JK Rowling Announcement

[HarryT]

And it is of course a "zebra" crossing with a short "e", not a "zeeeeeebra" crossing .

[ApK]

In the American HHGTTG, it's called a "pedestrian crossing." That's when I had my "Ohhhh...it's a crosswalk, not a game trail" moment.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

And it is of course a "zebra" crossing with a short "e", not a "zeeeeeebra" crossing .

It is zebra with a long e and the first letter of zebra is a zee. HHGTTG got it wrong calling it zed zed. It's the UK version f English that's divulged from what English is supposed to be. See, the people who came over from the UK spoke English and the people left behind spoke English. Now America still speaks English and the UK speaks UK English.

[elcreative]

That's the US excuse for not keeping up with the proper evolution of the English language (and for inventing weird convoluted expressions when they can't think of real English words)...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by elcreative

That's the US excuse for not keeping up with the proper evolution of the English language (and for inventing weird convoluted expressions when they can't think of real English words)...

You just think that if it makes you feel better. But we know better.

But the truth is, nobody speaks proper English. Proper English would be like reading a Shakespeare play. English from what it start out as has diverged in every country and every country has it's own variation. Nobody's English is better then the other. It's just what it has become over time.

[elcreative]

Ah... didn't say "proper English," said "proper evolution of the English language." Anyway, we'll soon sort you out once you finally give up on that stupid rebellion you started in the latter part of the 18th century...

[ImogenRose]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

There have been quite a few threads about JK Rowling writing a new book and speculation about whether the HP books will be released as eBooks.

There was a thread on the BN forums discussing a new Web site JK Rowling set up. It links to a youtube site that references an announcement Ms Rowling will make next Wednesday.

http://www.pottermore.com
http://www.youtube.com/JKRowlingAnnounces

Unless this is a false alarm the announcement should be interesting.

Thanks for the links!

[Ryvyan]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Ah... didn't say "proper English," said "proper evolution of the English language." Anyway, we'll soon sort you out once you finally give up on that stupid rebellion you started in the latter part of the 18th century...

If British English is the properly evolved one, then Australians have basically bastardised the language no? ( Aussieland!!)

>> This forum is totally Americanised because it refuses to acknowledge my 's', but I won't change it

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But the truth is, nobody speaks proper English. Proper English would be like reading a Shakespeare play. English from what it start out as has diverged in every country and every country has it's own variation. Nobody's English is better then the other. It's just what it has become over time.

This. This discussion reminds me of the (free!) "Evolving English" exhibit I attended at the British Library. The British Library has acknowledged the dialectical evolution of the English language due to geographic distances, why not us?

However, I'd argue that proper English even exists in a Shakespeare play. Look at the number of variations of spelling on Shakespeare's name even! He spelled it differently in all of the 6 signatures that currently exist.

Plus the original prints of his plays that survived till today have different spelling and parts missing and parts added... NONE of which is consistent.

I think it is only in modern times that we care about spelling so much. The printing press has been invented for eons and it is only in recent decades that we are as anal-retentive as to put a red mark against grammar and spelling in a published material.


We forget that the beauty of the English language lies in how we can play around with words to make it seem more impressive than it is.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Ah... didn't say "proper English," said "proper evolution of the English language." Anyway, we'll soon sort you out once you finally give up on that stupid rebellion you started in the latter part of the 18th century...

You just keep thinking that. The men in the white coats will soon be there to take you to that nice place where you can get some medication that will help your delusions.

[carpetmojo]

Let us not forget Shakespeare's works have been "improved " and bashed about so much by directors, actors, scholars, Elizabethan con-men, monarchs,school exams.......

Performances using original folios are not an easy breeze to sit/work through, so I suppose you could say the working, much more "polished" scripts we have/use now are a result of evolutionary process.

Shaksper probably dashed 'em off as quick as he could and took the cash !

[snarkophilus]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Let us not forget Shakespeare's works have been "improved " and bashed about so much by directors, actors, scholars, Elizabethan con-men, monarchs,school exams.......

I was greatly amused to find my daughter is reading a "modernised" version of Romeo and Juliet at school next term. A luxury I didn't have a couple of decade ago

Cheers,
Simon.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Ryvyan

If British English is the properly evolved one, then Australians have basically bastardised the language no? ( Aussieland!!)

>> This forum is totally Americanised because it refuses to acknowledge my 's', but I won't change it




This. This discussion reminds me of the (free!) "Evolving English" exhibit I attended at the British Library. The British Library has acknowledged the dialectical evolution of the English language due to geographic distances, why not us?

However, I'd argue that proper English even exists in a Shakespeare play. Look at the number of variations of spelling on Shakespeare's name even! He spelled it differently in all of the 6 signatures that currently exist.

Plus the original prints of his plays that survived till today have different spelling and parts missing and parts added... NONE of which is consistent.

I think it is only in modern times that we care about spelling so much. The printing press has been invented for eons and it is only in recent decades that we are as anal-retentive as to put a red mark against grammar and spelling in a published material.


We forget that the beauty of the English language lies in how we can play around with words to make it seem more impressive than it is.

What is it with these forums... I said "evolution" which in this context means an ongoing process NOT a fixture and not the same as "evolved" and definitely not in opposition to the British Library 'Evolving English' ideas...