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Thanks.
Texts lifted straight from US sources should be edited for Australian consumption.
I wince when I see Mom instead of Mum, tire instead of tyre, cell phone instead of mobile etc etc
Well so sorry for you!! NOT!! I’m from Rhodesia, Africa and there we call our mothers “Mom”, not Mum which, in our book, is purely English! So carry on “wincing” - mate!!!
American joke. very poor editing Seniors Discount Club !!!!!!!
And we don't have Graham Crackers here either or anything even similar !!!!!!!!
Just because it is an American joke it doesn't warrant criticism for "poor editing". I'm Australian and I understood it perfectly. And if you don't know what s'mores are, you can easily google the term and find out in a matter of seconds. Hey, you just might learn something.
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.
It's not a candy bar. S'mores are a snack that is typically eaten around a campfire. You make s'mores by toasting marshmallows on a stick over a fire, and then sandwiching them with a thin piece of chocolate between two graham crackers. Graham crackers were named after Sylvester Graham - they are made of coarse-ground wholewheat flour flavoured with honey. Since we don't have Graham crackers in Australia, a reasonable substitute is a thin digestive biscuit or a sweet cracker. Vanilla wafers work really well too. They are called s'mores because they are so good you want "some more" (the apostrophe indicates the deletion of the letters -ome).
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The text of the alleged "joke" (which I don't get) should have been edited prior to publication by replacing s'mores by an acceptable Aussie equivalent.
In modern times, an agency or committee must have been set up in the US to assign US-centric names to new words entering the English lexicon.
So for example when mobile phones were introduced which quite appropriately were called mobile because they are carried by their users, inexplicably the US decided to call them "cell" phones.
An illogical name given that cell phones are installed in prisons.
An equally illogical decision was to change the universal DD/MM/YYYY date format to MM/DD/YYYY.
The word-change committee seemingly also assigns pronunciations of words which are different to the rest of the world; eg: Moscow is pronounced MosCOW, the COW sound as applies to the animal.
Also Adolf is pronounced AIDolf instead of the correct ADolf.
So it seems that the US's historical desire to be "different" to its previous colonial masters still carries on in modern times.
"So for example when mobile phones were introduced which quite appropriately were called mobile because they are carried by their users, inexplicably the US decided to call them "cell" phones."
Since Americans (Motorola, an American company) invented the modern version of the mobile phone that we currently use, I guess they are entitled to call it what they wish. And there is a reason it is called a cell phone - because earlier prototypes of mobile phones prior to that were not cellular. Cell phone refers to fact that modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture for transmission. For specifics, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_network.
As for differences in date format, America inherited the months-first dates from the United Kingdom where it was used until the early 20th century. American colonists favoured the monthly format, while the British Empire drifted towards the European style of day-first. When working with lists of dates on a computer, the month-first format is easier to work with than day-first if you need to sort dates into chronological order.
There are many reasons why things are different between countries and just because things are different, it does not mean they are illogical or inferior. They are just different, which adds to the rich tapestry of life. How boring would it be if there were no differences.
As for the English language being different between the UK and America, the language varies even between states in Australia. For example, the cossies you wear in Melbourne are the togs you throw on in Brisbane and the bathers we wear in Perth. The deli you visit in South Australia is the milk bar in Victoria, etc. It makes no sense to me to get agitated by the differences.
Since Americans (Motorola, an American company) invented the modern version of the mobile phone that we currently use, I guess they are entitled to call it what they wish. And there is a reason it is called a cell phone - because earlier prototypes of mobile phones prior to that were not cellular. Cell phone refers to fact that modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture for transmission. For specifics, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_network.
As for differences in date format, America inherited the months-first dates from the United Kingdom where it was used until the early 20th century. American colonists favoured the monthly format, while the British Empire drifted towards the European style of day-first. When working with lists of dates on a computer, the month-first format is easier to work with than day-first if you need to sort dates into chronological order.
There are many reasons why things are different between countries and just because things are different, it does not mean they are illogical or inferior. They are just different, which adds to the rich tapestry of life. How boring would it be if there were no differences.
As for the English language being different between the UK and America, the language varies even between states in Australia. For example, the cossies you wear in Melbourne are the togs you throw on in Brisbane and the bathers we wear in Perth. The deli you visit in South Australia is the milk bar in Victoria, etc. It makes no sense to me to get agitated by the differences.
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I'm an Aussie woman who has got to admit to being a bit of a grammar nerd. I have learned so much from reading those replies...what a world it would be if everything was the same?
A well researched and most informative overview of the word differences between the US and other English speaking countries.
What's your opinion on the pronunciation differences; eg: Moscow and Adolf?
Just thought of another US oddity; curious forenames, such as Hunter.
I once worked in an office where there were two US guys; one named Earl, the other named Marshall.
Why would you assign a name such as Earl which may result in some people thinking the man was a nobleman; and Marshall which may result in some people thinking the man was either a senior army officer or a policeman?
Regarding pronunciation, the differences are not an issue for me. Pronunciation of English words varies all over the world, not just between Australia, Britain and the USA. Do we get upset when the Spanish pronounce the L in almond? Do we complain when Europeans pronounce mice as meece. Or when New Zealanders say "fush and chups". No, we don't - as long as the speakers are not American. Personally, I don't think pronunciation matters, as long as one can understand what is being communicated.
As for foreign words like Moscow and Adolf - perhaps the correct pronunciation is the way the Russians and Germans say them, not the way the English or the Americans do. Moscow, for example, is not pronounced MosCOW or MosCOE but Mask-VA.
Not to mention the absurdity of the British pronouncing lieutenant as "left"enant, when the word is of French origin and is correctly pronounced loo-tenant. No, best not to get into that.
Regarding first names, I agree with you about the oddity of using titles and ranks as first names but the Americans don't have a monopoly on that. If you google, you can find examples of British people with first names of military rank. The British also use some pretty odd first names, for example, St John (pronounced Sinjun), which is a lot more common than you might think. Or Ralph, pronounced Raife.
In addition, based on my many years of experience in paediatrics, I can assure you that Australians make a lot of brainless choices in their children's names.
If you are interested in the differences between American and British usage, an interesting and entertaining book to read is "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson. It looks at the development of the English language and various aspects of it, such as slang and swear words, names, regional differences, and absurdities, such as those under discussion.
Cathy Clemmenson of Spotswood NJ, who collects curious names wherever she goes, knows of a woman named June Wedding; not to be confused with the ceremony that united August First and his wife, Mae.
Cathy also swears to the existence of Threepersons Appleyard, Charlemagne Bilgefilter, Fabriola Thumbelina Blonigan, Orlando Furioso Bump, Hyacinth Delancy Dilts, Singular Onions Gallyhawks, Ecstacy Goon, Mary Rhoda Duck, Horace Manure, St. George Muckenfuss, Althea Foss McBiddlewhiskers, Olga Ooglaogla, Sonia Schmeckpeeper, Hogjaw Twaddle and Eucaliptus Yoho.
What’s your funniest?
I couldn’t stop laughing at Mary Rhoda Duck; why would the parents choose Rhoda as the middle name?
Some parents choice of forename combined with the surname beggar belief; eg: Iris Chew, Dick Scratcher.
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.
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