[Troll]

As in it's not politically correct. I frequently have to change the language of the dictionary in OSX. Has anyone else noticed how there are four versions of English in there:

Australian English
British English
Canadian English
English

If you select English, then you get what the rest of us know as "American English" - you know color, subsidize etc. How can that be English and English as spoke for centuries by the English is "British" English? If there's any non-qualified, standard English, it's what the English speak, surely.

[deedar]

Originally posted by Troll:
As in it's not politically correct. I frequently have to change the language of the dictionary in OSX. Has anyone else noticed how there are four versions of English in there:

Australian English
British English
Canadian English
English

If you select English, then you get what the rest of us know as "American English" - you know color, subsidize etc. How can that be English and English as spoke for centuries by the English is "British" English? If there's any non-qualified, standard English, it's what the English speak, surely.

Jeebus H. Christ. You aren't asking us, are you? We just elected a moron that speaks a bizarre dialect of Texan.

[Shaddim]

And don't ask the Left either, they can't even put together a sentence without some type of low-brow profanity in it.

[BlueSky]

Originally posted by deedar:
Jeebus H. Christ. You aren't asking us, are you? We just elected a moron that speaks a bizarre dialect of Texan.

[BlueSky]

Originally posted by MacNStein:
And don't ask the Left either, they can't even put together a sentence without some type of low-brow profanity in it.

That is absolutely not ****ing true. You big ****ing poopyhead.

Haaahahahahahaaaaaa

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by Bluesky:
That is absolutely not ****ing true. You big ****ing poopyhead.

Haaahahahahahaaaaaa

Ok, my bad.

[spectre]

Troll:

This is actually a fairly interesting observation. I think one must first understand that all writing systems are based on a standard, which is basically a dialect of the language that has acquired prestige by virtue of the political power of its speakers. Whereas in France, for instance, the standard is regulated by the Academie Francaise (a government institution), in North America it seems that private companies tend to regulate the standard. Because Apple and Microsoft are American companies, the standard for them is usually the American standard dialect.

I'm not sure if the age of a certain dialect makes it any more of a 'standard' or any more pure than other dialects. Perhaps Apple should just label it as American English, and keep all of the other labels the same. I'd imagine that they call the American dialect simply 'English' because the majority of their customers use that dialect, and therefore think of it as standard English.

I wonder how many Canadians are starting to write closer to the American standard now that most spell checks are set to American English by default...

[Troll]

I never realised it, but 65% of mother-tongue English speakers are located in the US so I guess that gives American English some momentum. Still there over 100 million people for whom English is a mother tongue who don't speak the American version.

It just seems to bizarre to me to tell a person living in the UK that they don't speak English, but British English whereas an American person speaks English! I agree with the suggestion to add American before English in OSX That's how Microsoft does it. God, I never thought I'd suggest someone do something the way MS does!

[ironknee]

Originally posted by deedar:
Jeebus H. Christ. You aren't asking us, are you? We just elected a moron that speaks a bizarre dialect of Texan.

btw in 4 years, i bet they will make us curse with jeebus W christ

[khufuu]

Originally posted by spectre:
Troll:

This is actually a fairly interesting observation. I think one must first understand that all writing systems are based on a standard, which is basically a dialect of the language that has acquired prestige by virtue of the political power of its speakers. Whereas in France, for instance, the standard is regulated by the Academie Francaise (a government institution), in North America it seems that private companies tend to regulate the standard. Because Apple and Microsoft are American companies, the standard for them is usually the American standard dialect.

I'm not sure if the age of a certain dialect makes it any more of a 'standard' or any more pure than other dialects. Perhaps Apple should just label it as American English, and keep all of the other labels the same. I'd imagine that they call the American dialect simply 'English' because the majority of their customers use that dialect, and therefore think of it as standard English.

I wonder how many Canadians are starting to write closer to the American standard now that most spell checks are set to American English by default...

Amazingly, I don't think Canadians are anywhere close to writing like Americans. They love their quirky spelling:

cheque for check
labour for labor (and neighbour)
centre for center

They don't do tyre for tire like some Brits do either.

[aberdeenwriter]

Not an accusation, mind you, but I wonder if troll wasn't trying to bait one of the bushies to say something like, "It has AMERICAN english as the standard because we're the biggest, smartest, most powerful, technologically advanced and ONLY superpower in the world."

I doubt anyone would say that unless it was during a presidential campaign.

[chris v]

Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

[andi*pandi]

[ThinkInsane]

Originally posted by Troll:
I never realised it, but 65% of mother-tongue English speakers are located in the US so I guess that gives American English some momentum. Still there over 100 million people for whom English is a mother tongue who don't speak the American version.

It just seems to bizarre to me to tell a person living in the UK that they don't speak English, but British English whereas an American person speaks English! I agree with the suggestion to add American before English in OSX That's how Microsoft does it. God, I never thought I'd suggest someone do something the way MS does!

We won it fair and square in the Revolution, and kept claim to it in 1812. To the victor goes the spoils.

For me, it was a real bitch when we moved to the states. I had used 'British' english all through school, then I come to the US and just about everything I wrote became a mass of red ink corrections. By the look of my 7th grade papers, you would think I was illiterate. My mom might still have some of that stuff stashed away in a box somewhere. If I can find something, I'll scan it and post it. It was really kind of funny. I still remember getting one report back from my particularly snotty english teacher that had "YOU ARE NOT IN IRELAND ANYMORE- ADJUST" written across the top and underlined five or six times. I think I had been in the states about a month and a half.

[deedar]

Originally posted by Troll:
I never realised it, but 65% of mother-tongue English speakers are located in the US so I guess that gives American English some momentum. Still there over 100 million people for whom English is a mother tongue who don't speak the American version.

It just seems to bizarre to me to tell a person living in the UK that they don't speak English, but British English whereas an American person speaks English! I agree with the suggestion to add American before English in OSX That's how Microsoft does it. God, I never thought I'd suggest someone do something the way MS does!

Seriously, I have always thought it odd that we speak English and the English speak British English - a rather US-centric convention. It makes sense to me that what is spoken in the US should be called American English, but oh well...

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by chris v:
Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

The argument to end them all.

[An Alias]

English? Americans? No way. When they talk, it sounds like they're chewing a bee.

[OreoCookie]

There was a British localization of MacOS once ...

[osiris]

Originally posted by An Alias:
English? Americans? No way. When they talk, it sounds like they're chewing a bee.

Maybe we need a Babelizer for the various incarnations of English, including local dialects so that the northerners can understand the southerners, Britons/Americans, etc.

[Troll]

Originally posted by chris v:
Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

[ironknee]

Originally posted by chris v:
Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

[Shaddim]

Originally posted by chris v:
Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

My favorite is, "If the King James Version of the Bible was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me". I did have a Baptist "minister" use that one on me before.

[aberdeenwriter]

Originally posted by An Alias:
English? Americans? No way. When they talk, it sounds like they're chewing a bee.

Actually that's just the way people speak English when they drink their beer cold, eat food that isn't all boiled and have a mostly good set of choppers.

jk <wink>

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by ThinkInsane:
For me, it was a real bitch when we moved to the states. I had used 'British' english all through school, then I come to the US and just about everything I wrote became a mass of red ink corrections.

Wow, me too. And I had to understand the Boston accent; what the hell's a kwat and why would I want my milk in it?

[voodoo]

Originally posted by chris v:
Look here. If English was a good enough language for the men who wrote the Bible, it's a good enough language for me. Case closed.

Framed for future reference

[undotwa]

English is an evolving language; I'm pretty sure British spellings which I am accustomed to shall become out of date even in Commonwealth countries very soon. American spelling are becoming more acceptable in Australia.

[Dave Brasgalla]

Originally posted by undotwa:
English is an evolving language

I would say "devolving". Q: Are We Not Men?