While I may not express myself with proper English at all times, it is
still a great peeve to me when the English language is continually misused
and mistreated. Part of the crusade is for me to learn better English and
the other part is to spread this attitude more widely to others as well.
I have divided this page into three parts. The first part deals with common
misusage of the language. The second part describes the differences of
International English and the variant spoken in the United States of America.
The third part is directed to my Finnish friends and colleagues and
everybody else with less extensive knowledge of how to use English. It is
a kind of FAQ section where I shall include all (or most) questions people
ask me of how to use proper English.
One of the best examples of how English language is raped is the treatment of third person pronouns. Naturally I refer to the thoroughly ridiculous and clumsy 'he/she' that some people seem to use as a general term. It may be slightly odd that there are no pronouns that would immediately distinguish a male or female person, the meaning of the word 'he' is:
Differences of word spelling: |
||
English | American | N.B. |
ardour | ardor | |
armour | armor | |
behaviour | behavior | |
colour | color | If American had any consistency, their version should really be pronounced like colon, but with an r-sound in the end. |
favour | favor | By the way, shouldn't famous be famos, curious be curios, etc. in American as well. |
flavour | flavor | |
honour | honor | |
humour | humor | |
labour | labor | |
neighbour | neighbor | |
odour | odor | |
rumour | rumor | |
saviour | savior | |
savour | savor | |
valour | valor | |
vapour | vapor | |
centre | center | So the American version of central should be centeral, centric should be centeric, centrifuge should be centerifuge, etc. |
litre | liter | |
metre | meter | I see, so what is the difference of a unit of length and an instrument that measures quantities of distances, times, etc. Seems to me somebody didn't consider everything thoroughly when changing from English to American. Furthermore the American version of metric should be meteric, metronome should be meteronome, geometry should be geometery, etc. |
saltpetre | saltpeter | |
analyse | analyze | |
palaeo- | paleo- | |
jeweller | jeweler | Shouldn't collector be colector in American - or at least killer be kiler? |
marvellous | marvelous | |
towelling | toweling | |
traveller | traveler | |
axe | ax | |
catalogue | catalog | |
dialogue | dialog | |
goodbye | goodby | |
programme | program | |
grey | gray | grey is also sometimes used in American |
light | lite | light is also used in American |
night | nite | night is also used in American |
schedule | sked | schedule is also used in American |
autumn | fall | It seems almost needless to remark about the possible confusion between fall the verb, fall the noun derived from the verb, and fall the season... |
lift | elevator | |
post | This is tricky because both post and mail are used in both English and American. The usage is, however, slightly different. | |
sunrise | sun-up |
Everybody (everyone), nobody (no-one), and anybody (anyone) are singular
words; i.e. the verb used with them should also be singular (e.g.
Everybody is happy to learn proper English.)
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Created by Rami T. F. Rekola