Things you'd like to say, but can't

[Alex321]

I have seen some English speakers in the USA referring to the language that they speak as 'American', which irritates me even more!

But the language they speak isn't quite the same as English, so why does that irritate you?

 

[No Ta Doctor]

But the language they speak isn't quite the same as English, so why does that irritate you?

Because largely when people say they speak "American" they're just doing it through the bog-standard ignorance engendered by a misfunctioning education system and American exceptionalism and insularity. I've no issue with them speak American English (en-US) and labelling it as that.

 

[FishFright]

Very occasionally I feel sympathy for the US people ..

They say they speak English and the chattering classes moan and say they don't.
So they say the speak American and the same people moan and also say they don't.

 

[ColinJ]

But the language they speak isn't quite the same as English, so why does that irritate you?

What @No Ta Doctor posted!

And what this (American!) guy says here...



I will drop the subject now though before I get banished to the politics forum!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

What @No Ta Doctor posted!

And what this (American!) guy says here...



I will drop the subject now though before I get banished to the politics forum!

I didn't see the relevance of anything in his video to the varieties of English that exist around the world, unless you were talking about his sponsor, Lingopie. Even then...

With over 1.8 billion speakers of English worldwide, there are bound to exist different versions. American English is distinct from British English in quite obvious ways and for obvious reasons. And within America there's also (I hope you're sitting down) AAVE, which is African American Vernacular English.

Then there's Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and Caribbean varieties of English to name a few more.

Languages evolve, and English is particularly good at it.

 

[ColinJ]

I didn't see the relevance of anything in his video to the varieties of English that exist around the world, unless you were talking about his sponsor, Lingopie. Even then...

What bugs me is the attitude that the USA is the centre of the universe, the rest of the world barely exists, they invented everything that matters there...

I actually watched one video a few years back where one baffled citizen of the USA was asking why so many people in countries like Britain and Australia speak American?

Anyway, enough of that!

 

[raleighnut]

What @No Ta Doctor posted!

And what this (American!) guy says here...



I will drop the subject now though before I get banished to the politics forum!

Pretty much what Frank Zappa said for most of his life.

 

[Ratchet Cat]

There are only two of us doing this job. So I go to the loo and when I come back, some of my stuff has been taken. I had my initials on it. I go to your desk and it’s there. Why didn’t you ask me if you were going to run out?
Instead you steal my stuff!! Not very bright are you? It doesn’t take a genius to work out it was you. Muppet!

 

[Ratchet Cat]

It gets worse. I took my stuff back and hid it with a note on it. Now you’ve complained to my boss about me! How petty you are!!
I explained to him that there was loads of stuff so you could do your job. I would have shared if you’d asked me.
You decided to nick my stuff without asking first.
The manager told me he was sorry for wasting my time but a complaint had been made and he had to investigate .
You are a complete numpty. You didn’t like it when I stuck up for myself did you?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

It gets worse. I took my stuff back and hid it with a note on it. Now you’ve complained to my boss about me! How petty you are!!
I explained to him that there was loads of stuff so you could do your job. I would have shared if you’d asked me.
You decided to nick my stuff without asking first.
The manager told me he was sorry for wasting my time but a complaint had been made and he had to investigate .
You are a complete numpty. You didn’t like it when I stuck up for myself did you?

Yup
complaints are a problem sometimes if you are innocent
I had one filed against me at one point - sexual discrimination for giving a woman on my team "work that was too hard for her" so I could refuse to promote her
funny that I had been trying to get her promoted for over a year but my boss kept knocking it back!
the "victim" was furious and totally supported me

but the complaint was still there and HR had to spend months interviewing 20 or 30 people who I had either working with or had worked for me before they could rules that it was all a load of "rubbish" (other words occurred to me at the time)

The complaint was purely malicious but I was not allowed to know who made it (but it was obvious) and I could not complain about it in any way

which makes sense in many ways

but it does allow for malicious complaint to be used as a weapon at times

 

[Ratchet Cat]

I had a good chat with my manager. He is pleased that I have been training someone. He said I’m good at it and he wants me to train more people!
I think my complainer might be jealous and wanted to cause trouble. He said it was a trivial complaint and she needs to grow up.
He knows what some people are like here!

 

[Moderators]

Mod note: Thread closed for review. The last couple of pages have taken a distinctly NCAP turn of content.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Mod note:

Thread tidied, posts re shooting, trump, musician colour and a touch of misogyny, have been removed.

Thread reopened.

Stay on track, please.

 

[ColinJ]

I would like to say something to the 2 young men screaming abuse into a phone on this train, but had better not. They were trying to get on a local train to Blackpool but somehow got on the mainline train to Plymouth instead! Apparently, it isn't their fault for not checking, it was the fault of the person they are screaming at for not telling them the right platform number...

Now they are trying to get the other person to buy them more tickets!

"Why didn't you check for me, bro, why didn't you check for me, tosser?!!!"

 

[Andy in Germany]

"Why didn't you check for me, bro, why didn't you check for me, tosser?!!!"

I really hope the person on the other end hung up and left them to it.

It would be an excellent learning experience.