Good translations, except for one. Fender is not American for bumper, but for wing. Bumper is bumper in both versions of English.
I used to make the same mistake many years ago, when I still lived in England. We had a fender around our fireplace, which looked very much like a car's bumper, so I assumed the American term "fender" referred to what we called the bumper. It was only after I emigrated to Canada (in 1957) that I discovered my error. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Behalf Of Tom Wade VMS Systems >Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 02:24 >To: U.S. Metric Association >Subject: [USMA:34604] Re: spelling > > > >>My point was not that I am advocating that all Americans should change to >>the 'metre' spelling but rather the use of two different >spellings comes to >>us all at a considerable cost. > >But is this cost really necessary ? The most important point about the >differences between American and British spelling is that the words are >still mutually intelligible. We can see the spelling differences, but we >know exactly what is being meant. In all the discussion forums I take part >in which contain a mix of English speaking Americans & non-Americans, I >have never seen a case where spelling causing confusion (apart from the >occasional idiot who will try to insist that one is 'right' and the other >'wrong'). > >A far greater impediment is where totally different words are used, e.g. >car parts trunk [boot], hood [bonnet], muffler [silencer], fender [bumper], >or where the same word means something entirely different e.g. biscuit, >chips. This has by far the potential to cause genuine confusion, and >requires much more editorial effort to protect against. In comparison, >trying to standardize (or even standardise) on spelling would make little >or no difference. > >As for the metric issue, the spelling and pronunciation of the unit >words (not the symbols) vary between languages and dialects. Thus if >confusion is to be avoided, the symbols should be used in articles rather >than the names. > >Finally, the object of this group is to promote the greater use of >metric worldwide, particularly in the US. One of the main obstacles is >the perception that metric is something 'foreign' being pushed on them. >Trying to push British or French spelling conventions on metric units >will simply reinforce this perception, and make metric conversion >harder. > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >Tom Wade | EMail: tee dot wade at eurokom dot ie >EuroKom | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696 >A2, Nutgrove Office Park | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697 >Rathfarnham | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer >Dublin 14 | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !" >Ireland >
