How do Americans feel about UK spelling?

[mjhudston]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I'm a lesbian. I used to work in a convenience store. I had an Irish born customer (who is also a friend) come up to me one time and said she really needed a fag and when I replied, "Here I am, honey," it dawned her what she had said and turned red as a beet. That was when I cracked up. When she saw me laughing, she cracked up. Everyone else in line thought we were a few bricks shy of a load. I probably should have told her it would at least cost her dinner and a movie.

That's gotta be worth some Karma.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by mjhudston

That's gotta be worth some Karma.

Thank you (said Jeannie while taking a bow). Truth can be stranger than fiction.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by mjhudston

oh and a bit of evidence as to why I think I'm right.

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Great_Britain

and an extract from wikipedia

Use of the term Great Britain
"Great Britain" refers to the majority of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (UK). It refers to the largest island only, or to England, Scotland and Wales as a unit (though these three countries also include many smaller islands). It does not include Northern Ireland.[29]

You're entirely correct about what "Great Britain" means. I don't think I've disputed that. But "United Kingdom" was used before Ireland became part of the kingdom, for the union of England (& Wales) with Scotland.

So, between 1707 and 1800 we were "The United Kingdom of Great Britain".

[Joebill]

Originally Posted by basilsands

Right...Now I am envisioning a big bearded Scot dressed as a Tele-Tubby. My eyes hurt....where's the Lysol?

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant.

[Freeshadow]

now you all got me - for me a jumper is the thingy you operate manually on a PCB when no dip switch is present, i.e you have to close or open the contact by a wire-containing plastic cap.

btw. how about 'die' and 'dice'
I remember it was a gag in the game "Leisure Suit Larry 5" where he constantly used 'dice' for singular, was corrected to "Die!" and complained about the hostility.
Some months ago I've been told the usage of 'die' for sing. is rather old-fashioned what I'm kind of unwilling too believe, since if it would be, people wouldn't 'get' the joke quoted above.
It is not really very problematic issue since rolplay gamers (tabletop) commonly refer to their dice as 'd(number-of-sides) calling a cube shaped one d6. I'm just curious.

[crich70]

That reminds me of the time I got my 'peers' in high school good. They would often torment me for whatever reason. One day one of them threatened some sort of dire consequences in Social Studies class and I replied back,"go ahead make my day," in my best Clint Eastwood impression. Several classmates heard me and broke out laughing.

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I'm a lesbian. I used to work in a convenience store. I had an Irish born customer (who is also a friend) come up to me one time and said she really needed a fag and when I replied, "Here I am, honey," it dawned her what she had said and turned red as a beet. That was when I cracked up. When she saw me laughing, she craced up. Everyone else in line thought we were a few bricks shy of a load. I probably should have told her it would at least cost her dinner and a movie.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

You're entirely correct about what "Great Britain" means. I don't think I've disputed that. But "United Kingdom" was used before Ireland became part of the kingdom, for the union of England (& Wales) with Scotland.

So, between 1707 and 1800 we were "The United Kingdom of Great Britain".

Since the US Post Office was formed in 1792 (or 1775 if you count pre-war) I wonder if they determined country abbreviations back then when the world was a different place. Countries have changed dramatically since.

What would England, Scotland and Wales been called in 1792?

Great Britain is very specific and distinctive.

United Kingdom is less so. In 1792 there were many more "kingdoms" united or otherwise.

[Jamess]

One phrase that's always amused me was the classic line uttered by an Australian Flight Attendant when asked if there was any more room on a particular aircraft. Her response was, "Sorry Oka the Fokker's Choka". Translated for our American friends means "Sorry dude the plane is full".
Mind you, the term Oka has almost disappeared from use nowadays.

[basilsands]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

now you all got me - for me a jumper is the thingy you operate manually on a PCB when no dip switch is present, i.e you have to close or open the contact by a wire-containing plastic cap.

I tend to try and hide my nerdiness....but I have a bunch of those kind of jumpers in my desk, even though I haven't had to use one in years I still have a habit of keeping them from any drives or boards I throw away.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Luke King

As an Australian author, I've been wondering whether I ought to use Australian (which is basically UK) spelling in my novels.

On the one hand, I'm thinking two-thirds of my audience are American. On the other hand, I would prefer to use the language as it was (before you all went and changed it).

Are Americans used to seeing UK spelling in books? Will it put them off reading? Will some think I've spelt the words incorrectly?

To me it's all the same and I treat it as such. When I type certain words such as realise, I use the British spelling because of the placement of keys on the keyboard. It's easier to type an "s" than a "z" and as far as I'm concerned, they're both grammatically correct. If I'm reading a book with British grammar then I notice that I'll accidentally type "favour" instead of "favor". Sometimes I'll back track, other times I just leave it. As I see it, they are both grammatically correct. Now, is it grammatically correct to use half American, half British spelling in a single paragraph? Probably not, but I still wouldn't say it's "wrong".

[Joebill]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

now you all got me - for me a jumper is the thingy you operate manually on a PCB when no dip switch is present, i.e you have to close or open the contact by a wire-containing plastic cap.

btw. how about 'die' and 'dice'
I remember it was a gag in the game "Leisure Suit Larry 5" where he constantly used 'dice' for singular, was corrected to "Die!" and complained about the hostility.
Some months ago I've been told the usage of 'die' for sing. is rather old-fashioned what I'm kind of unwilling too believe, since if it would be, people wouldn't 'get' the joke quoted above.
It is not really very problematic issue since rolplay gamers (tabletop) commonly refer to their dice as 'd(number-of-sides) calling a cube shaped one d6. I'm just curious.

One of my hobbies is colelcting dice. I'm not the guy in the Ginuess Book, thats Kevin.

I hear at the local sf/game convention: six-sider, dee-6, your basic die, etc.

http://dice.drivein-jim.net/ my dice site about 2000 dice.

http://www.dicecollector.com/ Kevin's site, over 31000 dice.

[crich70]

Actually prior to 1840 the idea of the postage stamp wasn't even standardized so it's not likely there were any such country abbreviations in the 1790's. Ships bound for a given country would likely have carried mail as part of their cargo. Postage was paid by the receiver of the package prior to 1840 though. Since the act of union joined England and Scotland together in 1707 the combined countries would have been called Great Britain in the 1790's.

Originally Posted by Fbone

Since the US Post Office was formed in 1792 (or 1775 if you count pre-war) I wonder if they determined country abbreviations back then when the world was a different place. Countries have changed dramatically since.

What would England, Scotland and Wales been called in 1792?

Great Britain is very specific and distinctive.

United Kingdom is less so. In 1792 there were many more "kingdoms" united or otherwise.

[Joebill]

Postage stamps came along in the 1800s.

I forget the year it ended, but letters in the colonial times, the receiver paid the postage, not the sender. But it wasn't a postage stamp.

The first British one was the penny black, in 1840.

First stamp for the United States was 1847.

basic stamp beginnings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

To me it's all the same and I treat it as such. When I type certain words such as realise, I use the British spelling because of the placement of keys on the keyboard. It's easier to type an "s" than a "z" and as far as I'm concerned, they're both grammatically correct. If I'm reading a book with British grammar then I notice that I'll accidentally type "favour" instead of "favor". Sometimes I'll back track, other times I just leave it. As I see it, they are both grammatically correct. Now, is it grammatically correct to use half American, half British spelling in a single paragraph? Probably not, but I still wouldn't say it's "wrong".

That's what I like about English as a language. Whatever works, is correct. Or at least, correct enough.

How weird to be in a place where they are always trying to pass laws regarding language and it's use.

I wonder how much the English language itself has played in the development of the US. There aren't many places on the planet that have had so many possible linguistic paths. What if French or Cherokee had been the most convenient language of commerce and trade 2 or 3 hundred years ago? What would North America be like today?

[Joebill]

I would be able to speak the language of one group of my ancestors, Cherokee.