Just a quick reply to this, but in a phrase I think I've picked up
from the American media:
I call bullshit on this.
I have never, ever, heard anyone claim that US English "has the right
to be considered the standard form of English".
Neither have I; however when you create the largest free global on-line
encyclopaedia and include a single language called English, wherein most of
the articles are written in an orthography described by the OED as
American-English, then it hardly needs verbalising.
I've heard, and
shared, the opinion that US English is a recognisable,
valid, and
hugely influential form of English,
Clearly.
but that is a very different
point.
I have also heard, from you, the equally bogus claim that what you
call "English English", but might more commonly be called "UK",
"Commonwealth", "Queen's", or "BBC" English has the
right to be
considered the standard form. I have never heard a convincing argument
as to why it has that right.
I actually initially wrote "English (as in the country) English (as in the
language)" but didn't pedantically repeat that over and over again (to avoid
RSI).
Convincing - see my thought experiment below.
It's patently obvious
it's a dialect, with it's own orthography
and it's simply wrong for the
headword in English to be written in a dialect of English in a dialectal
orthography and presented as the standard form, when it's not.
As for this bit, I think I and others have already refuted
denied, bitched, put their fingers in their ears yes; but "refuted" implies
it was academically proved.
this at
some length on the other thread, but:
1) there is no such thing as "the standard form"
2) US English is a dialect of English
3) UK English is another dialect of English
what's UK English?
4) neither of those labels is all that accurate, since those 2
dialects most definitely do not cover all usage in
those 2 countries
So, yes, it's simply wrong to present US English as "the standard
form"; but it's just as wrong to present any other dialect, including
your precious "Queen's English
I don't call it the queens english; I call it English, the language of
England.
", as "the standard form", because *both
are equally valid*.
Here's a thought experiment for you, to avoid reading too much into
the term "English": picture an imaginary language, we'll call it
"Blibbish". Now, to simplify, let's pretend there is a single version
of Blibbish spoken in Fooland, and a single one in Bargia. They are
both Blibbish, both from the same historical roots, but due to the
unfortunate location of a large body of sea-water between Fooland and
Bargia, they have evolved somewhat separately over the last couple of
centuries. Older versions of Blibbish were only spoken in Fooland,
because Bargia hadn't been discovered yet, but those old versions are
all extinct now - replaced by the two "competing" versions. Now, come
up with a good reason why either version of Blibbish should be
considered "superior" or "more standard" than the other.
a Logical Fallacy.
1. the countries should be called Blibbland and the United States of
Bargia, because Blibbish is autochthonous to Blibbland, it was born there,
and exported with the expansion of the Blibbish Empire.
Bargia was a collection of Blibbish colonies that gained independence, and
over time Bargian offshoot of Blibbish, experienced it's own unique influx
of cultural input from refugees and events, and evolved into what can only
accurately be described as Bargian-Blibbish.
Meanwhile, back in Blibbland, Blibbish continued to be spoken by the
Blibbish people continuing to evolve in parallel with the newer Bargian
dialect of Blibbish, which now includes new spellings, meanings,
pronounciations - as different as any Slavic, Germanic or Romance dialect.
Explain to the Blibbish people why they should suddenly change the name of
their language, and accept Bargian orthography and Bargianisms, now that
Bargia is bigger than Blibbland?
--
Rowan Collins BSc
[IMSoP]
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