cydonia325 
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Lesley,
Excellent... off to Mastermind you go. :)
No contractions allowed, under any circumstances! I was bounced around many schools, and the only remnant of my time at a Catholic school is my aversion to contractions.
John McEnroe is consistent; I never heard him once use a contraction, even on his talk show. I have no idea why contractions are/were such a big deal to the good Sisters.
Reply #181. Sep 30 10, 7:14 PM
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cydonia325
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Lochalsh,
You are probably correct, but I am clueless about rosaries. I attended Catholic school for several years, but I am not a practicing Catholic. I remember my classmates "saying" the rosary, but that was a long time ago - "telling" could be the correct term.
Reply #182. Sep 30 10, 7:21 PM
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daver852
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Here's one for y'all: in America we would say say someone was "in the hospital," while in Britain they would say someone was "in hospital." Any ideas why Americans use the definite article in this case, while our poor cousins across the pond omit it?
Reply #183. Sep 30 10, 7:34 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Cyd, I didn't grow up Catholic, but, as a Spanish major, I certainly had exposure to that faith. :) I thought Mac might have said that the linesman that he'd lost count! (count, recount, tell--pretty well synonymous)
Lesley, well, maybe not drama, but certainly Pavarotti. I mean, Italians live only a few countries away from y'all; haven't they influenced you? ;)
Reply #184. Sep 30 10, 7:47 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Mac might have told the linesman that the linesman had lost count. Don't know if I made sense the first time, or the second. Tired here. :(
Reply #185. Sep 30 10, 7:48 PM
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cydonia325
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in: college/university, hospital, residence, graduate school, luck, trouble, etc.
at: sea, home, large, etc.
The definite article is implied when an institution, general location, or state of mind is used in a sentence.
The definite article is used for more specific terms, such as "in the room, in the desk", "at the restaurant".
Hang on, "at the office", "at the dentist", "in the hole", "at the hotel"?
Etymology unknown, but over the years, AmE has deviated from BrE or even German, for that matter.
Reply #186. Sep 30 10, 8:17 PM
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cydonia325
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Lochalsh,
Rosaries, John McEnroe, schwas, Spain and yellow Spitfires. I think I should be off to bed, too. Not to THE bed ;)
Reply #187. Sep 30 10, 8:25 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Cyd, and to think that all I was looking for was a discussion of verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. ;)
Reply #188. Sep 30 10, 9:01 PM
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daver852
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Some pundit (I forget his name, and have neither the time nor inclination to look up him up) once observed that if Shakespeare were to be reincarnated, he would find himself perfectly at home in the Ozark Mountains of America, could get by in Dublin, but would be totally unable to communicate orally with the citizens of modern London. The "great vowel shift" alone would make communication impossible. While it is impossible to say which dialects of English are the best, it is obvious that the "purest" English is to be found in the United States.
Reply #189. Sep 30 10, 9:29 PM
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cydonia325
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daver,
Same response, different thread. Remember this reply, from the same board, "Which Language Would You Learn?" thread? Are you a travel agent? :)
daver852
" I can understand your difficulties with people in New York and New Jersey; we Americans can't understand them, either. But as for "English spoken properly" - ha! A famous linguist once observed that if Shakespeare were brought back to life today, he'd be completely unable to communicate with anyone in London; could get by passably well in Dublin; but would find himself right at home in the Ozarks. Looking at the rhyme schemes used in poetry and other linguistic clues, there seems to be little doubt that the Northern Appalachian dialect, which I grew up speaking, is the closest surviving version of "Classical English." "
Reply #37. Feb 27 10, 11:07 PM Delete - Edit
Reply #190. Sep 30 10, 10:10 PM
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Cymruambyth
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Based on daver's contention that the 'purest English is spoken in the Ozarks', it follows that the purest French is spoken in Qubec and the purest Spanish is spoken in Argentina! I'm pretty sure that the Academie Francais would dispute that as well as whatever body it is that maintains the Spanish language in Spain. Even distinguished linguists get derailed by their own hypotheses at times.
I'd like to point out that Shakespeare would be able to communicate well today with people in rural Warwickshire, his native heath, while even in the 16th and 17th centuries Ozarks residents would be more comfortable conversing with the Scots and the Irish than with Londoners!
Reply #191. Oct 01 10, 6:39 AM
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| Lochalsh
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Cym, you might like to read "Language Myths," in which Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill debunk several misconceptions, including the one about Shakespeare in the mountains of the U.S. It's a fascinating book that has a place of prominence on my shelves. Here's their essay on the subject we have at hand (though not the initial subject of this thread):
 http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/dictionary/articles/speaklikeshakespeare.pdf
__________
This conception about Shakespeare in the Appalachians and Ozarks--and a similar one about the resemblance of the present-day Spanish of Northern New Mexico to the language of the conquistadores--is based on early isolation. But guess what? The people in those areas now have cars, television, and the Internet, and the old vestiges of their language are quickly disappearing and being replaced by usage that reflects their current needs. That's why I'm not comfortable with the "purest": language is mutable, as well as situational.
Cym, it's called the Real Academia Española in Spain. I consult their dictionary every single day when I have a translation job.
Reply #192. Oct 01 10, 8:15 AM
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| Lochalsh
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By the way, the languages of Native America, as well as Spanish and French, held linguistic sway in the Ozarks until the Louisiana Purchase (1803), so Shakespeare's tongue really didn't show up there until early in the 19th century and had to do battle with the other languages for prominence.
http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Ozarks-History-and-Cultural-Relations.html
French in the Ozarks? Yes, and they named the area: Aux Arcs.
Reply #193. Oct 01 10, 8:25 AM
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| lesley153
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Love that line:
"... the major Indian groups in the region ... eventually ceded their lands and moved west."
Out of kindness and consideration to the new arrivals, no doubt.
Reply #194. Oct 01 10, 12:43 PM
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| REDVIKING57
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Hmmm! Just a point of clarification. Apologies to the OP for being a little 'off-topic',but I'm a getting a little confused - or someone else is.
Daver,so it's your contention that the British,particularly the English,don't speak,or spell, ENGLISH correctly? But SOME people in America do? Well,that's logical....... :))
Anybody got a straight-jacket they can lend me? I know someone in desperate need..........DOH! Beam me up,Scooty!
Reply #195. Oct 01 10, 1:19 PM
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| lesley153
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No, sorry, but I've got a thumbscrew, which might help take your mind off your agitated brain. Want to give it a go?
Reply #196. Oct 01 10, 2:09 PM
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trojan11
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If Daver means by 'purest' that which is undiluted and has not changed, then he may well be correct. On the other hand he might just as well be completely wrong. Only an idiot would claim that the purest form of such a much travelled and internationally used language is purest in any particular location, simply because such an absurd claim is impossible to prove.
However, English in its purest form? Old English, and long dead. Angles, Saxons and Frisians developed the English language, and that was the language of England until Middle English came along. So, if you should be wandering about England and come across a centuries old transplanted German warbling happily away as he cuts a stick (or a throat), there, in all likelyhood, you will find your pure English.
By the way; that good old boys tune, 'The Horst Wessel' song, sounds remarkably like current American 'rap' when sung backwards to 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'.
Reply #197. Oct 01 10, 2:46 PM
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| lesley153
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An elegant point, Trojan - what does "purest" mean? English has spent hundreds of years evolving from a mixture of dozens of different languages. I can't imagine a time when it's ever been pure.
Excuse me while I practise The Horst Wessel song (forwards). *sigh* Where would we be without beautiful music?
Reply #198. Oct 01 10, 5:53 PM
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Cymruambyth
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Re Lesley's post #180: Lochalsh, the Welsh flat a permeates my speech (and that of most people born north of the Home Counties) but even I pronounce it drah-mah! Oddly enough, while drama is pronounced drah-mah, dramatic has two flat a sounds.
Reply #199. Oct 01 10, 7:55 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Thank you for your comment, Cym. Drama sounds strange with two short a sounds, as would Obama. ;)
Now, I'm off to listen to Bryn Terfel while reading Dylan Thomas....
Reply #200. Oct 01 10, 8:24 PM
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