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This blog is written in en-GB

shkspr.mobi

231–240 of 474 posts

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#231
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. As a Brit I am entitled to think we speak the best version (because we do; ISE is a close second) but I am not entitled to believe everyone else's is wrong, because that is ahistorical. They have diverged repeatedly and thus ours is one of the divergences. Much of British English was standardised long after several waves of the US settlers left our shores, so US english has some traits of pre-standardised Engl…

What is ISE?

I mean Indian Standard English here.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the "quite" difference?

Roughly: British "quite" means somewhat. American "quite" means very. A Brit saying a suggestion is "quite good" is actually saying it's not good enough, whereas a US listener will think they've been told the opposite.

Good lord. I just three finger tapped on the word quite to see what the macOS dictionary says - "to the utmost or most absolute extent or degree; absolutely; completely", although it does offer a second definition "to a certain or fairly significant extent or degree; fairly: it's quite warm outside".

For context, I'm British though I have spent a fair amount of time in the states over the years and somehow never picked up this difference.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#233
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, "couldn't care less" is British?

Many/most Americans say something like "I could care less about the World Cup". British people say "I couldn't care less about the World Cup". Both are saying they have no interest at all in the World Cup. I don't know why Americans phrase it that way. To give a documented example, the lyrics of Teenagers by My Chemical Romance: They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' shit out of me" They could care less as long a…

Ah, I'd heard that latter one, but I thought that was just a mistake in the sense of "could of". TIL!

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#234
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny, and perhaps not entirely unwarranted, that "racism" pops up here? As a Black American, I find the author's idea extremely interesting and naturally began to wonder -- what might this idea (in code?) look like for us? Owing to history and whatnot, the role "Black American English" might play is of course very much a moving target, but it's interesting to think about.

Is there an internationally agreed upon standard for designating AAV? I suppose it's a large and influential enough dialect it wouldn't hurt to have one

The main people who'd want such a thing would be linguists, so that they can label samples.

The non-prestige dialects of a language don't usually attract official interest, not least because officially the people who understand that dialect could also understand a prestige variant. Scousers may not talk like King Charles among themselves, but if he speaks they're not confused about what the King is saying even if they wouldn't use those words or say them that way.

This might get sketchier for Chinese topolects where the official government policy is that China has a single language, "Standard Chinese" but, those topolects sure do seem like different languages if you didn't know about the policy. However AAV is nowhere close to that, I can't imagine that anybody who uses AAV normally watches "Last Week Tonight" and goes "That guy is speaking a completely unrecognisable language, are there subtitles?".

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Equally, I doubt there was a single Brit involved in RFC 2617 Section 4.3 (for example).

I don't understand the reference. I looked it up here: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2617#section-4.3 4.3 Limited Use Nonce Values The Digest scheme uses a server-specified nonce to seed the generation of the request-digest value (as specified in section 3.2.2.1 above). As shown in the example nonce in section 3.2.1, the server is free to construct the nonce such that it may only be used from a particular…

"number used once" wouldn't be the first definition of that word which springs to mind for most people in the UK.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#236
post #107

> [Twinkies] seemed like an unappealing foodstuff which, nevertheless, were inexplicably popular. Well, there's the counterpoint to the whole post. You don't know what Twinkies are.

Brit here. I spent decades hearing about twinkies from US TV so I had to finally try one. It was the blandest, most solid chunk of cake with a flavourless blob of sugar in the middle.

Twinkies haven't been good for decades, you need a time machine for the real experience.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Equally, I doubt there was a single Brit involved in RFC 2617 Section 4.3 (for example).

I don't understand the reference. I looked it up here: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2617#section-4.3 4.3 Limited Use Nonce Values The Digest scheme uses a server-specified nonce to seed the generation of the request-digest value (as specified in section 3.2.2.1 above). As shown in the example nonce in section 3.2.1, the server is free to construct the nonce such that it may only be used from a particular…

In British slang, "nonce" is a highly offensive term for a sex offender, particularly one who has harmed children. It is considered derogatory and should be used with caution.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certain cultures teach that diversity is a bad thing to be feared and extinguished. Diversity is only a good thing when your mind has been poisoned by "education" and "experience". It requires an open mind to see diverse experiences as a good thing, and certain cultures think having citizens with open minds is an unprofitable way to run a society.

> Certain cultures teach that diversity is a bad thing to be feared and extinguished. Ok, I take the bait. Which ones?

Is it bait? I'm pretty sure it's a reasonably factual, albeit general claim. Asking chatGPT for country-specific examples for instance gives this:

> Yes—some countries have (at various times, and in some cases still today) adopted policies aimed at making the population more “homogeneous,” through segregation, assimilation pressure, or exclusion/deportation. Concrete examples:

- South Africa (apartheid era, 1948–1990s): An official system of racial classification and enforced separation (“separate development”).

- Germany (Nazi period, 1933–1945): State ideology enforced a racial hierarchy and pursued forced removal and mass murder of those deemed “undesirable.”

- Israel (state policies affecting Palestinian citizens and occupied territory, especially since 1967): Includes laws and administrative practices that many observers describe as producing or enforcing unequal status by group; key issues include citizenship status differences and restrictions tied to national/ethnic identity.

- Myanmar (Rohingya): Policies and law enforcement that stripped/blocked citizenship for Rohingya and enabled persecution, culminating in mass violence and displacement.

- Canada (Indigenous assimilation policy, especially 19th–20th century into 1996): Forced assimilation via residential schools and bans on language/cultural practices; many have characterized this as cultural genocide.

- United States (Jim Crow + earlier immigration/citizenship rules; and internment): Historical legal regimes created segregation and restricted citizenship/naturalization based on race/national origin (e.g., earlier Asian-exclusion immigration restrictions).

You may disagree with some examples on this list, but I'm sure even you would consider that the first two are clear examples of diversity-fearing 'cultures' rather than 'bait'. And this is even before considering the wider definition of the word 'culture', which can be even more exclusionary.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the reference. I looked it up here: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2617#section-4.3 4.3 Limited Use Nonce Values The Digest scheme uses a server-specified nonce to seed the generation of the request-digest value (as specified in section 3.2.2.1 above). As shown in the example nonce in section 3.2.1, the server is free to construct the nonce such that it may only be used from a particular…

That third word, starting with 'n' is British slang, which you are welcome to look up. Presumably the etymology was in place before it took on its present meaning, but it is not a word I would use in a professional context. My comment was oblique, but not sarcastic. Partly because I didn't want to use the word directly, and partly in keeping with the tone of the original blog post!

The British usage predates the RFC and probably the cryptographic use. I definitely heard the term in the late 80s.

Re: This blog is written in en-GB

#240
post #45
post #28

I am the only Brit in the department I work in. No one gets the cultural references or British idioms I use, and I've found myself significantly changing the language I use to a very utilitarian and direct style to prevent the endless blank stares... reading this blog post just made me realise that this self-editing has made my interactions rather more 'flat' and unnatural, as they now lack spontaneity, with everythi…

I live in Sweden (and have for 11 years), a lot of the "charm" in my speech has been filed away, I speak in a very neutral accent (which barely registers as british anymore) and I use americanisms a lot, avoiding "false friends". (IE; I never use the word "chip" to mean crisps or fries - I will instead use "Crisps", despite it being british, and fries, despite it being American; in order to avoid ambiguity.) The more…

I don't do the "chips" one, because it's usually clear enough from context, and the people I speak English to generally know me and my foibles. But I do religiously say "half past 6" now, instead of shortening it to "half six". In Germany, you count towards the next hour, so our "half past six" is their "half to seven".

To avoid ambiguity, I always say "half past" in English so that Germans (and I!) remember to compensate for the language barrier. Unfortunately "half to" isn't really a thing in German, so I can't do the opposite when I'm speaking German.

It's more complicated than this and how you say "quarter to eleven" is A Whole Thing in Germany, but everyone agrees on the half hour at least

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