Comments on: Things Americans Say Wrong http://dmitrybrant.com Not responsible for any minds blown. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:12:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Canucker http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34698 Canucker Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:47:34 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34698 a Canadian English teacher...not an Canadian English teacher. Just caught that in my post. a Canadian English teacher...not an Canadian English teacher. Just caught that in my post.

]]> By: Canucker http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34697 Canucker Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:45:47 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34697 There are just as many Canadians with the same poor grammatical abilities. My mother in law is an Canadian English teacher. I'm not sure who she paid in order to receive a teaching degree, but wow. The one she says that drives me crazy is bat'ry. I'm mean that "t" doesn't really even belong in my phonetic spelling. She is to lazy to even touch the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth to create a "t" sound. She almost just grunts or holds her breath for half a second, then throws the "ry" in to follow. I wish she would hold her breath a little longer...say...for an hour or so. I'm no expert, just venting. Thanks There are just as many Canadians with the same poor grammatical abilities. My mother in law is an Canadian English teacher. I'm not sure who she paid in order to receive a teaching degree, but wow. The one she says that drives me crazy is bat'ry. I'm mean that "t" doesn't really even belong in my phonetic spelling. She is to lazy to even touch the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth to create a "t" sound. She almost just grunts or holds her breath for half a second, then throws the "ry" in to follow. I wish she would hold her breath a little longer...say...for an hour or so. I'm no expert, just venting. Thanks

]]> By: dom http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34643 dom Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:02:18 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34643 Hello, I came across this post by accident, and found it fun. I have hard time believe some, but I was surprised not to see one common mistake. So common it might be becoming'correct'. It's, 'its' and it's. 'It's' should really be only the short form of 'it is' and NOT the possessive pronoun ... another small one I come across daily in my job: 'dice' is the correct plural of 'die'. Neither 'dies' nor 'dices'. Regards from a non native speaker. Hello,
I came across this post by accident, and found it fun. I have hard time believe some, but I was surprised not to see one common mistake. So common it might be becoming'correct'. It's, 'its' and it's. 'It's' should really be only the short form of 'it is' and NOT the possessive pronoun ...
another small one I come across daily in my job: 'dice' is the correct plural of 'die'. Neither 'dies' nor 'dices'. Regards from a non native speaker.

]]> By: Russ http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34413 Russ Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:41:30 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34413 Having said that, when I hear Americans say 'internet', I hear 'innernet' and they say 'international', I hear 'inner-national', but that's just accent I suppose. What if a country that ruled from the Canadian Arctic to New Zealand and virtually the whole coastline from South Africa up to Arabia and across to Singapore and down around to Australia, had it's language taken over by a new nation with many more inhabitants which rose in power as the Mother nation dwindled, to being a plain European nation and a poodle to the new kid on the block, wouldn't it feel just a little bit jealous that even its language was no longer under its control? Has this happened to any other language? Whenever a British person criticises American English there is always some of this feeling behind it. And we were in World War Two from the start and you didn't join in till a third of the way through! Couldn't have done it without you guys. And who was instrumental in supplying Russia with equipment and setting up its tank production lines, USA! Detroit's a dying war veteran. Having said that, when I hear Americans say 'internet', I hear 'innernet' and they say 'international', I hear 'inner-national', but that's just accent I suppose. What if a country that ruled from the Canadian Arctic to New Zealand and virtually the whole coastline from South Africa up to Arabia and across to Singapore and down around to Australia, had it's language taken over by a new nation with many more inhabitants which rose in power as the Mother nation dwindled, to being a plain European nation and a poodle to the new kid on the block, wouldn't it feel just a little bit jealous that even its language was no longer under its control? Has this happened to any other language? Whenever a British person criticises American English there is always some of this feeling behind it. And we were in World War Two from the start and you didn't join in till a third of the way through! Couldn't have done it without you guys. And who was instrumental in supplying Russia with equipment and setting up its tank production lines, USA! Detroit's a dying war veteran.

]]> By: Russ http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34412 Russ Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:02:46 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34412 Needed to be said but not all Brits live in Downton Abbey either, innit (sic). I returned from the Czech Rep where I was teaching English, to England and was shocked by the English I heard here. Often the foreign students spoke it better, 'you was', ' pass-er-bu''er', 'wosatallabart?' etc. Back to Americans- why say 'I am a artist'. what is happening to 'AN'? There is good and bad English everwhere, from all native speakers. Soon everone will be picking on the Chinese. I think it's a function of being top dog. And the USA is still top dog. Needed to be said but not all Brits live in Downton Abbey either, innit (sic). I returned from the Czech Rep where I was teaching English, to England and was shocked by the English I heard here. Often the foreign students spoke it better, 'you was', ' pass-er-bu''er', 'wosatallabart?' etc. Back to Americans- why say 'I am a artist'. what is happening to 'AN'? There is good and bad English everwhere, from all native speakers. Soon everone will be picking on the Chinese. I think it's a function of being top dog. And the USA is still top dog.

]]> By: Anonymous American http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-34093 Anonymous American Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:55:23 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-34093 As an American living in England currently, I do actually find this quite offensive and completely hypocritical. I have encountered just as many Brits over here who cannot pronounce words correctly (or spell!) as in the US. Quite to the contrary, I have encountered large amounts of slang and mispronounced words, if you really need to look at the exact letters in a word. Although I have met many wonderful and kind British people, I have also encountered more than anyone's share of the most rude and arrogant people on the planet. And to be quite honest, some English accents sound absolutely awful!! After spending over a year in England, I can assure you that people in my state would not treat someone from England the way I have been treated here by many individuals, no matter how they pronounced their words. (This does not apply to everyone mind you!) As an American living in England currently, I do actually find this quite offensive and completely hypocritical. I have encountered just as many Brits over here who cannot pronounce words correctly (or spell!) as in the US. Quite to the contrary, I have encountered large amounts of slang and mispronounced words, if you really need to look at the exact letters in a word. Although I have met many wonderful and kind British people, I have also encountered more than anyone's share of the most rude and arrogant people on the planet. And to be quite honest, some English accents sound absolutely awful!! After spending over a year in England, I can assure you that people in my state would not treat someone from England the way I have been treated here by many individuals, no matter how they pronounced their words. (This does not apply to everyone mind you!)

]]> By: MissAlex http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-33710 MissAlex Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:38:56 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-33710 (This is not about the list of pronunciations, but about a couple of the comments I read) I am a native American-English speaker and I say all of these sayings correctly, so a lot peoples' stereotypes about American pronunciation, or intelligence in general, is a myth and I find them to be very insulting that you would group a whole category of people as being idiotic "cunts". I understand how people could think we are dumb because we mash our words together, but no matter what native language someone speaks, they WILL mash their words together. If any sane and completely normal American, like myself, heard another American speaking like this, we would quickly find them an English teacher or a nice large-print dictionary to take home and study. So, I like to think that every culture has their idiots, and their intellects, and I seperate them from each other (instead of making offensive generalizations). So PLEASE, instead of grouping us all together, maybe you "uneducated folks" should try the same. Thanks. ~A smart, cultured, non-ignorant American. (yeah, they exist ;D) (This is not about the list of pronunciations, but about a couple of the comments I read) I am a native American-English speaker and I say all of these sayings correctly, so a lot peoples' stereotypes about American pronunciation, or intelligence in general, is a myth and I find them to be very insulting that you would group a whole category of people as being idiotic "cunts". I understand how people could think we are dumb because we mash our words together, but no matter what native language someone speaks, they WILL mash their words together. If any sane and completely normal American, like myself, heard another American speaking like this, we would quickly find them an English teacher or a nice large-print dictionary to take home and study. So, I like to think that every culture has their idiots, and their intellects, and I seperate them from each other (instead of making offensive generalizations). So PLEASE, instead of grouping us all together, maybe you "uneducated folks" should try the same. Thanks.
~A smart, cultured, non-ignorant American. (yeah, they exist ;D)

]]> By: American http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-33243 American Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:44:20 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-33243 While many of these are indeed incorrectly spoken phrases, much of them are transliterations of what geographical and colloquial pronunciations are as they would sound to someone not born and raised here. For instance, what sounds like "Would of" is actually "Would've", a very popular contraction. When Webster was writing his original dictionary, he wanted Americans to pronounce all of the letters in a word to contrast with British usage which substitutes and contracts many words and phrases. However, as more people speak it and more cultures are assimilated, usage gets "lazy", which could also be seen as streamlined and updated. My $0.02. While many of these are indeed incorrectly spoken phrases, much of them are transliterations of what geographical and colloquial pronunciations are as they would sound to someone not born and raised here. For instance, what sounds like "Would of" is actually "Would've", a very popular contraction. When Webster was writing his original dictionary, he wanted Americans to pronounce all of the letters in a word to contrast with British usage which substitutes and contracts many words and phrases. However, as more people speak it and more cultures are assimilated, usage gets "lazy", which could also be seen as streamlined and updated. My $0.02.

]]> By: Anonymous http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-33089 Anonymous Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:23:31 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-33089 This list seems like a bit odd. I'm an American, and I don't say any of these things. In fact, I honestly haven't heard most of them outside of the realm of parody. Clearly some people speak this way, but implying that they're mistakes made by "Americans" would be like publishing a list of British soccer hooligan malapropisms and suggesting that they are mistakes commonly made by British people. Why not call the list "Things Ignorant People Wrong," because that certainly seems more fitting? Despite the popular stereotype, we are not all illiterate morons that are incapable of speaking the language. Some of us even speak more than one! As for the people questioning "aluminum," it was originally called "aluminum," not "aluminium." The US is actually using the original name. In Britain, the -ium suffix came into usage to make it sound more "elemental" (cesium, gallium, etc.) Davy, the man that isolated it, said that he actually would have preferred it to be known "alumium." However, the fact remains that it was called "aluminum" long before "aluminium," and the former is perfectly acceptable. This list seems like a bit odd. I'm an American, and I don't say any of these things. In fact, I honestly haven't heard most of them outside of the realm of parody. Clearly some people speak this way, but implying that they're mistakes made by "Americans" would be like publishing a list of British soccer hooligan malapropisms and suggesting that they are mistakes commonly made by British people. Why not call the list "Things Ignorant People Wrong," because that certainly seems more fitting?

Despite the popular stereotype, we are not all illiterate morons that are incapable of speaking the language. Some of us even speak more than one!

As for the people questioning "aluminum," it was originally called "aluminum," not "aluminium." The US is actually using the original name. In Britain, the -ium suffix came into usage to make it sound more "elemental" (cesium, gallium, etc.) Davy, the man that isolated it, said that he actually would have preferred it to be known "alumium." However, the fact remains that it was called "aluminum" long before "aluminium," and the former is perfectly acceptable.

]]> By: Chad http://dmitrybrant.com/things-americans-say-wrong/comment-page-6#comment-32797 Chad Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:51:30 +0000 http://dmitrybrant.com/?page_id=27#comment-32797 Correcting people on their way of pronouncing and speaking in the USA is considered racist or intolerant. You have to preserve the person's culture you know! Getting people to kick off their heels and do the right thing is very hard in America. I put a good bit of effort into speaking properly and even I learned a few things from this list. Nice job. Correcting people on their way of pronouncing and speaking in the USA is considered racist or intolerant. You have to preserve the person's culture you know! Getting people to kick off their heels and do the right thing is very hard in America. I put a good bit of effort into speaking properly and even I learned a few things from this list. Nice job.

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