re running sentences together with just commas, it always made me feel slightly breathless to read Margaret Drabble's novels although I liked them, because she does that, no stops to create a flow, but really creating a kind of, well, breathlessness.
Laboured breathing.......huf, huf, huf....
Whutt? C.I. spells in British? Impressive!
Speaking of "our" vs "or":
I definitely recall seeing the word "glamor" in the US, yet know I see the British spelling all the time. I know the magazine spelled it "our" but now it's everywhere.
There's a tendency to use the British spelling to tart up a word in the US (e.g., "theatre"), and I suspect that's the case here...
[Please file under Random Observation rather than Moral Outrage!]
Interesting. We use french words to add (what? sophistication, allure, tone..?) to dinner menus and such.
- and have actually adopted words such as chic, savoir faire, haute couture, nouvelle cuisine, to hint at the finer things in life.
like french fries?
Interesting that the Americans use British spelling to "tart up" words.
So colourful is more colorful?
What I want to know is how come the Americans started to spell words incorrectly in the first place?
What idiot first started spelling analyze instead of analyse? This needs further analyziz.
With the exception of the last alluded to, the changes referred to by the Ancient of Ancients were the handiwork of Noah Webster. As a life-long educator, he felt he should "rationalize" spelling for American children. Hence, he made spellings such as color, humor, center and many other familiar to us on both sides of the pond, the standard. Some of these changes, such a magic for magick and music for musick, have been adopted throughout the Englinsh-Prating World.
Thanks Set
All very laudable, and I'm sure generations of American children are grateful. But was it really a useful exercize?
btw is the dog typing with you supervising? looks that way
He also did it for political reasons. Webster, I mean.
Glad you cleared that up Clary, was alarmed at the political motivation of Sets dog.
Old Noah (about whom I knew nothing, so thanks for the impetus to find out) said this
"if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted"
Way-hey eyup sithee, yon's reet enough.
Steve (as 41oo) wrote:btw is the dog typing with you supervising? looks that way
Yes, you know, my eyesight isn't what it once was . . .
I didnt mean on the avatar, I meant from your posts.
only kiddin you know
anyroad up feel a little less bolshevik now so away now bye
Heehee... British spelling tarts us up. You're such a baaaaaad influence on sweet innocent us (a).
My favorite example of this is the announcement one hears at local theaters (or theatres) in which a woman with a nice English accent praises the audience for its good taste in choosing to attend.
Sounds a bit patronising to me.
(We say the first syllable of that word like pat. But in patron, like pate. Crazy, man.)
Patronizing, it is, McT. Not that I mind--I've spent many happy months in the UK over the years. It amuses me, though, that when we Yanks want our tastes validated, we look to someone with a posh accent to say the words...
When a person is speaking a quote, and just before the quote they say the phrase, Quote unquote, o-o-o-o..that really pisses I off.
Then, if they put their hands up and the the two fingered "quote" gesture, one is hard pressed not to begin immediately choking them . . .
Don't ask me why Setanta, but ironically I get a kick out of doing the sign thing. I guess if I was in your presence, I could literally get a kick.
...."Boo's ass is up...it's high enough..it's long enough..a-a-and ...It's through the uprights
...Setanta has a three pointer!!... ( and boo may suffer a hip pointer
)
