tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post2500799943076491089..comments2023-08-11T12:04:42.077+02:00Comments on The Church of Rationality: Asssorted Bits on the English LanguageLemmusLemmushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917054221547240969noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-45807497742180582582008-07-29T16:14:00.000+02:002008-07-29T16:14:00.000+02:00Well, for that particular rule you got the way edu...Well, for that particular rule you got the way educated people in southern america talk.<BR/><BR/>The first time I saw it wasn't that way for everybody was when I looked at GB Shaw's alphabet and they had two different symbols for something that for me was one sound.J Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03201350482758221085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-61345792944769002002008-07-29T00:48:00.000+02:002008-07-29T00:48:00.000+02:00J Thomas,there are, of course, all kinds of dialec...J Thomas,<BR/><BR/>there are, of course, all kinds of dialects, but what you learn in German schools is supposed to be standard British English (what linguists call "received pronunciation") - roughly, how educated people in Southern England speak.LemmusLemmushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00917054221547240969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-5766844770922174892008-07-28T23:16:00.000+02:002008-07-28T23:16:00.000+02:00There is no doubt that we need to have a new globa...There is no doubt that we need to have a new global language.<BR/><BR/>It should be non-national and relatively easy to learn.<BR/><BR/>That is why Bill's comments hit the mark.<BR/><BR/>Interestingly nine British MP's have nominated Esperanto for the Nobel Peace Prize 2008.<BR/><BR/>You can see this at http://www.lernu.netAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-60062614234713875662008-07-28T19:02:00.000+02:002008-07-28T19:02:00.000+02:00Have you ever considered Esperanto as the world la...Have you ever considered Esperanto as the world language? Take a look at www.esperanto.net<BR/><BR/>BillBill Chapmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12810992711601197508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-78761800684298394812008-07-28T18:57:00.000+02:002008-07-28T18:57:00.000+02:00In the USA, southerners pronounce pin and pen the ...In the USA, southerners pronounce pin and pen the same way, but yankees don't. It's a shibboleth.<BR/><BR/>Likely it's that way among two groups of british people too.J Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03201350482758221085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-46804962221581636002008-07-28T10:02:00.000+02:002008-07-28T10:02:00.000+02:00Sure, this cuts both ways. But you shouldn't have ...Sure, this cuts both ways. But you shouldn't have worried too much about "auf dem Flugzeug". Although this literally means that you had been sitting on the roof of the plane, people would have understood what you mean, and people appreciate it when English speakers make the effort. I am not the only person who finds it quite annoying when English speakers in Germany will just <I>assume</I> people speak English instead of first asking. Remindful of how many Germans behave in the Netherlands.LemmusLemmushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00917054221547240969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4266300416434206693.post-16098982973814568262008-07-28T06:53:00.000+02:002008-07-28T06:53:00.000+02:00Don't worry, prepositions are just as hard going f...Don't worry, prepositions are just as hard going from English to German.<BR/>Before we went to Germany, my high school German teacher made a special point of instructing us that, while we might talk about our time "on the plane" in English, we should definitely not say "auf dem Flugzeug" when telling our host families about our transatlantic flights.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com