Chirac warns of 'catastrophe' of world 'choked' by US values

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker

Or say Gloucester was spelt Gloster?

It used to be, actually, and that would make more sense.

It was? When?

[Kuciwalker]

Anyway, the whole discussion is a response to this post:

Originally posted by DAVOUT
I have heard some saying that the English language has not survived in the US a well.

And I was pointing out that America has preserved the English language better (as in, more precisely) than England has and that it certainly isn't degenerate in any way.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Dauphin
It was? When?

The seventeenth century

The only reason I know this is because there's a picture of a page from a copy of King Lear (one of the Folios, IIRC - i.e., one of the copies printed about a decade after the play was written) in my copy, and it's the first page, and I, interested, read it. It was spelled "Gloster" there.

[Dauphin]

And I was pointing out that America has preserved the English language better (as in, more precisely) than England has and that it certainly isn't degenerate in any way.

I wouldn't doubt that, but I'm just saying that I don't see how saying what you see written is a preservation of the language if by doing that you are changing the phonetics of the language.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


The seventeenth century

The only reason I know this is because there's a picture of a page from a copy of King Lear (one of the Folios, IIRC - i.e., one of the copies printed about a decade after the play was written) in my copy, and it's the first page, and I, interested, read it. It was spelled "Gloster" there.

Gloster, Northumberland or Gloucester, Gloucestershire?

It may have been, but it may also have been a different Gloster to Gloucester.

[Heresson]

How come another great quote of Chirac is getting a 10 page thread?
Apolyton

[LDiCesare]

By the way, the Quebec French accent is also supposed to be like what the 17th century French sounded.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Dauphin
Gloster, Northumberland or Gloucester, Gloucestershire?

It may have been, but it may also have been a different Gloster to Gloucester.

One of the main characters is the Duke of Gloucester. I think they're talking about the important one.

Moreover, in my copy (I have the New Folgers Library edition) they changed the spelling to Gloster.

Here's the picture:

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
By the way, the Quebec French accent is also supposed to be like what the 17th century French sounded.

Which is not surprising at all.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by Dauphin
That is to say for example, is the American way of saying 'Lie-sest-er' better than the English way of saying 'Lesster', when discussing Leicester?

Dauphin, you keep making the mistake of grossly generalizing American pronounciations.

In fact, there is a town leicester in Massachusetts, and we pronounce it "Lesster", the same way you do.

Just like we pronounce Worcester like "Woost(er/ah)" ('oo' as in "good", not like 'oooooo' zoom).

Stop generalizing, we don't all live in Ohio or California.

Great site that shows how to pronounce New England place names:

http://www.worcestermass.com/pronounce/

Edit: Oh yeah, we have a Glouster too, and we say "Gloster".

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn


Dauphin, you keep making the mistake of grossly generalizing American pronounciations.

Sorry to offend, I did not realise I needed to provide the assumed caveat - namely that I was drawing the widest distinctions to avoid misunderstanding of the pronunciation in question.

And I gladly point out that whilst Lie-sest-er is an American way of pronunciation, it does not, therefore, mean its the only way of pronunciation in America.

Edit - I'm also interested in where this 'keep making' accusation comes from?

[Geronimo]

The concept of a common neutral language to pickup as a second language for global commerce is fine but the concept that it would be better to have just one single native language is appalling. We need only to look at the wide spectrum of posters here who express themselves perfectly clearly in English as a second language and then look at the millions who have been savagely oppressed in twisted efforts to root out their native language as a result of just this sort of thinking to understand what a nasty influence this idea has been.


If we must choose a single language that everybody must learn and use as their first language lets avoid one that has been used to justify stomping out the linguistic freedom of others and lets use Anishinabe instead.

[Kuciwalker]

I didn't say people should be FORCED to use one language; I said it'd be better if they just did use one language. Best of all if we had never spoken different languages in the first place.

[alva]

The seventeenth century

Molly!!!!!!


I'd rather have a language that stays the same instead of changing every generation like duth does.
My granmother learned a different dutch than my mother did than I did than the next generation did, bloody ******** annoying. Now no-one is able to write one sentence correctly.

[Kuciwalker]

btw, do I receive the "most obscure, convoluted way of knowing a useless, obscure fact ever" award?