world which enjoys them and copies them quickly.

I think "innovations" is taking it a bit far (a better description would be "bastardisation"), but yes, American English has unfortunately become widespread.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I think "innovations" is taking it a bit far (a better description would be "bastardisation"), but yes, American English has unfortunately become widespread.

But that's just it. Some English see it as illegitimate, but the rest of the world doesn't. And they hear British English and American, yet they choose Americanisms, so they apparently welcome a fresh use of the language.

Speaking as a bastard, I don't accept that our culture and language is illegitimate. When there are blatant errors, they are indeed errors, but the rules of Latin grammar that formed some of the English taboos have faded along with the class system that made the distinctions so important.

I have a young Thai friend who tends to use pigeon English phrases like "you gonna" and similar. I don't think of him as a corrupter of the language, just a less strict user. Americans by like manner are simply not as strict as those guardians of the old order.

 

[Kahaih]

But American English is lazy, timid, and slobbish.

They often seem fearful of enunciation - being shunned by their lazy, timid, slobbish 'friends' for acting uppity.

Replacing distinct 't's with cuddly 'd's, and such.

The rules of proper English are necessary for those who wish to be widely understood. The rest can go to hell.

 

[peeonme]

I watch a number of shows on Netflix and Hulu that are from England and enjoy the way the actors speak. We watch Silk now and the lawyers are well spoken, we had watched a show called Doc. Martin and the doc was about the only well spoken one in a small town of locals. Bloody good!

 

[NotHardUp1]

^One of the main points of Doc Martin is to juxtapose the anal-retentive persnickets with the hoi polloi.

And the English often depict the Cornish the same way they do the lesser classes in Manchester and the East End.

They don't actually "count" as the English since they aren't the top flight breeds used to typify the country to the rest of the Empire.

 

[cityboy-stl]

Much like the 'The' in this threads title.

When one is referring to those who live in England as "The English", should "the" be capitialized or not?

 

[NotHardUp1]

When one is referring to those who live in England as "The English", should "the" be capitialized or not?

In a title, it is correct to capitalize every word.

In referring to a nationality, there is no reason to capitalize the article preceding it.

 

[Alistair]

Much like the 'The' in this threads title.

It would be a different topic without the "The" in this thread's title

 

[peeonme]

^One of the main points of Doc Martin is to juxtapose the anal-retentive persnickets with the hoi polloi.

And the English often depict the Cornish the same way they do the lesser classes in Manchester and the East End.

They don't actually "count" as the English since they aren't the top flight breeds used to typify the country to the rest of the Empire.

Bloody 'ell! Bunch o' tossers!

 

[NotHardUp1]

Noice! ........

 

[sixthson]

I watch a number of shows on Netflix and Hulu that are from England and enjoy the way the actors speak. We watch Silk now and the lawyers are well spoken, we had watched a show called Doc. Martin and the doc was about the only well spoken one in a small town of locals. Bloody good!

Generally speaking, I think British television is better than American television. First, American tv shows have to have at least one, preferably more, "beautiful stars" acting in them. The Brits have the likes of Brenda Blethyn playing Vera. It's not to say the Brits don't have beautiful actors, like Shaun Evan's as Endeavor but his looks wouldn't be crucial to the success of the show, just as John Thaw was not beautiful as Morse (the original Endeavor). Too often with American tv, it's the popularity of the star that carries the show rather than the writing and acting. Call of the midwives also has mostly everyday looking actors or many different ages playing parts in a successful drama because the writing is so good.
There is a lot of good America tv, but I wish we'd get over our star attraction.

 

[peeonme]

^^
I agree

 

[NotHardUp1]

Generally speaking, I think British television is better than American television. First, American tv shows have to have at least one, preferably more, "beautiful stars" acting in them. The Brits have the likes of Brenda Blethyn playing Vera. It's not to say the Brits don't have beautiful actors, like Shaun Evan's as Endeavor but his looks wouldn't be crucial to the success of the show, just as John Thaw was not beautiful as Morse (the original Endeavor). Too often with American tv, it's the popularity of the star that carries the show rather than the writing and acting. Call of the midwives also has mostly everyday looking actors or many different ages playing parts in a successful drama because the writing is so good.
There is a lot of good America tv, but I wish we'd get over our star attraction.

I completely agree, but I'd like to see more French, Italian, German, and Spanish programs. It just feels ridiculously Anglophile on PBS, which seems to reinforce the false notion that American is an English colony, whereas it was heavily settled by all sorts of ethnicities.

(Why the fuck does JUB's spellchecker not know ethnicities is a word? Is this some kind of Dollar Tree software package? Almost every day it highlights some word in common use, not slang.)

 

[purina]

I don't think it's JUB's spellchecker. I get the red underline at two different email sites using Opera browser. Maybe it's Windows.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I think it is. If I type a created word in the browser search window, it highlights it just fine. If I type "ethnicities" in, no highlight. I do believe it's the version of the site software that is spellchecking in a posting window. I only experience these on JUB.

 

[sixthson]

I completely agree, but I'd like to see more French, Italian, German, and Spanish programs. It just feels ridiculously Anglophile on PBS, which seems to reinforce the false notion that American is an English colony, whereas it was heavily settled by all sorts of ethnicities.

(Why the fuck does JUB's spellchecker not know ethnicities is a word? Is this some kind of Dollar Tree software package? Almost every day it highlights some word in common use, not slang.)

We recently started watching a series from Iceland. I have no problem with their accent because it sounds so Scandinavian, especially Finnish. Growing up I heard so many Scandinavian accents that they bring back fond memories. There is another one on Netflix, I think it's called The Channel, it's partly in French with subtitles and English. I find the Welsh to be more difficult to understand.

Why did you forget to name the Scandinavians, particularly the Norwegians. Damned racist.

 

[Telstra]

My English is right for me.

 

[NotHardUp1]

We recently started watching a series from Iceland. I have no problem with their accent because it sounds so Scandinavian, especially Finnish. Growing up I heard so many Scandinavian accents that they bring back fond memories. There is another one on Netflix, I think it's called The Channel, it's partly in French with subtitles and English. I find the Welsh to be more difficult to understand.

Why did you forget to name the Scandinavians, particularly the Norwegians. Damned racist.

Who knew Scandinavian was a race? Has your husband studied Norwegian physiognomy to be able to treat you in an emergency?

Did you qualify for an affirmative action scholarship or disadvantaged business loan?

And I didn't mention Nordic cinema because I wasn't in the mood to be depressed. It's all I can do to watch those Scandinavian cooking shows where they cook outdoors as if they do that normally. And they are always stone sober. Why do they pretend like that?

Would it be acceptable for me to just watch "I Remember Mama" on an endless loop for three days, and makes Swedish Meatballs from scratch to take to all the neighbors?

I don't believer for a minut the Welch are real. I think the English just made up all that stuff to make us look stupid when we visit Wales. They'll really do anything to try to hold the upper ground, you know?