Spelling lesson for the day

[Aphistolas]

In terms of sheer number, America will have at least twice as many poets as Britain has, or ever had.

[Lyeowar]

Sure, the USA might have more poets, but that doesn't mean they're better. It doesn't mean they're worse either, I'm just saying that numbers only increase the chance of developing a superior poet. A large number of poets is neither necessary or nor is it sufficient to guarantee this.

 

For the record, I'm Canadian so owe allegiance to neither of the aforementioned countries. Well, ok, I believe I do legally, but that's another topic entirely. I think that it would be reasonable to say that American is a particular regional dialect of English, as is Canadian. Interestingly enough, to me, there are distinct regional dialects within Canadian English and American English that affect both spelling and pronunciation.

 

I think dilloesnional has the right idea when he suggests that we should appreciate the beauty of these dialects and enjoy watching the languages live and grow and mutate.

 

And we should also enjoy poking fun at people who can't competently converse their home dialect, let alone someone else's!

[conavar]

Sure, the USA might have more poets, but that doesn't mean they're better. It doesn't mean they're worse either, I'm just saying that numbers only increase the chance of developing a superior poet. A large number of poets is neither necessary or nor is it sufficient to guarantee this.

 

For the record, I'm Canadian so owe allegiance to neither of the aforementioned countries. Well, ok, I believe I do legally, but that's another topic entirely. I think that it would be reasonable to say that American is a particular regional dialect of English, as is Canadian.

 

Well if numbers dictate how many good poets a country has.. where are all the Chinese ones ?

 

And isnt Canada still part of the commonwealth ? if so you owe you allegiance to the Queen

 

and yes to be honest American is only really a regional dialect, the English language changes drastically within are own country (from cockneys,to geordies etc ),so cant really expect it to stay the same.. although "color" and not "colour" does annoy me lol

Edited April 3, 2008 by conavar

[sywren]

American is not a foreign language, it is a lazy way of dealing with words that you can't grasp the spelling of.

 

Actually, it was a partly a political move on the part of Noah Webster when he started his American dictionary and school primers. Webster, and many Americans, wanted to separate themselves from the British as much as possible, and since an entirely new language was out of the question, creating an American spelling system seemed a suitable replacement.

 

Brief history (warning: may bore some!):

 

Webster wrote his dictionary in 1806 in part to purposefully separate American spelling from British spelling which he felt was overly complicated due to the British aristocracy holding on to Middle and even Old English variations despite the Great Vowel Shift and the influence of many dead languages. Which it was. Samuel Johnson had had an influence on the spelling of words with his dictionary 75 years prior and had often chosen the more complicated variant of a word partly to spite the common folks who were now learning how to read and write (formerly a privilege of the upper class). Webster, who hated the British aristocracy (and Johnson in particular), didn't feel that they should be torturing American children with archaic phonetics. So, he wrote his dictionary in hopes of creating a more literate society (the opposite of Johnson's intent).

 

Right or wrong, the reason Americans spell many words differently isn't arbitrary or lazy.

 

When the yanks have had English as a language as long as the English they should have the right to alter our spellings. Until then go back and ask your "English 101" teacher why the class is not called "American 101".

 

Note that we're talking about a 75 year difference. In fact the American and British spelling reforms started around the same time. British spelling (despite Johnson's influence) was still all over the place when Webster wrote his dictionary. Standards take time to solidify, especially when we're talking about something as fluid and evolutionary as language (although, these dictionaries and the printing press were certainly revolutionary). The point is, you still hadn't completely decided on the spelling of these words yourself.

 

If you are at all interested in this topic, I would suggest reading the preface to Webster's Compendious Dictionary of the English Language in which he basically calls Johnson an idiot.

 

Personally, if I were teh g0d, I'd ban the "alot" people. I don't care whose spelling reform camp you sit in, that's just obnoxious.

[Marr]

Well if numbers dictate how many good poets a country has.. where are all the Chinese ones ?

 

Bad example, i'm pretty sure there are more chinese poets than you can imagine. It's always easy to point on a culture you don't understand and make jokes of it. Also the chinese language is in not very wide spread in the western part of the world - so it might be more difficult to get your hands on some Chinese poetry than getting some English poetry.

At least don't forget the age of the Chinese culture - so the first Chinese poem was prolly written in times there our ancestors were still busy smashing stones on each others heads.

[Eternity]

Personally, if I were teh g0d, I'd ban the "alot" people. I don't care whose spelling reform camp you sit in, that's just obnoxious.

 

Haha, my 8th grade English teacher would dock an essay 50% if we used "alot" at all. So I've learned to use it correctly.

Edited April 4, 2008 by Eternity

[cho-yun]

There alot of chinese stories/poet no one's ever heard of...

 

And a list of chinese poets?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_language_poets

http://www.chinapage.com/poet.html

 

worst argument ever lol

 

 

Myself - I lost several marks in a science test for putting Sulfer instead of Sulpher... or was it the other way round?

And Color and Colour

 

 

 

next thing going to happen is an art fight or how many movie scripts such and such did or didnt...

[sywren]

There alot of chinese stories/poet no one's ever heard of...

[Dunian]

"I before E except after C,

Except when in AY as in neighbor or their."

+ Many exceptions they never tell you about. Stupid little rule.

[Infamous]

What really pissed me off is when people interchange yours/you are, or, even worse, affect with effect.

I think I will make it a forum rule that if you use affect/effect wrong for 3 times, 1 month ban

In the light of this, can I just point out Annihilate's signature...

 

Arguing online is like competing in the Special Olympics,if you win your still retarded.

 

dont ninja my sig >.>

[extrapolation]

One mistake i always seem to make is that i write the word "not" in a sentence where i don't actually mean it, or i omit "not" where i do mean it.

[Entropy]

One mistake i always seem to make is that i write the word "not" in a sentence where i don't actually mean it, or i omit "not" where i do mean it.

 

Just make sure you never try to say something like: "I do not suck dicks!".

[Ermabwed]

One mistake i always seem to make is that i write the word "not" in a sentence where i don't actually mean it, or i omit "not" where i do mean it.

 

Just make sure you never try to say something like: "I do not suck dicks!".

That depends on sexual orientation and gender.

 

But extrapolations post could be read as a version of the Epimenides paradoxon.