American spelling unsafe at any speed

[pwa]

... Hundreds of millions of people around the world speak English but there are under 60 million for whom it is their native language.

Apart from the possibility that people with English as a second language might have their own usage eg it's hard to believe that the British Empire didn't leave a linguistic legacy in India - 60 million seems like a low figure here. Less than the population of the UK without looking at the US, English speaking Canada, Oz, NZ, and RSA.

Yep but it's not the native language of those countries. Native language of Oz is the Aboriginal language, USA is Sioux, Arapaho, Comanche, NZ the Maori language and so on and so forth. English is not even the native language of the whole of the UK.

When you think about it the term "native language" is not very useful. Taking the USA as an example, the "native languages" are the heritage of only a small minority of the population, with most of the population having migrant backgrounds and ancestors who spoke French, Spanish, English or whatever. While there are a lot of Spanish speakers, the unifying language is English. The same applies in Australia.

And if you are willing to go back far enough, most "native" people are descended from migrants. The Celts and their languages moved about. There were people in Scotland before the Celts, so Gallic is not the original language of Scotland. It just got there before English. So it is more useful to talk about people's First Language rather than native language.

[Cunobelin]

I used to have a Linear recumbent bicycle



It used to have the word Aluminum along the boom on the left side

It was always being pointed out that it was wrong

How do you stop the lower chain run flopping about dangerously?

With very great difficulty I'd imagine ....

Actually it was not. the problem it seems, but my chain was hooked up on a roller attached to the frame, an adaptation that became standard on later models

[Vorpal]

How many distinguished (English-speaking) Canadian authors have there been? At the moment the only name that comes to mind is Margaret Attwood (of The Handmaid's Tale etc.) - and I haven't read any of hers. No doubt someone is going to pull me up on my ignorance!

I don't know how many. There are obviously smaller numbers than British or American, but Wikipedia (of course) has a list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_writers I think many of them are better known in North America than in the UK, but if you look through list you are likely to recognise some of the names, or book titles.

Alice Munro is probably the most famous, as she won a Nobel prize in literature.

[Cyril Haearn]

Mark Abley is Canadian and a bit Welsh, he wrote Spoken Here, a really great book about languages, Plus One
Hugh Brody wrote Maps and Dreams about the north

I am sure I have a few more on my shelves

A couple of Norwegians for Vorpal: Hamsun, Gulbransson..

[Cyril Haearn]

I have a copy of "Everyman" by Philip Roth, the language does not seem so different (or do I have the English version? )
..
..

Read up to page 28, it is quite good, seems to be the us version

[Cyril Haearn]

I have a copy of "Everyman" by Philip Roth, the language does not seem so different (or do I have the English version? )
..
..

Read up to page 28, it is quite good, seems to be the us version

Got to page 128 of 182
It is very good but there are some dirty bits not suitable for children
Will certainly look out for other books by PR

I do love short books, novellas, just the thing to read at lunch

[thirdcrank]

I thought resurrecting this thread might be ok for this.

I've been doing a general knowledge crossword and one of the answers was the American term for a dual carriageway. It was pretty obvious from the letter I already had that the solution was "divided highway." I've never been there, but I'm surprised that I don't ever remember hearing the expression in a film, or reading it in a book. Is this the standard US usage? Can anybody think of somewhere I ought to have come across it (apart from a US civil engineering book?) I only ask because it's hardly an unusual feature of the landscape so I'm surprised at my ignorance. I'm pretty sure that if I had seen it before it would have registered.

[Paulatic]

They appear to have road signs to back it up

15C456DE-F0C1-48C3-A9E1-DBFD558BDAC8.jpeg (19.33 KiB) Viewed 208 times

[PDQ Mobile]

Is a "Divided Highwayman" a guaranteed schizophrenic?

It's all pants!

[661-Pete]

I admit being a bit puzzled by the "ALL WAY STOP" sign that you sometimes see on US roads. Was it a misprint for "ALWAYS"? Apparently not....

[[XAP]Bob]

I admit being a bit puzzled by the "ALL WAY STOP" sign that you sometimes see on US roads. Was it a misprint for "ALWAYS"? Apparently not....

Means that the junction has a stop sign from all ways (I.e no road has priority. If you’re first there you stop then go first.

[661-Pete]

I admit being a bit puzzled by the "ALL WAY STOP" sign that you sometimes see on US roads. Was it a misprint for "ALWAYS"? Apparently not....

Means that the junction has a stop sign from all ways (I.e no road has priority. If you’re first there you stop then go first.

Yes I found this out.

[Mistik-ka]

"Divided Highway" is standard usage in Canada.

"4-Way Stop" is standard in Canada and, in my experience, common in the U.S.

4-Way.jpg (25.03 KiB) Viewed 186 times

This is non-standard, and used only in in cowboy country:

[kwackers]

This is non-standard, and used only in in cowboy country:
Cowboy Stop Sign.jpg

Must be brand new - no bullet holes.

[Vorpal]

I admit being a bit puzzled by the "ALL WAY STOP" sign that you sometimes see on US roads. Was it a misprint for "ALWAYS"? Apparently not....

Means that the junction has a stop sign from all ways (I.e no road has priority. If you’re first there you stop then go first.

If you aren't the first there, stop and give way to whomever was there first. If it's not clear (i.e. you arrived at the same time as someone else) stop and give way to your right.