[MotherGoose]

"Finally, in regard to the forthcoming US Presidential election, it is hoped that it will be run as a game of bridge so that there will be no trump."

Agreed (LOL)!

 

[UruauP]

There is no such thing as "pure English". It's pretty hard to to claim purity when 90% of English words are "borrowed" from other languages. English vocabulary comprises approximately 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic, and 6% Greek. Apple, milk, boss, cruise and yacht are originally Dutch words. House and husband are Danish in origin. Alcohol, cotton, hazard, lime, and jar are Arabic. We speak foreign words in almost every sentence we utter. But its only the so-called "American" words that people complain about. And yet, did you know that many of these "American" words were actually Old English words to start with?

The reason the American version of English is different is because Noah Webster deliberately set about to change the language (with respect to both usage and spelling) in an effort to unify the thirteen American colonies into a "united states". He thought that by having a common language that was different to British English, it would encourage cohesion and strengthen patriotism. So where did he get those words from? We only know of a few words that he might have made up. The rest were actually old English words that had fallen into disuse and he simply resurrected them. He also borrowed from the Native American Indians just as we borrow words from the Aboriginal languages. After all, the English language simply did not have words to describe things such as the plants and animals that were unique to the North American continent.

Webster also attempted to simplify English spelling, for example, by deleting silent vowels in words such as colour/color - an action that is quite logical and practical. Judging by most of the internet posts I see, even simplified spelling is beyond most people's capabilities.

Thank you for sharing the above. We learn things every day. Cheers!