Author Topic: English-to-English translation (Read 30310 times)

Jonathon · « **Reply #75 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:20:30 AM »

Was that to me? I certainly think it's changed. Many people are still terrible writers, but I think there are a lot more expert or at least competent writers now than two hundred years ago.

Porter · « **Reply #76 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:29:12 AM »

Even with the terrible spelling and punctuation you see on the web, I doubt you'll see people spelling my as mye or below as bloe.

pooka · « **Reply #77 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:42:23 AM »

I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought.

Though I'll admit that sometimes you post a quote that you find painful, and I can see ways it could be done better, but it doesn't give me brainfreeze or anything. Now I'm all paranoid about whether I'm calling the kettle black (the kettle here being your examples, and not you.) But I'm only transcribing my conversational English, not trying to achieve clarity and grace in writing.

rivka · « **Reply #78 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:47:31 AM »

Quote from: pooka on August 24, 2011, 10:12:37 AM

And that has changed? If you look at the average comments section of a website, for instance. Unless you just meant that this person doesn't spell for whatever reason.

Still true in the average comments section.

Porter · « **Reply #79 on:** August 24, 2011, 10:49:28 AM »

Quote

I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought.

I thought the whole thing was funny.

Jonathon · « **Reply #80 on:** August 24, 2011, 11:38:36 AM »

Quote from: pooka on August 24, 2011, 10:42:23 AM

I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought.

I was talking mostly about orthography, but organization is a part of it too.

Marianne Dashwood · « **Reply #81 on:** August 31, 2011, 09:51:53 PM »

My boyfriend has a very slight New York accent - he grew up in Stamford, Connecticut but in a Spanish speaking household, so I never know quite where his little quirks come from. Today he said* "Get married with [someone]" instead of "Get married to [someone.]" Is this a New York thing or a Spanglish thing?

* in an actual conversation. This is not an underhanded announcement of any sort.

Jonathon · « **Reply #82 on:** August 31, 2011, 10:51:48 PM »

I once edited a book with a biographical register wherein virtually every marriage was described with wording like "Bob married to Jane on April 1, 1863." But it wasn't a deliberately telegraphic style, where they were omitting the was, because everything else was written out in normal English. I thought it was really strange.

Sorry for that unhelpful anecdote.

rivka · « **Reply #83 on:** August 31, 2011, 11:20:14 PM »

I don't think it's a NYism. But the conjunction used in Spanish appears to be "con" -- most often translated as "with".

Nighthawk · « **Reply #84 on:** September 01, 2011, 08:16:17 AM »

In Spanish it's "X se casó con Y"... Which could be literally translated to "X got married with Y".

Given the conscious choice of the two, I'd probably be more likely to use "...with..." because of my Spanish roots.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #85 on:** September 01, 2011, 08:29:34 AM »

Spanish makes more sense. Marriage is something you do with someone, not to someone.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #86 on:** September 01, 2011, 08:48:54 AM »

In older times, I think "to" would have been considered the appropriate verb in regards to the woman, since she was joining a family, changing her name, and in many cases belonged to her husband.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #87 on:** September 01, 2011, 09:31:23 AM »

Not so much in my people's olden times.

Dobie · « **Reply #88 on:** September 01, 2011, 03:09:25 PM »

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #89 on:** September 02, 2011, 06:51:37 AM »

I'm OK on that one. My neighbors wife is totally not my type.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #90 on:** January 15, 2012, 09:41:02 AM »

That spokes-gecko on the TV commercials -- what kind of accent is his English? His voice is oddly compelling. Makes me want to switch auto insurance companies.

Jonathon · « **Reply #91 on:** January 15, 2012, 09:49:28 AM »

I've seen some sources say it's Cockney, but I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent. At the very least it's Londoner.

Dobie · « **Reply #92 on:** January 15, 2012, 09:52:50 AM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FR9-_rD8HQ&feature=related

Ela · « **Reply #93 on:** January 15, 2012, 10:27:55 AM »

Quote from: rivka on August 12, 2011, 04:24:28 PM

I can't take too much credit for words I picked up just by having the parents I do.

Months late reading this, but it still made me laugh. Knowing who your parents are.

rivka · « **Reply #94 on:** January 15, 2012, 10:37:08 AM »

pooka · « **Reply #95 on:** January 15, 2012, 02:09:10 PM »

I was going to say Eliza Doolittle speaks cockney, but I had a feeling that it's more of an epithet than a dialect, and so I looked it up. Wikipedia says it describes working class Londoners.

I have meant to look more into ways that James McAvoy does not speak like Patrick Stewart, which was really distracting when watching XMen first class.

rivka · « **Reply #96 on:** January 15, 2012, 02:49:03 PM »

Quote from: Jonathon on January 15, 2012, 09:49:28 AM

I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent.

Class, or perceived class. Watch enough episodes of BBC sitcoms, and you'll pick up on some differences.

fugu13 · « **Reply #97 on:** January 15, 2012, 03:39:45 PM »

It's pretty startling how many different accents there are (or were in the past; I think it's declining) in London.

The Genuine · « **Reply #98 on:** January 15, 2012, 04:38:25 PM »

An expatriate Londoner I know claims to be able to identify the street someone is from based on their accent.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #99 on:** January 15, 2012, 05:56:49 PM »

You know Henry Higgins?