# What's happening to out British language



## Blister (6 Aug 2012)

What's happening to out British language ???

When I went to school we used words like this 

Us is now pronounced UZ 

and everything is now everythink 

How does this work 

#-o #-o :-k :-k :duno: :duno:


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## deserter (6 Aug 2012)

Shouldn't it be "What's happening to our British language"?


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~


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## Elapid (6 Aug 2012)

It happens with every generation. Look at how Dickens wrote compared to how we speak today or go back further to Shakespeare or Chaucer and there is a massive difference. 

Language always has been and always will be a fluid thing so change is inevitable. As society becomes more multicultural the changes will happen faster. I think its an amazing thing, the sooner everyone can communicate without language barriers and get the same opportunities the better.


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## AES (6 Aug 2012)

+1 for what Elapid said - language is a "living thing".

(But that doesn't mean you have to like it, I don't).

;-)

But what really p1sses me off, particularly as a "foreigner" living in another country with a difficult language (for me), is the number of times you see/hear English people making what, in my schooldays would have been classed as "schoolboy howlers", worth a detention and 1,000 lines! Some examples off the top of my head:
of and off;
site and sight;
their and there;
weather and whether;
comprises of instead of comprises or consists of;
and MANY more.

As I say, as someone who is not generally speaking his mother tongue "at home" every day it really does grate (grate/great, another one!) with me. I guess that I'm just a boring old pedant (but happily so).

AES


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## RogerM (6 Aug 2012)

Don't get me started on "Less" and "Fewer" :twisted:


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## Jacob (6 Aug 2012)

> Us is now pronounced UZ


It always was wan't it? Except in Wales perhaps, where they tend to be phonetic with the s sound.
Sorry I don't want to spoil a good groany moany thread just as it's got going!


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## AES (6 Aug 2012)

Nah mate (Jacob), it werent never, not where all the nobs come from, darn Sawf!

;-)

AES


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## Silverbirch (6 Aug 2012)

Blister":24ibeoig said:


> What's happening to out British language ???
> 
> When I went to school we used words like this
> 
> ...



Not to mention punctuation!
:roll:


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## WoodMangler (6 Aug 2012)

Is this thread supposed to be a parody of something ?


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## Jacob (6 Aug 2012)

It may well be the real thing! :lol: 
That Blister can't spell and can't punctuate is just a coincidence. :lol: :lol: Not sure about his pronunciation either.


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## deserter (6 Aug 2012)

The ones I really hate are;
To be pacific - should be specific. 
I learnt him - should be taught. 


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~


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## Tom K (6 Aug 2012)

Defiantly in place of definitely is oft seen on the forum. In Allen's defence I think he was referring to the way English is spoken not aksing (that one I detest) asking for a grammar lesson.


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## Silverbirch (6 Aug 2012)

WoodMangler":39v15iu6 said:


> Is this thread supposed to be a parody of something ?



Certainly not from my point of view. I`m a stickler for corect speling and punctuation?


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## studders (6 Aug 2012)

Silverbirch":1uqp3fsx said:


> I`m a stickler for corect speling and punctuation?



Me two.


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## Tom K (6 Aug 2012)

studders":1il0j7cd said:


> Silverbirch":1il0j7cd said:
> 
> 
> > I`m a stinckler for corect speling and punctuation?
> ...



Mee free but I donut fink u r a stincler Stud


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## monkeybiter (7 Aug 2012)

as:has

non:none

aargh:aaagh


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## Richard T (7 Aug 2012)

It happens in every generation - yes, but never more so than in the last. 

Shops are now stores, maths is math, text speak is advancing far more rapidly than Orwell could have imagined newspeak would.

I tell you we're literally just scraping the iceberg here, what we need is a silver bullet, it's nip and tuck, eckcetera, etc. ... dumb is the new clever.


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## studders (7 Aug 2012)

Tom K":1wya93hp said:


> studders":1wya93hp said:
> 
> 
> > Silverbirch":1wya93hp said:
> ...


Not a stincler Stud, no, though I do hum from time to time.


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## Sportique (7 Aug 2012)

Wish I could *of* seen this one coming :shock: 

Dave


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## bugbear (7 Aug 2012)

studders":vjndb1gb said:


> Silverbirch":vjndb1gb said:
> 
> 
> > I`m a stickler for corect speling and punctuation?
> ...



Their are so many ways to get it wrong.

BugBear


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## Tom K (7 Aug 2012)

bugbear":2ystsa4t said:


> studders":2ystsa4t said:
> 
> 
> > Silverbirch":2ystsa4t said:
> ...



Two ways don't make a wong though (homer) Does anyone know the Wei?


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## MrA (7 Aug 2012)

RogerM":17t128on said:


> Don't get me started on "Less" and "Fewer" :twisted:




Or more and morer! (homer)


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Aug 2012)

I'll try and do that!


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Aug 2012)

Can't we get off of this subject!


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## bugbear (7 Aug 2012)

phil.p":rgi0supt said:


> Can't we get off of this subject!



We need to quickly get off this subject.

BugBear


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## Tom K (7 Aug 2012)

Yeah but aint you fink like its well good dat like dem British as like de Irish Welsh Somali as such an like I includes all dem Bangradeshi an like uvva strands
less not forget the Nigerian bredren all got diss ting wot dey is calling the Britich langwodge. Like wen u is like bus roun daat tern jes chillin in you 12 an a puppy givvin face an its all like IIII an you is lyke IIII werd .


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## whiskywill (7 Aug 2012)

Nobody has yet mentioned the disappearance of the word "are". It now seems the norm to use the singular "is", usually abreviated to 's ,when the subject of the sentence is clearly a plural .
e.g. There's many choices.
I recently saw an article in the Daily Telegraph, aimed at children, which said "Here's the top 100 books". Absolute rubbish!


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## Jacob (7 Aug 2012)

bugbear":1siki7h7 said:


> phil.p":1siki7h7 said:
> 
> 
> > Can't we get off of this subject!
> ...


Er - split infinitive innit.


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## whiskywill (7 Aug 2012)

And why do so many, seemingly intelligent people, particularly television and radio reporters, have to start almost every sentence with "Yeah"?
"How are you, John?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"What is the atmosphere like there, John?"
"Yeah, it's great."
"How many medals have team BG got so far?"
"Yeah, they've got five".

And don't get me started on "I mean". :evil:


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## Tom K (7 Aug 2012)

Jacob":1bs5qfvl said:


> Er - split infinitive innit.


 Wonderfully subtle Jacob, akin to having ones grammar corrected by a Costermonger (hammer)


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## Tom K (7 Aug 2012)

whiskywill":2ttl7vnr said:


> And why do so many, seemingly intelligent people, particularly television and radio reporters, have to start almost every sentence with "Yeah"?
> "How are you, John?"
> "Yeah, I'm good."
> "What is the atmosphere like there, John?"
> ...



Yeah I mean like yeah how do you cope I mean like yeah just awful I mean yeah innit. (homer)


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## Mark A (7 Aug 2012)

Basically is the word I find most irritating

Eg. 'Could you tell me which way to the train station?' ... 'Basically, you turn......' :evil::evil:


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## deserter (7 Aug 2012)

I hate the use of your out of context. 

On my induction tour this is what I was told;
Here you got your press, your saw, your drill and your bench. 

If they're all mine could I take them home? 


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~


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## woodbloke (7 Aug 2012)

Language always evolves and there's nowt we can do about it, but what I really, *really* detest :twisted: :twisted: is 'up-speaking' (Oz fashion) at the end of a sentence. If anyone does it to me I just shake me bonce and tell 'em I don't understand what they're saying and could they repeat it - Rob


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## newt (7 Aug 2012)

Don't worry about how we speak, texting is now so common that in several generations our vocal cords will have atrophied away and no one will be able to speak :shock:


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## studders (7 Aug 2012)

Tom K":2dshghg9 said:


> Yeah but aint you fink like its well good dat like dem British as like de Irish Welsh Somali as such an like I includes all dem Bangradeshi an like uvva strands
> less not forget the Nigerian bredren all got diss ting wot dey is calling the Britich langwodge. Like wen u is like bus roun daat tern jes chillin in you 12 an a puppy givvin face an its all like IIII an you is lyke IIII werd .



Respeck Blood.


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## James C (7 Aug 2012)

http://www.wimp.com/frylanguage/

I think that I agree with Stephen Fry. Consistent commenting on grammar and spelling seems pointless.


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## Silverbirch (7 Aug 2012)

James C":1jetnj2r said:


> http://www.wimp.com/frylanguage/
> 
> Consistent commenting on grammar and spelling seems pointless.



Yes, inconsistent commenting is much more worthwhile.


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## newt (7 Aug 2012)

For normal day to day communications it probably does not matter, however for example a safety report, an airworthiness statement and a legal document need to be unambiguous. Over the last few years I have been involved with assessing graduates ability / inability to write factual technical reports, the results are not encouraging.


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## jakethebuilder (7 Aug 2012)

You think it's bad over there, you should hear, and especially read, the language here in the United States. There are actually people who think less of you, if you try to use proper grammar and punctuation. I mean, no one's perfect all the time, but at least I try to be coherent. In fact, this is the ONLY woodworking forum I've ever joined. One of the main reasons I chose this one, is the intelligent and concise language I've read here. I hope you guys don't kick me out for being a foreigner. I also hope I haven't made any grievous errors in this posting. If so, let me hear about it.


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## newt (7 Aug 2012)

jakethebuilder":200sicvp said:


> You think it's bad over there, you should hear, and especially read, the language here in the United States. There are actually people who think less of you, if you try to use proper grammar and punctuation. I mean, no one's perfect all the time, but at least I try to be coherent. In fact, this is the ONLY woodworking forum I've ever joined. One of the main reasons I chose this one, is the intelligent and concise language I've read here. I hope you guys don't kick me out for being a foreigner. I also hope I haven't made any grievous errors in this posting. If so, let me hear about it.



No errors, you are very welcome.


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## Jacob (7 Aug 2012)

newt":1tof81c4 said:


> For normal day to day communications it probably does not matter, however for example a safety report, an airworthiness statement and a legal document need to be unambiguous.


I've got some old deeds to my current property. They are made more secure by the complete omission of all punctuation, as the later insertion of the occasional comma or full stop can completely alter the sense. There's a lot of "whereas" "hereinafter" "aforementioned" etc.


> Over the last few years I have been involved with assessing graduates ability / inability to write factual technical reports, the results are not encouraging.


The results are never encouraging in these moany threads. It's all part of the fun! Basically everything has been going down the pan for the last 3000 years. :shock:
The big moan has been orchestrated by the Daily Mail since it's first edition, but not entirely on its own.


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## Mark A (7 Aug 2012)

woodbloke":2d49r0qk said:


> what I really *really* detest :twisted: :twisted: is 'up-speaking' (Oz fashion) at the end of a sentence.


I can't stand this either! It turns every statement into a question.

Mark


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## Elapid (7 Aug 2012)

Jacob":37bucwbt said:


> newt":37bucwbt said:
> 
> 
> > The big moan has been orchestrated by the Daily Mail since it's first edition, but not entirely on its own.



I beg to differ. The Daily Mail were very excited and positive in their support of Hitler during his rise to power. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail


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## gregmcateer (8 Aug 2012)

Good Peepull,

I thort you wood injoy this littul ditty - It's best red allowed :lol: ;

Pronunciation for Foreigners

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through.
Well done! And now you wish perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead – 
For goodness sake don’t call it “deed”!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(they rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there’s dose and rose and lose – 
Just loo them up – and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward.
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart –
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive,
I’d mastered it when I was five!

ANON


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## Sawyer (8 Aug 2012)

I'm like, fed up of all these unnecessary 'likes' that get used all the time, like.


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## Grahamshed (8 Aug 2012)

Do am I. Ya no wat I meen like ?


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## Phil Pascoe (8 Aug 2012)

Words like "schadenfreude" and "mission creep" are wonderful, useful additions to a language - language changes all the time. But why use words for nothing as in "you can get this FOR free"?..........."it's an ADDED bonus"?

Actually a lot of what I do is seriously affected by schlimmbesserung.


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## monkeybiter (8 Aug 2012)

phil.p":31ltaohp said:


> Actually a lot of what I do is seriously affected by schlimmbesserung.



Perfect self defining example, I looked it up and now it's in my head. I will probably use it at some point. Then I will have to explain it. Which will take more time than just saying "you're trying to make it better but you're making it worse!"


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## James C (8 Aug 2012)

I was like this with exacerbate.


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## RogerM (8 Aug 2012)

James C":1fxtvsst said:


> I was like this with exacerbate.



:lol: :lol: :lol: =D> =D> =D>


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## whiskywill (8 Aug 2012)

phil.p":292yrnxq said:


> Words like "schadenfreude" and "mission creep" are wonderful, useful additions to a language - language changes all the time. But why use words for nothing as in "you can get this FOR free"?..........."it's an ADDED bonus"?



The sales manager where I work lists options as "Additional Extras".

It annoys me.


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## Titus A Duxass (8 Aug 2012)

whiskywill":mdwfgjke said:


> The sales manager where I work lists options as "Additional Extras".



That is a pleonasm, the use of too many words or word parts to describe something clearly - like "a little baby" - all babies are little therefore the little is not necessary, all extras are in addition.


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## Jonzjob (8 Aug 2012)

GregM I love that ditty and got it write on abart the 3rd trie :mrgreen:  :mrgreen: I also pinched it for another forum!

I think that it must be very unique?


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## Phil Pascoe (8 Aug 2012)

I heard "nearly almost exactly 1 o'clock" one day on the radio.


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## heimlaga (8 Aug 2012)

I wonder if the English language is suffering from mainly being spoken by non-native speakers? Such a language tends to be reshaped into some kind of pidgin-laguage with rather irregular grammar and limited means to explain things accurately and a very corrupted pronounciation. That same thing has already happened to Latin and Coptic and Hebrew and Sanskrit.

Personally I am able to understand Lowland Scottish and other old dialects much better than the kind of city-slang-english I often encounter on the net. The more oldfashioned the language is the easier it is to understand. This because all germanic languages come from a common root while the new slang is put together from a mish-mash of parts collected all over the planet.

I have notised that many native speakers of Swedish from the Stockholm area have a tendency to use the same kind of pidgin-Swedish as their immigrant neighbours. At times their language becomes almost undecipherable to me and apparently they often have problems expressing things. Up here we do not mix Arabic and English into our language the way those southerners do. 
We stick to our oldfashioned dialect that still has the old grammar that officially went out of use in the 16th century and much of the old pronounciation that officially disappeared in the 12th century.


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## Jacob (8 Aug 2012)

heimlaga":2ntl8iyj said:


> I wonder if the English language is suffering from mainly being spoken by non-native speakers? .....


! Who says it is suffering? Not me - a "native" speaker i.e. born here. It seems to be in very good health, and adapting/changing by the day.


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## Jonzjob (8 Aug 2012)

My biggest problem is that I have always bin a bad speler and am Now in the position of not being able to spelll in either English AND French   

Now! Really to confusticate the non native English spelling I think we should to revert to Cockney ryming slang and to get it on the frog, I'm off darn the rubadub :mrgreen:


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## James C (8 Aug 2012)

Titus A Duxass":1x4wqvhi said:


> whiskywill":1x4wqvhi said:
> 
> 
> > The sales manager where I work lists options as "Additional Extras".
> ...



My friend has had a very premature birthing and I can tell you her baby is little. Compare that to some babies that are born weighing 12 pounds and you can see the difference.


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## bugbear (9 Aug 2012)

heimlaga":3oh0uzqh said:


> I wonder if the English language is suffering from mainly being spoken by non-native speakers? Such a language tends to be reshaped into some kind of pidgin-laguage with rather irregular grammar and limited means to explain things accurately and a very corrupted pronounciation.



It depends. In my job, I encounter many highly educated people with English as their second langugage.

I am often struck by the disconcerting perfection of their use of English.

Far from being a pidgin form, they tend to speak in a very formal way, whereas native speakers use far more contractions, "flexible" grammer, adjectival nouns and so on.

BugBear


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## Tom K (9 Aug 2012)

bugbear":98akht6p said:


> heimlaga":98akht6p said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder if the English language is suffering from mainly being spoken by non-native speakers? Such a language tends to be reshaped into some kind of pidgin-laguage with rather irregular grammar and limited means to explain things accurately and a very corrupted pronounciation.
> ...



I have never met a person that speaks English as a second language that speaks English. Even those that were born here.


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## Jacob (9 Aug 2012)

Tom K":2iamngxw said:


> bugbear":2iamngxw said:
> 
> 
> > heimlaga":2iamngxw said:
> ...


I have. Several Welsh people, a German and some frogs of my acquaintance. 
But in fact you wouldn't know unless they actually told you that their perfect english was their second language.


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## wobblycogs (9 Aug 2012)

The best English speaker I've met was actually a German and her mastery of the language was second to none. She was so good in fact we would get her to edit our papers before submitting them for publication. I think just about everyone in the office studied grammar within the first year out of shear embarrassment.


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## bugbear (9 Aug 2012)

wobblycogs":s9sc9u4h said:


> I think just about everyone in the office studied grammar within the first year out of shear embarrassment.



[compulsory]Did anyone study differentiating homophones?[/compulsory]

BugBear


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## wobblycogs (9 Aug 2012)

It would seem that I didn't . Stupid mistake, I even briefly collected homophones so I should know better. English was never my strong point though.


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## Jacob (9 Aug 2012)

bugbear":18jbm4va said:


> wobblycogs":18jbm4va said:
> 
> 
> > I think just about everyone in the office studied grammar within the first year out of shear embarrassment.
> ...


Oop north we speak of little Else.


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## RogerS (9 Aug 2012)

Jacob":6oa9bk5e said:


> Tom K":6oa9bk5e said:
> 
> 
> > bugbear":6oa9bk5e said:
> ...



There you go, then, Jacob.

If they can be bothered to speak perfect English then there is no excuse for anyone born here not to do the same.


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## Tom K (9 Aug 2012)

Jacob":39hum33q said:


> I have never met a person that speaks English as a second language that speaks English. Even those that were born here.


I have. Several Welsh people, a German and some frogs of my acquaintance. 
But in fact you wouldn't know unless they actually told you that their perfect english was their second language.

Not what I said Jacob and I'm not talking about accents either.


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## rth (10 Aug 2012)

Well, y'know, this very interesting, it's, y'know, a bit silly, y'know, I love the English language, y'know, the many rich and varied, y'know, meanings,y'know. We have to, y'know, change with times,y'know, but we should, y'know, keep hold of our heritage, y'know ?


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## dickm (10 Aug 2012)

OK, here's my pet hate - the way kilo-metres have now become kill-ometers. Sounds like a piece of kit to measure my urge to kill whoever uses that mispronunciation (i.e., 95% of the BBC). 
So when do we have to start asking for kill-oggrams? Or being technical, kill-opascals?


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## gregmcateer (10 Aug 2012)

...and what about people that pronounce 'Marylebone' as 'Marleebone'? - Utterly unacceptable, IMHO
Greg


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## whiskywill (16 Aug 2012)

Has anybody else noticed how many television and radio presenters pronounce sixth as sicth?

And..... assume as ashume, Australia as Oshtralia, student as shtudent, strong as shtrong, Tuesday as Chewsday, tune as chune, the Tube as the Chube, education as ejucation, schedule as skejule. Shall I go on?


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## bugbear (16 Aug 2012)

whiskywill":3dl9vp18 said:


> Has anybody else noticed how many television and radio presenters pronounce sixth as sicth?
> 
> And..... assume as ashume, Australia as Oshtralia, student as shtudent, strong as shtrong, Tuesday as Chewsday, tune as chune, the Tube as the Chube, education as ejucation, schedule as skejule. Shall I go on?



Whatever 

BugBear


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## Jacob (16 Aug 2012)

whiskywill":2nh3i0f2 said:


> Has anybody else noticed how many television and radio presenters pronounce sixth as sicth?
> 
> And..... assume as ashume, Australia as Oshtralia, student as shtudent, strong as shtrong, Tuesday as Chewsday, tune as chune, the Tube as the Chube, education as ejucation, schedule as skejule. Shall I go on?


On and on and on :roll:

My pet hate is the golden hamster.


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## rth (7 Jan 2013)

Something may be "Free" or "For nothing" but "For Free" !?!?!??...all hope is gone..


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## Jacob (8 Jan 2013)

Yah torrible innit.


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