Language myths

[Yankee]

Hi All

Why does Prince Charles apparently hate American English?

For those of you who are interested in differences between British English and American English (or whether there actually are any significant differences other than pronunciation), you might find this article interesting:
http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/ruining/

Among some of the things that are mentioned is the difference in usage of the 'mandative subjunctive' (which came up in a thread here only just yesterday).

Have fun.
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[Najlaa]

Hi Yankee ,

It is an interesting article. I think most of old languages have changed and we can not blame anyone for that. Everything in life is changeable.

can you tell me your opinion, please ?

Best regards,

[Ralf]

Ni Najlaa,

I agree with you - everything in our life is subject to change, and there is nothing we can do to prevent language from changing either. The more you learn to accept changes, the better you get on with them.

Chers,

Ralf
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[MrPedantic]

[Ralf]

Cheers
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[Najlaa]

Hi Ralf/ Mrpedantic ,

Thanks for sharing your opinions with me which mean a lot for me .

Best regards ,

[Yankee]

Hi Najlaa

I found the article to be interesting, and basically have the same sort of views as the author does. That shouldn't be too surprising, I suppose, since we're both American.

I was kind of hoping that some of my British cousins here on the forum might comment on whether there is anything in the article that they disagree with as regards British English -- or whether they think everything that was written in the article about British usage was accurate. I was also hoping they might tell me a bit more about the two forms of tag questions which the author mentioned as being especially British. Did the American linguist describe this British usage accurately, or might someone here describe those sorts of tag questions differently?

I have to admit, though, I found Prince Charles' 1995 comment to be rather narrow-minded and silly, if not terribly surprising.
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[Najlaa]

Hi Yankee,

I found that it enriched my linguistics information of English language and the changes of the language is nobody`s fault .

I love the English language with all its dilects , and i will be happy to see your comments on the article ( British or Americans ) .

Best regards,

[Najlaa]

Sorry ,I have a spelling mistake dilects

The correction is **dialects**

[Yankee]

Hi Najlaa

I've always been interested in language in general. Whether it's a foreign language or another version of English or simply an accent, it's all interesting to me.

I especially agree with one comment in particular from that article, and it's something that both you and Ralf seem to have picked up on, too:
"But a language or anything else that does not change is dead."

I also agree that there is nothing that requires anybody to like absolutely everything that's new or different. I also think that sometimes people initially feel uncomfortable with change, or with something new or different, but after a while, the discomfort often subsides, and sometimes you might even end up liking what you initially thought you didn't like.

Here is a little personal story about changes in English:

I spent close to 18 years living and working in Germany. During that time there were lots of things that changed back home in the US, and it was really a challenge trying to keep up with all of the changes in English. I will never forget the first time I heard the expression "My bad". I might describe my reaction to the first time I heard a grown person use that expression as a sort of fascinated horror. It sounded to me like something a child might say -- a child who was just learning to talk and who had an extremely limited vocabulary. That expression became widespread in the US while I was living in Germany, so it wasn't something I heard people use very often until I moved back to the US. I've become used to hearing adults use that expression now. It's not an expression I use myself (at least not yet ), but it doesn't sound quite so horribly childish to me now as it used to. In fact, it sounds like just another slang expression.
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[Najlaa]

Hi Yankee,

What a nice comment ! I think English language is the most international language so that it changed and effected by words from all over the world .

Thank for letting me share your personal story .

[Molly]

[MrPedantic]

Hello Amy,

The part about tag questions is interesting, and looks accurate to me.

I'm not sure the passage on pronunciation is quite right; the sounds that Algeo calls lost can be found in regional BrE.

The part on the past perfect is true enough, but I don't think the "American preference" can be a preservation of Anglo-Saxon usage; past-perfective Middle English intervenes between the latter and AmE.

A couple of quibbles: I wouldn't call "redundancy" equivalent to "firing" or "sacking", as it involves a statutory system of compensation and a requirement to show that the person's job is indeed "redundant". Also, I wasn't quite sure about this part:

[Molly]

[Yankee]

Thanks for the input, MrP. It's much appreciated.

I had been led to believe that a sentence such as "Have you the time?" would be "typical British" usage. However, I've also heard that this format is on the decline in everyday usage the UK, and that the format "do you have" is on the increase. Does that way of looking at it also sound about right to you?
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