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Category: Community
Forum: Chat Room
Thread: Your most frequent English language stumble |
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Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 79
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SNURK
Veteran Cruncher The Netherlands Joined: Nov 26, 2007 Post Count: 1217 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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Alright, last off topic post from me:
----------------------------------------You English speakers know more Dutch words than you may realize. Next time you use the word boss, candy, cookie, dollar, dyke, freight, iceberg, landscape, polder, pump, skate, sleigh, stove, waffle, wagon, yacht, Yankee or even Santa Claus, you know you used a word that is borrowed from the Dutch language. And there's even more here.  |
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Mamajuanauk
Master Cruncher United Kingdom Joined: Dec 15, 2012 Post Count: 1900 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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my most common stumble is words that are not officaly words but people use them a lot of the time like nasher - Just to clarify Alot is actually 2 words A & Lot spoken quickly to sound like one - always confusing to those who aren't (are not) first language English speakers, most likely similar confusions exist in other languages...Alot cause and a list like non-words http://www.mindspring.com/~jimvb/nonword.htm#frontground While 'Cause' is both a word and an abbreviation: An accident may cause injury Because is often abbreviated to cause spoken cos (rather like lettice) The English language is much abused and changed over time, it is made up of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Greek, Latin (roman) and a large amount of French! In today's day and age, I think very few people skeap correct English!
Mamajuanauk is the Name! Crunching is the Game!
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Mamajuanauk
Master Cruncher United Kingdom Joined: Dec 15, 2012 Post Count: 1900 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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Affect and Effect are two words I struggle with, so I try to avoid using them. Cheating I know, but it's easier! Now, there's one that always gets me! Still! Never did workout which is which...English must be one of the hardest languages to learn as a 2nd language. I'm always impressed when I see people from non-english speaking countries posting in english. Infact, sometimes their english is better than a native english speakers! :)
Mamajuanauk is the Name! Crunching is the Game!
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Mamajuanauk
Master Cruncher United Kingdom Joined: Dec 15, 2012 Post Count: 1900 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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"There is several Jones sisters - this is borderline to me; it should be 'are'." Not borderline, you are absolutely correct, it should be 'are'You managed to hit on one of the more difficult exceptions with this line. I'm still not sure why they call them exceptions because they are more common than examples that follow the rules, but I digress. In your example, 'there is' links to 'several'; the sisters have nothing to do with the verb and pronoun, they are merely descriptive adjectives. What this means is it should read 'There are' because several is always, always, always plural. Somewhere exists a list of words that are variously singular and/or plural and many native American speakers simply cannot get them right. I'd have to find my old (not Olde) English textbook to properly list them. Edited for punctuation, oh the irony. 
Mamajuanauk is the Name! Crunching is the Game!
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Mamajuanauk
Master Cruncher United Kingdom Joined: Dec 15, 2012 Post Count: 1900 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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I rate myself as knowing/understanding 1.2 languages - .8 English and .3 Spanish. You must be better at language than math. Cheers American is not English, it is clearly a language that was based on English in some dim and distant past that has developed as with most languages into what is used today. American has significant differences from English, there are a whole heap of them, but names for everyday items provide good evidence: Description US UK Engine Compartment of the car Hood Bonnet Luggage compartment of car Trunk Boot Wheel covers of car Fender(s) Wing(s) Walkway between road and building Sidewalk Footpath The list could go on a while, but you get what I mean, I hope. SO! What bugs me? The abbreviation of the word Mathematics! In American it is always Math, this will always be incorrect as Mathematics is a collective name for the multiple disciplines within the science of numbers etc. Thus Math as an abbreviation of something that clearly refers to more than one item/subject is by nature âPluralâ thus Math should be Maths!
Mamajuanauk is the Name! Crunching is the Game!
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twilyth
Master Cruncher US Joined: Mar 30, 2007 Post Count: 2130 Status: Offline Project Badges: 
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"There is several Jones sisters - this is borderline to me; it should be 'are'." Not borderline, you are absolutely correct, it should be 'are'You managed to hit on one of the more difficult exceptions with this line. I'm still not sure why they call them exceptions because they are more common than examples that follow the rules, but I digress. In your example, 'there is' links to 'several'; the sisters have nothing to do with the verb and pronoun, they are merely descriptive adjectives. What this means is it should read 'There are' because several is always, always, always plural. Somewhere exists a list of words that are variously singular and/or plural and many native American speakers simply cannot get them right. I'd have to find my old (not Olde) English textbook to properly list them. Edited for punctuation, oh the irony. Noun verb agreement can be particularly tricky. You see this especially when you have nouns that are singular in form but are used to denote collectives. See example 15 here . The problem is that there is no hard and fast rule in those cases. It is completely dependent upon context. Welcome to the wonderful world of English grammar.    |
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Sgt.Joe
Ace Cruncher USA Joined: Jul 4, 2006 Post Count: 7655 Status: Offline Project Badges:
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American is not English, it is clearly a language that was based on English in some dim and distant past that has developed as with most languages into what is used today. I would beg to differ. I have no trouble watching a movie made in England by the English and having it make perfect sense. Sure some of the words are different torch=flashlight, flat=apartment, lorry=truck, spanner=wrench, etc., but with context most of these are readily obvious. Besides, a number of BBC productions are quite popular here and quite well made too I might add. No problem understanding them. All that being said, I will admit it is sometimes difficult to understand rapid cockney or a deeply accented Scot, but all in all remarkably similar. Now if you try to read Chaucer, that is a whole other ballgame.  Cheers
Sgt. Joe
*Minnesota Crunchers* |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
I rate myself as knowing/understanding 1.2 languages - .8 English and .3 Spanish. You must be better at language than math. Cheers American is not English, it is clearly a language that was based on English in some dim and distant past that has developed as with most languages into what is used today. American has significant differences from English, there are a whole heap of them, but names for everyday items provide good evidence: Description US UK Engine Compartment of the car Hood Bonnet Luggage compartment of car Trunk Boot Wheel covers of car Fender(s) Wing(s) Walkway between road and building Sidewalk Footpath The list could go on a while, but you get what I mean, I hope. SO! What bugs me? The abbreviation of the word Mathematics! In American it is always Math, this will always be incorrect as Mathematics is a collective name for the multiple disciplines within the science of numbers etc. Thus Math as an abbreviation of something that clearly refers to more than one item/subject is by nature âPluralâ thus Math should be Maths! Believe me, the differences between British and American English also bore non-native speakers, who face both forms and sometimes mix words from both, like using "trunk" and "lowry" in the same sentence. It´s the same here, Brazilian and European Portuguese also have different words for the same thing. Actually, depending on the part of Brazil, the vocabulary changes a lot also. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
The worst case is where the same word means exactly the opposite in Brit & Yank. Take the term "The motion was tabled" If you were the author and a Brit you would be delighted, if you were the author and a Yank you would be furious. To a Brit it means that it will be discussed, to a Yank it means it has been put aside without being discussed!
verb (transitive) to place on a table (British) to submit (a bill, etc) for consideration by a legislative body (US) to suspend discussion of (a bill, etc) indefinitely or for some time |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
When I am in the UK I have to remember to use the word trousers instead of pants. In the US they mean the same thing, in the UK they are altogether different.
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