English/British

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by pjdude1219, Jun 5, 2010.

  1. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    According to Dictionary.com, (which logs strictly American usage unless stated otherwise), Britannia means, starting with the primary definition and working down:
    • 1. The Roman name for the island of Great Britain
    • 2. Especially the south part of the island where the Roman provinces were located
    • 3. The British Empire
    • 4. (Primarily literary use) Great Britain (which is defined elsewhere)
    • 5. (Primarily literary use)The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (omitting the word "Northern," showing that even dictionaries need better proofreading!)
    • 6. That lady with the trident and helmet
    "Britannia, waive the rules," right?

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    I've never encountered it, and it's not in the dictionary. I think it just refers to Shakespeare, Churchill or the Rolling Stones.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. Captain Kremmen All aboard, me Hearties! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,738
    Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke 1843-1911
    Tried to make matters even more confusing by using the term Greater Britain to describe English speaking countries.
    Fortunately it didn't catch on.

    In the UK many are still under the delusion that we somehow own the English language, as do some Americans.
    It is now truly a Worldwide language, and as such is owned by no-one.
    In some places it is splitting into difficult dialects, so we have not demolished Babel yet.


    Subtle. I nearly missed it.
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    Since the Religious Redneck Retard Revival in the late 1970s, ignorance has been sweeping across America. Some people don't realize that the names "English" and "England" have any relationship. Considering that some of them think Canada is a State, I'm not sure how much it would help if they made the connection.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    But the trend is clearly in the opposite direction. TV has nearly leveled all American dialects into mere accents. From the remarks I hear from your side of the Whaleroad I get the impression that the same is happening over there, if perhaps more slowly. Londoners make fun of "Brummies" instead of scratching their heads and asking, "What did he say?"

    Even the chasm between British Standard and American Standard has narrowed to a rivulet. When I was a kid and the first British TV shows began airing over here, many of us literally could not understand them. Then we sent you Elvis and Chuck Berry and you sent us the Beatles and Petula. We've adopted much of each other's slang, and what we haven't we at least understand. We've even gotten used to the accents and are better at mimicking them. American actors can do more than cartoon Cockney and British actors can do more than cartoon Texas.

    I've even heard a few Brits say "gonna" for "going to" which I'm certain is a pure Americanism. (As a future tense auxiliary, not a verb of motion.)
    See, we've even picked up your ability to be subtle.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Medicine*Woman Jesus: Mythstory--Not History! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,346
    *************
    M*W: I miss her, too. Did she formally leave Sciforums? I must have missed it or I've forgotten. I seem to remember saying good-bye. Guess I'm getting old.
     
  8. wsionynw Master Queef Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,309
    My favourite American word is 'hello', I use it all the time.
     
  9. Spud Emperor solanaceous common tater Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,899
    M.W, Lucifer's Angel came to grief at her own hand.
    Very sad. Happened some months ago.
     
  10. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    It's not an Americanism. We got it from the English and they got it from the French. "Hello" is a variant of "hallo," which is a variant of "hollo," which is a variant of "holla," which is a 16th-century borrowing of French hola, a compression of ho la, "ahoy there."

    Iin Britain it became "hullo," and Spanish still uses hola.

    "Howdy" is Southwestern U.S. slang, a contraction of "How do you do?"

    "Yo" is also British, a sailor's or huntsman's call from the 15th century. Its resurgence of popularity and use as a greeting seems to stem from servicemen's response to roll call during WWII.
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2010
  11. wsionynw Master Queef Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,309
    Yes I know all that, but I've never used hullo or hola, hello was first used in America and now all over the world.
     
  12. krazedkat IQ of "Highly Gifted"-"Genius" Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    262
    English people are from the UK, but the converse is not necessarily true.
     
  13. Captain Kremmen All aboard, me Hearties! Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,738
    Sorry to hear that Spud.
    I appreciated her posts.
    She was completely honest,
    as are many of the more vulnerable members on the site.
    She wasn't bullied off here, but some of them are.
     

Share This Page