As a 'Canuk', I too have some problems with the English I learned in school and
the English I see everyday.
For example, I spell Harbour, Favourite, etc., but I think you get the gist of
what I am saying, EH? (LOL)
Thomas Cameron
Québec Canada.
On 2011-01-28, at 4:35 PM, Michael Adams wrote:
> On Saturday 29 January 2011 06:38, Zaphod Feeblejocks wrote:
>> To whoever is resposible for uploading 3.3 to the mirrors....
>>
>> I can see a version that uses US regional spellings (English (US)).
>>
>> Nothing in standard English though.
>>
>> Will this be fixed?
>>
>> In case you think I am being pedantic, it's worth remembering that the idea
>> of 'English' versus 'English (UK)' often seen, suggests an American-centred
>> view of the world.
>>
>> There's English, as spoken in most Anglophone countries in a reasonably
>> uniform way (UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon,
>> etc), and there's the regional variations made popular by Mr Noah Webster &
>> co in USA. I do accept that Webster's ideas do make sense and are easier
>> for people learning English - but nonetheless, they are regional variations
>> most commonly used in USA.
>>
>> Even my Canadian friends insist their language is 'English-UK' rather than
>> 'English-US'.
>
> That would make it sound like you were a member of a majority, wouldn't it?
> Except that the USA has a larger population than the rest of us English as a
> first language countries combined. So if it wasn't for the fact that not all
> US citizens speak english as a first language (or even at all) and that the
> second largest English speaking country in the world is China (when you count
> those who do not have English as a first language), we would actually be able
> to work out whether more people wrote English(GB) or English(US) (which is in
> computer parlance historically called English, because, in general, the
> majority of programmers are/were there). Rather muddled, isn't it? I fear
> until more accurate figures are obtained nobody can claim the high ground,
> either on having a clear majority, or on being first with the language. As to
> the last point, read Chaucer. You could argue based on who wrote the first
> dictionary, but that is just elitist, dry and crusty and gets away from the
> real point of your email. So realy your "standard English" may not exist as
> you percieve it[1].
>
> The English(US) version of OpenOffice.org may not even be the first one
> released as IIUC the majority of programmers are in Germany.
>
> To download the English(GB) version of OpenOffice.org you generally have to
> wait a week or so for the maintainers of that version to pack it with the
> appropriate help files and dictionaries etc. Then if you are like me, you
> have to add the dictionaries for your local English version anyway. I have to
> add the New Zealand English and Maori dictionaries. BTW i don't speak Maori,
> but many Maori words are assimilated into New Zealand English (Tui {a bird},
> Waikato {a river and region} and Kaikoura {a town} are examples).
>
> HTH
>
> [1] http://grammar.about.com/od/grammarfaq/a/standardenglish.htm
>
> --
> Michael
>
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