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Words like "Appartment" and "elevator" are common in this country. American words have made their way here. American tv is very, very common here so we know what your words mean.
Watch out lar! Don't call them "American words" lar! Otherwise easthome will slap in your face lar.
easthome insists all English is same. So I assume the "lar" used in Singapore is acceptable in all English speaking countries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weatherguru
I find it funny that you think we don't say fortnight. I have been using that since nursery. You are very ignorant on this subject.
I find it funny that you think it is me who thinks that you guys don't say fortnight. To be honest, I didn't know the word in the first place
Not all English words originated in England. You will, obviously, never admit that. There is no way that English words that are corruptions of Native American words originated in England. It doesn't make them English words from England. However, they are still English words as in the English language. A lot of American words were not commonly used in the UK one, two, or three generations ago. Globalization has changed that.
Then there's your pronunciations. Linguists speculate that pronunciations in a particular area of the east coast of the US is probably closest to original Modern English pronunciations before certain pronunciations were adopted during the Hanover kings' reigns.
I didn't say they all did (a VAST majority of them did, probably more than 99%), anyway where they originate is irrelevant the fact is that they are used across the English speaking world makes them part of the English language. Lets take the word helicopter for example, a helicopter was invented after Australia and the US were 'formed', I don't know who invented the helicopter or where the word came from but it is NOT an 'American English', 'Australian English' or 'English English' word, it is simply 'English', that is the point, there is no such thing as 'American English'. Isn't there a post on here somewhere entitled something like 'in Australia do they speak American English or British English' which makes me laugh, this suggests that Americans can claim to have their own version of the language yet the Australians can't!!! The Australians never use the term 'Australian English' because I believe they are aware that there really is no such thing, like Americans Australians simply speak 'English'.
Watch out lar! Don't call them "American words" lar! Otherwise easthome will slap in your face lar.
easthome insists all English is same. So I assume the "lar" used in Singapore is acceptable in all English speaking countries.
I find it funny that you think it is me who thinks that you guys don't say fortnight. To be honest, I didn't know the word in the first place
Singapore isn't a country of native English speakers, somebody who isn't a native English speaker can either speak English properly or they can't if a Spaniard decides to use a word not in the English language when speaking English it isn't going to make the word used 'English' is it?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
I didn't say they all did (a VAST majority of them did, probably more than 99%), anyway where they originate is irrelevant the fact is that they are used across the English speaking world makes them part of the English language. Lets take the word helicopter for example, a helicopter was invented after Australia and the US were 'formed', I don't know who invented the helicopter or where the word came from but it is NOT an 'American English', 'Australian English' or 'English English' word, it is simply 'English', that is the point, there is no such thing as 'American English'. Isn't there a post on here somewhere entitled something like 'in Australia do they speak American English or British English' which makes me laugh, this suggests that Americans can claim to have their own version of the language yet the Australians can't!!! The Australians never use the term 'Australian English' because I believe they are aware that there really is no such thing, like Americans Australians simply speak 'English'.
Not everyone in the UK lives in London with exposure to many cultures, just like not everyone in the US lives in NYC. Not all Canadians live in Toronto, etc. Not everyone in the English-speaking world is your age. For older people the English language was much more national.
Like I said, I had to listen to the man from Manchester rail about the stupidity of an American waitress in the US who brought him a biscuit when he wanted a cookie. When he finally finished I asked him if she asked him if he wanted gravy on it. He said yes that that was more proof of her stupidity. I then, patiently, explained that what he wanted was a cookie. I explained to him that what is called a biscuit in the US is not sweet & is bready. It can be served with butter, like a roll, like a sandwich, or with gravy. He wasn't happy, nor did he thank me. He wanted to think that the woman was stupid.
Not everyone in the UK lives in London with exposure to many cultures, just like not everyone in the US lives in NYC. Not all Canadians live in Toronto, etc. Not everyone in the English-speaking world is your age. For older people the English language was much more national.
Like I said, I had to listen to the man from Manchester rail about the stupidity of an American waitress in the US who brought him a biscuit when he wanted a cookie. When he finally finished I asked him if she asked him if he wanted gravy on it. He said yes that that was more proof of her stupidity. I then, patiently, explained that what he wanted was a cookie. I explained to him that what is called a biscuit in the US is not sweet & is bready. It can be served with butter, like a roll, like a sandwich, or with gravy. He wasn't happy, nor did he thank me. He wanted to think that the woman was stupid.
And fries=chips. Chips=crisp. Mad in the UK is synonymous with crazy. In the US it's synonymous with angry for the most part. The average American has no idea what a lorry is. In the states, a basket with wheels is a cart, in the UK it's a trolley. In the US a trolley is a light rail vehicle.
Easthome seems to be fixated on the vocabulary only and not the way it's used which is specific to each place in many cases.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo
And fries=chips. Chips=crisp. Mad in the UK is synonymous with crazy. In the US it's synonymous with angry for the most part. The average American has no idea what a lorry is. In the states, a basket with wheels is a cart, in the UK it's a trolley. In the US a trolley is a light rail vehicle.
Easthome seems to be fixated on the vocabulary only and not the way it's used which is specific to each place in many cases.
Absolutely!!!
It's like when I brought up recipes. . . A poster got fixated on measurements when it's the ingredients that can make you crazy. I'd love to know what they think eggplant parmesan is. Eggplant & zucchini are called by their French names in England. Treacle - if the one brand of imported treacle isn't available at your US supermarket half of the sources that you look up tell you it's molasses ( but which kind?) & the rest tell you it's corn syrup (again, which kind?)
Mad is definitely angry in the US unless you're mad as a hatter. If you're mad as a hatter, you might get a stay in the loony bin. Trash cans = dust bins. There are countless potholes on the road to understanding.
Going back to the actual topic of the thread, if a nonEnglish speaker had learned the American form of English as a 2nd, 3rd or 4th language there is no reason to think that there will not be misunderstanding when confronted with someone speaking a different English dialect unless that person tries to speak generically & is willing to make sure that the discussion is being understood.
Sitting down in a restaurant to do business over a meal could be a source of landmines. If the person learned British English & is doing business in the US over lunch, & they order a burger, the waitress will probably ask if they want chips or fries. It's not the end of the world if they get a surprise, but it can throw things off.
Last edited by southbound_295; 04-03-2016 at 11:34 AM..
Singapore isn't a country of native English speakers, somebody who isn't a native English speaker can either speak English properly or they can't if a Spaniard decides to use a word not in the English language when speaking English it isn't going to make the word used 'English' is it?
According to the Constitution of Singapore,[1] the four official languages of Singapore are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English, while the national language is Malay
Tell me YOUR criterion or criteria how YOU decide which it is English or not lar.
And fries=chips. Chips=crisp. Mad in the UK is synonymous with crazy. In the US it's synonymous with angry for the most part. The average American has no idea what a lorry is. In the states, a basket with wheels is a cart, in the UK it's a trolley. In the US a trolley is a light rail vehicle.
Easthome seems to be fixated on the vocabulary only and not the way it's used which is specific to each place in many cases.
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.
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.
If what you've been trying to say is true, then why is it so easy to find references to British and American English? These terms were not made up by the people in this thread, they are common and widespread. So why are you right and the rest of the world wrong?
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23,814 posts, read 34,678,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo
If what you've been trying to say is true, then why is it so easy to find references to British and American English? These terms were not made up by the people in this thread, they are common and widespread. So why are you right and the rest of the world wrong?
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.
Last edited by southbound_295; 04-04-2016 at 10:01 AM..
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