Both my parents are Irish. I was born in Leicestershire, England and I became French by marriage. I usually write in English (U.K.-Les-Irish) and occasionally in French (Burgundy). What language would I have written in if I had been born in Hong Kong, I wonder? Patrick Grace (Paticus Graccus)
On 30 January 2011 02:42, Harold Fuchs <[email protected]> wrote: > > "Zaphod Feeblejocks" <[email protected]> wrote in message > news:[email protected]... >> >> 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'. >> >> Many thanks, >> >> ZF > > The minute you say (as you did) "... and there's the regional variations > ..." you leave standard English behind and enter some world inhabited by the > bewildered. It's "there ARE the regional variations". The verb should agree > with its predicate. So both should either be singular - there is ("there's) > the regional variation - or plural - there are (there're) the regional > variations. > > Please close this thread. > > -- > Harold Fuchs > London, England > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > -- Pat Grace --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
