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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
The point is some people might have a tendency to call something big whereas somebody else might have a tendency to use the term large, yet both big and large are English words, fries, chips, crisp, mad, crazy, angry, basket, cart, trolley they are ALL English words, (these particular words also happen to all have their origins in England, but it is irrelevant in which English speaking country words originate as long as it is a native English speaking country), whether you call the container you put your shopping in a trolley or a cart doesn't mean that you are speaking two different languages, a shopping trolley IS both a cart and a trolley the way something massive is both big and large.
You are the only person on this thread saying that people are claiming that there are different English languages. If you don't know the difference between languages & dialects look up the words. That's why they still make dictionaries.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by southbound_295
If it was all just one language, with no dialects, the man from Manchester would have gotten what he wanted when he asked for a biscuit. Aluminum/aluminium would have one spelling & one pronunciation. People in the US, when reading an English recipe, wouldn't be thinking "What's castor sugar? ".
There are references to British & American English, everywhere, as the 2 predominant dialects. American English includes Canadian English.
FYI, Gentoo, forgot to mention that this was meant as an addition to your excellent post, not a reply to you. Hope you took it that way.
You are the only person on this thread saying that people are claiming that there are different English languages. If you don't know the difference between languages & dialects look up the words. That's why they still make dictionaries.
I understand the difference, I've never said there isn't 'American dialect' although that in itself suggests that everybody across the whole of America has identical 'dialect' which I can't imagine to be true, there are an awful lot of different 'English dialects' both between and within Anglo countries, what I am saying is there is no such thing as 'American English' which is a claim that it is a different language, which it isn't.
A dialect is a different language like Neapolitan or Venetian, 'American English' or 'Indian English' are not dialects, they are accents: Italian or German have dialects, not English (aside from the so-called Ebonics and other limited sub-variant but AE is not a dialect).
Quote:
Originally Posted by southbound_295
roflmao!
Still not a dialect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mahhammer
"Fade teil thee zo lournagh, co Joane, zo knaggee?
Th' weithest all curcagh, wafur, an cornee.
Lidge w'ouse an a milagh, tis gaay an louthee:
Huck nigher; y'art scuddeen; fartoo zo hachee?
Well, gosp, c'hull be zeid; mot thee fartoo, an fade;
Ha deight ouse var gabble, tell ee zin go t'glade.
Ch'am a stouk, an a donel; wou'll leigh out ee dey.
Th' valler w'speen here, th' lass ee chourch-hey.
Yerstey w'had a baree, gist ing oor hoane,
Aar gentrize ware bibbern, aamzil cou no stoane.
Yith Muzleare had ba hole, t'was mee Tommeen,
At by mizluck was ee-pit t'drive in."
What ails you so melancholy, quoth John, so cross?
You seem all snappish, uneasy, and fretful.
Lie with us on the clover, 'tis fair and sheltered:
Come nearer; you're rubbing your back; why so ill tempered?
Well, gossip, it shall be said; you ask what ails me, & for what;
You have put us in talk, till the sun goes to set.
I am a fool, and a dunce; we'll idle out the day.
The more we spend here, the less in the churchyard.
Yesterday we had a goal, just in our hand.
Their gentry were quaking, themselves could not stand.
If Good-for-little had been buried, it had been my Tommy,
Who by misluck was placed to drive in.
Yola, a language extinct in the 19th century which is closely related to English.
It's meant to be read exactly as it is spelled, so "dreeve" for drive and "hoh-neh" for hand. "fah-deh" for "fade", "theeh" for thee.
If we admit there are no dialects, then by your definition Russian has no accents to begin with considering it is even more homogenous than English.
Exactly, that's a dialect.
Now you all see why 'American English' is not a dialect?
Never said a thing about Russian which is widely recognised by Russian themselves to be very homogeneous like French (which actively killed most of its minority languages).
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
I understand the difference, I've never said there isn't 'American dialect' although that in itself suggests that everybody across the whole of America has identical 'dialect' which I can't imagine to be true, there are an awful lot of different 'English dialects' both between and within Anglo countries, what I am saying is there is no such thing as 'American English' which is a claim that it is a different language, which it isn't.
First off, American English includes Canada. Both countries have regional dialects as well as many accents. Regional dialects & their accents are influenced by who settled an area.
Again, you are the person in this thread saying that it is separate languages. No one else is saying that. I have rarely seen someone from an English-speaking country speak in an interview with subtitles running on the screen to translate them.
First off, American English includes Canada. Both countries have regional dialects as well as many accents. Regional dialects & their accents are influenced by who settled an area.
Again, you are the person in this thread saying that it is separate languages. No one else is saying that. I have rarely seen someone from an English-speaking country speak in an interview with subtitles running on the screen to translate them.
He still hasn't answered my question of why he's right and everyone else is wrong.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by xander.XVII
A dialect is a different language like Neapolitan or Venetian, 'American English' or 'Indian English' are not dialects, they are accents: Italian or German have dialects, not English (aside from the so-called Ebonics and other limited sub-variant but AE is not a dialect).
Still not a dialect.
Exactly, that's a dialect.
Now you all see why 'American English' is not a dialect?
Never said a thing about Russian which is widely recognised by Russian themselves to be very homogeneous like French (which actively killed most of its minority languages).
You know this how? Oh, yes, by using the German definition of Dialekt. It's a totally different thing. High German was adopted to give a unified language. Different forms of English developed organically, influenced by many factors.
Let's take cookie. It's a corruption of a Dutch word. It entered the English language in the American colonies in the area that was formerly New Netherlands. Thanks to movies & TV, most young people in England should know what the word means. 2 or 3 generations ago they were unfamiliar with the word. In the case of English, TV, films, & the internet have expanded the vocabulary of English-speaking people so that they understand words that were not previously spoken where they live. Whereas in Germany English words are being adopted to replace (usually )very long German words. Let's take computer as an example. There is a German word for computer. It's very long. Imagine my surprise when I was walking in a department store in Trier & saw the signs saying "Computer Sale!".
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo
He still hasn't answered my question of why he's right and everyone else is wrong.
That's because he can't. I've repeatedly pointed things out that are conveniently ignored. To acknowledge these things would point out the gaping holes in his argument.
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