AIL                    Use and misuse of language        19 April 2008

I have to admit that I am something of a pedant where language is concerned.  I am not a particularly learned person, but I do detest misuse of language.  I expect that I too misuse language, but if I am told of an error, I try to correct it.  Below I list some of the annoying errors perpetrated by others.  If any reader spots an error I have made, I will be more than pleased to correct what I have written.  This is, of course, providing that I agree that this corrector is himself  correct.

1    The United States of America is where I start my thesis.  I contend that this country is unique in the world in that there is no proper name for the citizens of the USA.  The founding fathers didn't think about inventing a word for their citizens.  You may say that they are called 'Americans'.  That seems to be the usual word, but I contend that it is incorrect.  "An American" is a person who normally resides in America, and 'America' is a continent, not a country.  The Constitution of the USA is quite clear: the country is called "The United States OF America".  I have no problem with that; and it defines itself as 'part of America'.  And I have looked up the definition of 'America' in my Webster's Dictionary.  It is published by Lexicon Publications, Inc of Danbury.  It defines 'America' as "the two continents, North America and South America" ( I always thought of them as one)  So, by extension, anyone living anywhere between the most northerly part of Canada and the most southerly part of Argentina, is 'an American'.  This fact seems to be offensive to most USA people I have talked to.  I cannot understand why!

2    Staying with the USA.  A lot of their spellings are different to those of where the language originated. They still call it 'English'.  But it is not that that I complain about.  The early settlers took a language with them from England that was in a real mess when they took it to the New World.  Later people like Noah Webster tidied up the spelling and we did in this country, but the two groups didn't consult each other.  So we end up having two versions of the same language with different spellings.  Neither being wrong, just different.  But when the USA spellings were being put together, they did make some errors.  Take 'metre' and 'meter'.  The USA spells the two entirely different words the same way, so in writing they cannot differentiate between 'a measuring instrument' and a metric unit of length.  We can, of course.  Another example of over-simplifying the spelling:  'check' is a verb that may sometimes become a noun. 'Cheque' is always a noun' And the two homonyms have qute different meanings.

But they do have a few things that are an improvement on our version of the language.  A 'pavement' is a paved area.  In Canada I saw the word used to mean the roadway.  They were not wrong, if anyone is, it is us.  The USA word is 'sidewalk'.  A perfectly clear word that doesn't need a definition.  Just think, if an British adult was in charge of a wayward USA child here in Britain.  "Get on the pavement" would be the wrong set of words to scream at the kid.

There are many other differences between our two version of the language.  Most of these are simply a matter of definition.  Spoon sizes are an area of confusion.  Floor levels are another.  Automobile parts have different names dependent on which side of the Atlantic you happen to be.  I think that spelling the rubber part of a car wheel in the USA is wrong.  To use the word that means you are getting fatigued (tire) is truly wrong.  Our spelling of 'tyre' is clear and unambiguous.  As regards to use or non-use of the letter 'u' in words like 'colour' is not a big issue.  Neither is the use of a 'z' where we use an 's' is not serious either.  And although I prefer two 'l's in 'travelling', one 'l' is not a serious problem.  Cleaning up words like 'encyclopaedia' to 'encyclopedia' is a quirk I can live with.

My brother was friendly with a retired Director of Education of Toronto City.  That man decreed that both U.S. and British spellings were legitimate.  A truly sensible decision in a country that is half and half British and USA.