Bad Grammar and Spelling

It's rampant on the internet. Daily, i read comments on news sites to stories and what not. What do i see? People that can't spell. People that don't know that a comma goes here, not here ,

People who don't know the difference between there, their and they're.

People who don't know that know is not no.

Makes me think that people are just dumb.

People who say "I could of/should of/would of" when it should be "could have".

Also, British people who use American spellings "color", "defense", "criticize", "mom", "ass". I swear they do it to make themselves look cool. Well, you don't, you look like an idiot because not only are you *not* American, you've never been there!

And no offence to Americans but some American-English words I really hate "gotten" for example, is the most hideous non-word I have ever used.

And double negatives to mean something slightly positive "not uncommon"... ok, so it is common then? (I blame politicians for their simple inability to give a straight answer)

Over here, the saying is shoulda, woulda, coulda. But that's not grammar people use in every day language. It's a slang for what some wished they would've done.

I can imagine reading American words when they should be British is irritating. It's like the word whilst. Here, it's while. Just different English language. I'm aware of spelling differences. That's fine by me. It's what separates Brits and Americans.

Absolutely, and unlike some I would have no problem if I were reading an article by an American as I would expect it. It wouldn't feel out of place. I just hate it when British people use Americanisms.

I find it odd hearing Americans use British-isms too, it never fits. We also use "pinch" as a slang word for "steal", as in "He pinched my cake!" I've heard Americans use that term several times in the last few years... would you say that there are British terms that are also making it into American English? Swear words sound especially strange, "wanker" and "bollocks" never sound right coming from one of you lot!

As you know, i'm a huge fan of Genesis. Well, their recent remasters of their cd's all have 2007/2008 interviews on them. I find you Brits (them specially) like to use the terms really and actually at the end of whatever they're talking about. It's a British thing (which i'm fine with).

Yea, reminds me of Never Mind The Bollocks by the Sex Pistols. When that came out (i was 14 then), i asked what the hell is a bollock?

Knickers is another. We prefer panties here.

So, beings that i like listening to British accents (it's cool sounding to me), what do you Brits think of American accents? Overall, what does it sound like to you guys? Also, can you tell the difference between Southern, Midwestern and Northeast accents? Northeast is NY, Boston, etc. I can tell the difference between them all even living here my whole life. Even Minnesotans talk different than other places here.

TexasBlue wrote:I find you Brits (them specially) like to use the terms really and actually at the end of whatever they're talking about.

"Really" isn't so common but "actually" is quite common. Tends to be teenagers most, who are also tending to say "innit though?" at the end of sentences too.

TexasBlue wrote:Also, can you tell the difference between Southern, Midwestern and Northeast accents?

Southern accents are distinct so yes, I can pick one out easily. But could I tell the difference between, say, Carolina and Virginia? Probably not.

New England accents are pretty easy for me to identify, as is a New York accent. Midwest, I'm not sure... probably not. I can easily tell the difference between a Canadian and an American accent though I'm not sure a lot of British people can.

Can you tell the difference between regional British accents though?

I'm from the west country and people laugh at our accents but there is so much variation between the counties. Bristol, for example, is quite pronounced. I doubt many people not from the west could tell the difference between a Bristolian and Wiltshire (where I'm from).

Interesting.

I can tell the differences between regions there. Since i'm a music fan and have seen interviews with different rockers from England, i can say that i hear a difference between Londoners (Genesis members for instance) and guys from the Birmingham area (Black Sabbath/Judas Priest). When i was stationed in Germany, we trained with the Brits. I had the pleasure of pulling guard duty with a guy from Scotland. He was very hard to understand because their accents are so thick and pronounced.

Even within London there are different accents. The really pronounced accents are the "cockneys" from the east end but in the North they tend to sound a little more refined.

Again in Scotland there are varieties. The really thick accents that few people can understand tend to be from Glasgow but the highlanders and Hebrides islanders tend to have different accents again. Islanders tend to be quite pronounced and speak slowly.

What struck me was watching an interview with the singer of Nazareth (from Dumfermline). He's got a very thick accent. But you hear him sing and it's all good.

British spelling annoys me - specifically what I call "the redundant U" (colour, humour, favour, etc). IMO, if a letter doesn't make a sound in a word then it shouldn't be used. Thus the correct American: color, humor, favor.

British accents are interesting as there are so many of them. Of course it's like that here in America too, but it's almost even more obvious there - at least from our (my) perspective. London (in general) has what I would call a neutral UK accent (except for South London cockney). But the further north you go in England, the more different the accents become. As Tex said in Birmingham you have a distinct dialect, in Sheffield another - in Liverpool you definitely have a distinct accent, which is different even from Manchester (only a few miles away). Then Newcastle has yet another dialect. And then there's the Scottish accent. Wow!

And no, I'm not being critical. I've been to England (Scotland and Wales) and I enjoyed the hell out of it. But while I was okay talking with people in England, the two days I spent in Edinburgh were a trial of linguistics. I just smiled and said nothing as I couldn't understand anyone.

lol
It's also funny how certain Brit phrases are different that ours. Bum (butt) or Whilst (while) or Knickers (panties). Yeah, my mind is in the gutter today.

i_luv_miley wrote:British spelling annoys me - specifically what I call "the redundant U" (colour, humour, favour, etc). IMO, if a letter doesn't make a sound in a word then it shouldn't be used. Thus the correct American: color, humor, favor.

Hey, who invented the language?

i_luv_miley wrote:London (in general) has what I would call a neutral UK accent

Haha, absolutely not. The "neutral" accent, we call 'home counties' which is all of those counties around London.

i_luv_miley wrote:(except for South London cockney).

Cockneys are east London.

i_luv_miley wrote:But the further north you go in England, the more different the accents become.

I'm from the west country and if you've seen 'Hot Fuzz', most people there talk like that. But again there are differences. I can instantly tell the difference between an accent from Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire with ease. In that film, Pegg has the 'home counties accent', and the others have the Gloucester accent. There is a brief appearance by Stephen Merchant who is from Bristol.

i_luv_miley wrote:And then there's the Scottish accent. Wow!

Even in Scotland there are regional varieties: highland, western isles, Glasgow etc.