English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
George Bernard Shaw is reported to have said, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.”
That’s a nice witticism, although I don’t think it’s true. I believe the common language of the Anglosphere (Britain, Canada, Australia, the United States, and to a lesser extent, Hong Kong, Singapore, India) has been a great cohesive force. And the common institutions are probably just as important.
You’re unlikely to find a more avid Anglophile than me. I have English ancestry. I love English literature (especially the English literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries). Winston Churchill and Maggie Thatcher are two of my heroes.
And I love our common language, including—for the most part—the quirky differences. For example, I like the British way of ending words with “our” (e.g., favour, Saviour). The word “centre” just looks better than “center.” The English “take decisions,” while Americans “make decisions.” “Take” sounds more forceful.
I’m generally fine with English grammar, except that the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me. And why the heck can’t Mr and Mrs have a period (Mr. and Mrs.)?
Where Americans use completely different words for the same thing, I’m usually fine with the English word: “lift” is better than “elevator”; “flat” is more charming than “apartment.” I’d never call the “bathroom” the “water closet” or “WC,” but I don’t object. I’m neutral on whether a car has a “boot” or a “trunk.”
There are two particular English words that just sound wrong. The first is “nappy” for “diaper.” Sounds like baby-talk to me. And the one that I can never accept is “lorry” for “truck.” Lorry sounds like a small, furry animal. To give the big rig its due, you’ve got to have a hard consonant like the “k” sound in truck (perhaps Dave can give us the definitive decision on whether he drives a “lorry”).
But on the whole, I love to hear the English speak English. Even when Piers Morgan is babbling inanity after inanity, his accent provides him some cover: somehow the King’s English sounds authoritative. Think about Winston Churchill: can you imagine not agreeing with every word he uttered as he uttered them?
So Ricochetti, what do you like and not like about English English and American English? Feel free to throw in examples from Canadian English, Australian English, or the English spoken anywhere else in the old British Empire. Red Feline is invited to help us out with a bit of Highland English as well (speaking of which, I love the word “kirkyard” in place of “churchyard,” especially when it’s pronounced by a real Scot).
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Comments:
Nov '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
tabula rasa:
I’m generally fine with English grammar, except that the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me.
I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I object strongly to putting punctuation inside quotation marks that wasn't in the original quote. That period belongs to my sentence, not to whatever you just said. I wince every time I do it.
Mar '12
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
I like the sound of the language. Give me a Scot or Irish brogue, an Australian "No worries", a Cockney 'ello, or a Cambridge "I say".
Better than Shakespeare!
I am also partial to a Southern drawl.
(Must be my Midwestern upbringing and my English-Scot-Welsh heritage)
Feb '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
To Mr. Shaw I would say, as the English do, "rubbish".
Feb '12
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
Schrodinger's Cat
I like the sound of the language. Give me a Scot or Irish brogue, an Australian "No worries"
"No worries" can also be used in the more explicit but less vulgar expression "no wuckin' furries." Australians do have a way with words.. May have something to do with living on an island continent.. a sort of Galapagos Island for language.
Nov '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
I enjoy nationalisms and regionalisms of all kinds/sorts...(except when I'm on a customer service line - probably in Asia somewhere <grin>.)
May '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
I'm not sure what I think about using their aluminium foil...
Jun '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
Leigh
tabula rasa:
I’m generally fine with English grammar, except that the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me.
I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I object strongly to putting punctuation inside quotation marks that wasn't in the original quote. That period belongs to my sentence, not to whatever you just said. I wince every time I do it. · 1 hour ago
I can't argue the logic--it just looks so wrong to me.
Sep '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
"Knock me up in the morning" has a nice ring to the American ear.
What doesn't sound so nice, "Smoke a fag"
Oct '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
tabula rasa:
…the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me.
And why the heck can’t Mr and Mrs have a period (Mr. and Mrs.)?
The logic behind the international English spelling (as we grandiosely call it, “imperial” having fallen out of fashion), is that you only use a period to indicate letters omitted at the end of an abbreviation. Since “Mister” has the letters dropped in the middle, one writes “Mr”, as opposed to the American “Mr.”. The same rule applies to other abbreviations such as “Mt” for “Mount”.
I would argue that the international English convention for placement of the quotation mark is not just a socially constructed symmetry breaking (like which side of the road you drive on), but the best choice.
The quoted statement is within its enclosing sentence. I'd argue it makes no sense to move the closing quote outside the period. As a computer programmer, I could argue for closing it with period, close quote, period, but that would be too fussy.
Jun '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
Good point. The difference between the American and English pronunciation of that word is jarring. I know the English make it work phonetically, but it sounds so wrong.
Oct '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
tabula rasa
Good point. The difference between the American and English pronunciation of that word is jarring. I know the English make it work phonetically, but it sounds so wrong.
Lithium, Beryllium, Sodium, Magnesium: what's so wrong about Aluminium? It's a light metal! (Yes, “Helium” is very wrong, but when it was discovered in the solar spectrum nobody knew it was a noble gas—in retrospect we'd probably have called it “Helion”.)
Apr '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
Leigh
tabula rasa:
I’m generally fine with English grammar, except that the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me.
I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I object strongly to putting punctuation inside quotation marks that wasn't in the original quote. That period belongs tomy sentence, not to whatever you just said. I wince every time I do it. ·
Yeah. In general, I prefer American English, but the rule that the inside of the quote is the quote, and the outside is the author's context for the quote seems like an insurmountably sensible one. Even if the alternative scanned more easily (and it doesn't for me), the loss in clarity would seem to outweigh the aesthetic gain. I'd attribute this to my background in law and theology but I recognize that I'm disagreeing with someone who has put far more thought into both subjects than I have.
Edited on February 2, 2013 at 12:20amNov '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
A story from WWII had it that the Allied generals were engaged in a long argument over some decision and finally agreed to table the discussion. The Americans proceeded on to the next topic, surprising the Brits to whom "table" meant to bring to an immediate vote. Fortunately, hostilities did not break out.
Nov '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
tabula rasa
Leigh
tabula rasa:
I’m generally fine with English grammar, except that the English propensity to put the quotation mark inside the period will never look right to me.
I'm going to have to disagree with this one. I object strongly to putting punctuation inside quotation marks that wasn't in the original quote. That period belongs to my sentence, not to whatever you just said. I wince every time I do it. · 1 hour ago
I can't argue the logic--it just looks so wrong to me.
I suspect - with absolutely no evidence - that the American way came about because of printing. In writing, you can write the quote marks directly above the period, no problem. Not so with type, and then you have a funny space with the punctuation outside the quote, because of the way the type is set up.
Jun '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
"Snog" seems entirely indelicate and unromantic.
Dec '12
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
and torch beats flashlight hands down, but jumper? Give me a break.
Apr '11
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
I believe that it is useful to have indelicate and unromantic terms for acts that can be indelicate and unromantic. Perhaps the delicate and romantic "make out" could be seen as more appropriate to marital affection, or to the more risque forms of pre-marital affection, but snog seems to fit just right for the more genteel activities in the sort of nightclubs that one does not attend if one fears violence or is snobby about looks.
Aug '12
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
What James said.
Think of it as onomatopoeia
Edited on February 2, 2013 at 2:14amJul '12
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
It might be an irish thing but my family in Belfast says 'People mover' for a van. I prefer van but people mover is much more descriptive. Also hoovering as a verb, Hoover is a brand of vacuum and the Brits have turned the brand into a verb how is that for marketing.
Oct '10
Re: English English and American English: The Highs and Lows
I'd be happy to trade accents with you, James.