Hala401 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I am not very happy with the way the Colonies treat the word Baptize. Baptizing, Baptized, and Baptismal. The spelling seems irrational and without decent rules. Baptize is spelled with a z, along with Baptizing, while Baptismal is with an s. It all seems dreadfully inconsistent, and I am not pleased with the letter zed anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Welcome to English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hala401 Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 It is interesting because the email asked if I was Canadian, but upon entering the website, that message was no longer present. So, this whole matter is another of my silly pranks, so no getting mad at me. :) I'm actually American, but feel like American treatment of the English language is messy and not consistent. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleWyvern Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 We have the weird pronunciation of the English s to thank for this: our English baptize is from the ancient greek, βαπτίζω, which is transliterated as "baptizo." Combine that with the fact that the English s can buzz like a z in some words (much unlike the Spanish s, for instance), you get that confusion. In all cases, it seems like baptize was spelled in all tenses so that it sounded like the Greek word when using the standard English pronunciation rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 · Hidden Hidden It is interesting because the email asked if I was Canadian, but upon entering the website, that message was no longer present.So, this whole matter is another of my silly pranks, so no getting mad at me. :)I'm actually American, but feel like American treatment of the English language is messy and not consistent.:)English is messy and inconsistent. Link to comment
Vort Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm actually American, but feel like American treatment of the English language is messy and not consistent.No moreso that the British dialect. In fact, many linguists have proclaimed that, both in structure and in pronunciation, modern American English is closer to Shakespeare's Elizabethan English than is modern British English. Since that is the general time period when modern English more or less stabilized, that makes American English at least as "authentic" as the British variant.Spelling is another matter, of course, but is related. As much as you may dislike some American spelling, it often makes a lot more sense than British spelling, doing away with appended but silent "ue"s and dropping needless spelled diphthongs for a simple "e", e.g. "foetus" vs. "fetus".The bottom line is that English spelling is a mess and will probably remain as such, given the varied background from which we draw our vocabulary. Criticizing American (or British) spelling is criticizing deck chair arrangement on the Titanic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm actually American, but feel like American treatment of the English language is messy and not consistent.English is messy and inconsistent regardless of which spin-off you're looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 colonies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 colonies? I was wondering what colonies we were talking about too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john doe Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 At least we don't stick a superfluous "U" in 'neighbor' and 'color'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hala401 Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I was wondering what colonies we were talking about too.I have grown quite disgusted with the way politics are going here in the US, and the fact that grown men can not even come up with a budget. Calling us colonies is simply my way to express my distaste at the present state of affairs.Make no mistake. I am a patriot, and have served in the military. It angers me that these bad leaders send our sons and daughters overseas to die in battles in which we do not belong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 We did win the Revolution against Great Britain a few years ago. In that light, calling us colonies doesn't seem very patriotic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefche Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 It's also not correct. And in fact, it's insulting. Basically, you are saying we are still under Great Britain's rule. "Here, George Washington and all the other patriots--let me slap you in the face." And you were in the military but you have issues with wearing pants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I've heard "the Colonies" used before as a sort of mildly smart-alek way of talking about the US. I don't think it's a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I'm teaching my kids to spell. Every day before practice, we start out with a good healthy vent about how horrible the english language is, and why it's totally normal and appropriate to hate everything about it. "Hmmm - we need a word to indicate when we have a sufficient amount of something. And because it's english, we should make sure it makes the "f" sound, but has no "f" in it. Instead, we'll make "gh" say "f"! Yeah! I love the word 'enough'! Don't even get me started on c's and k's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahone Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 There is no such thing as American English. There is English, and there are mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 There is no such thing as American English. There is English, and there are mistakes.That's an uncharitable attitude to take about the Brits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 There is no such thing as American English. There is English, and there are mistakes.Yeah, I was willing to accept that just on the principle of the thing, until I found out that the New England English accent is actually closer to what the Brits were speaking in 1776, than what the Brits speak now.Required viewing for anyone who wants to laugh uproriously while getting a brief rundown of the english language:The History of English in 10 Minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizrenowden Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I had a chemistry teacher who said Americans couldn't spell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarginOfError Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I've heard "the Colonies" used before as a sort of mildly smart-alek way of talking about the US. I don't think it's a big deal.I actually found it somewhat amusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahone Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 That's an uncharitable attitude to take about the Brits.Touché Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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