Here's a funny quote somebody sent me, from Wikipedia.

Interestingly, such moves may even appear at a local, rather than a federal level. The US state of Illinois declared "American" to be the state's official language in 1923 [1], although linguists and politicians throughout much of the rest of the country considered American simply to be a dialect.

I think American is a great language and encourage you all to get your learn on.

...?

American English, as opposed to British English? Or are we talking about something else here?

Will colour be made illegal? And how would you know, if it's only spoken?

Originally Posted by ForrestCroce

...?

American English, as opposed to British English? Or are we talking about something else here?

Will colour be made illegal? And how would you know, if it's only spoken?

I am kinda lost as well. Whats the difference between english and American?

Originally Posted by jabo

I am kinda lost as well. Whats the difference between english and American?

I prefer American when just hanging with my friends, however I use English when talking to a client.

Some may argue with me here - but I find Canadian is better on Job interviews.

And as you can see I like to mix it up when forum writing.

What's your favorite, oops favourite

You say tom-ay-to and I say tom-ah-to.

Isn't American the language of Jeff Foxworthy?

Originally Posted by joder

Isn't American the language of Jeff Foxworthy?

And a proud conservative he was, having donated to GWB's campaign. But yes, and it's also the language of Illinois.

They have a point. Why on earth would we want to impose on ourselves an affected, wussified, Frenchified national language like English, which is filled with words like "programme"?

Shouldn't the official address of our national capital be "off yonder"?

You forgot to include in that address, "up the road apiece." And it's, "o'er yonder."

I think that in America those who deal with the public should speak American English. I'd be all for codifying that. When I lived in Germany, as a guest in a foreign country, I learned German. I think Americans cater to non-English speakers far too much.

tim

In my neck of the woods there is the "South Buffalonian" language. This includes my biggest pet peeve ...... "yous" as in "Are yous going to the store?" It took me years of telling my husband that there were no female sheep in the vicinity to eradicate it from his vocabulary and I just want to scrub peoples' tongues when I hear it.

Originally Posted by KML9870

In my neck of the woods there is the "South Buffalonian" language. This includes my biggest pet peeve ...... "yous" as in "Are yous going to the store?" It took me years of telling my husband that there were no female sheep in the vicinity to eradicate it from his vocabulary and I just want to scrub peoples' tongues when I hear it.

Lol. "American" is not a national language, or a language at all IMO. "American English" is a language, or at least a dialect of English. In response to the "Frenchified" spelling of ours, I just like to think that we aren't lazy spellers and spell words as they are supposed to be spelt. Americans were a bit lazy with spelling so decided to know letters off words!

Originally Posted by serandfae

When I lived in Germany, as a guest in a foreign country, I learned German. I think Americans cater to non-English speakers far too much.

No! No English! You're in America, speak American! None of this English speaking should be allowed. We're not in England! We don't tolerate Canadian, eh? So no English, either, in America. We speak American, which means we ax youse a question.

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

We speak American, which means we ax youse a question.

I believe that language is Ebonics. When I was younger, my Australian friends always seemed to have an easier time with California girls once they spoke. Accent sluts. Then again, I've always had a thing for girls with a southern drawl...

@Tim... Perhaps we do cater a bit too much to foreign speaking people in this country. Personally, if a business wants to print Swahili along side their English, thats OK with me. The minute people start demanding the government print anything in a language other than English, I get irritated.

Should things be measured in

(1) Meters
(2) Metres
(3) Feet

Wikipedia is apparently highly biased against American

The metre or meter[1] (symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (the SI), which means that all SI units that involve length (or vectors)—such as area and velocity—are defined in terms of it.

Those lousy Limeys came first! That's obviously a thinly veiled ploy to steal the election from McCain for Obama because everybody knows only Democrats like Europe.

I hate that metric system. They want me to multiply by 10 instead of some number like 12.

Don't want to drop a fly in anyones soup but American, Autralian, its all English (way back when I were a lad) - just different accents and variations which you can get in different towns in England.

If the American language is truly American did an american invent it? was it not brought to America by English colonialists who brough the beutiful English language to your fair country??

We're more like distant cousins than other counties - English American cousins, has a nice ring to it...

...wait for it...wait for it...

I need a bigger spoon...

American and English are dialects of the English language. Ours wasn't invented in England, and doesn't match what's spoken in any English town - it evolved here, over the centuries. Think about the many uniquely American types of slang, that have introduced new words and phrases into the spoken and written language, which have caught on and spread beyond the original sub group that invented them. Pimp my ride and on and poppin are 2 examples out of literally thousands.

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

American and English are dialects of the English language.

Finally someone has actually gotten to the bottom of it all - American nor British are languages, but instead dialects of the English language

English is an Indo-European Language derived from Germanic Linguistic roots.

Ebonics is also know as AAVL (African American Vernacular Language).

And as John and Dan already know, American English is a Dialect of English.

(My last uni test today was for my linguistics class )

Ha! I tricked all of you!

We're secretly working to make the national language American. But the secret is that American, here, is an adjective, not a noun. We haven't decided whether it'll be an Apache or a Navajo language we choose for the US national language, but either will be a truly American one!

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

No! No English! You're in America, speak American! None of this English speaking should be allowed. We're not in England! We don't tolerate Canadian, eh? So no English, either, in America. We speak American, which means we ax youse a question.

I traveled most of my life, since my dad was in the service, so I developed a non-regional American dialect (or multi-regional, since while my accent is neutral American I've picked up phrases from many regions). Since I've lived in NC so long, though, I tend to switch from that and a Southern dialect and accent, often without realizing it. By the way, I said American English, and didn't specify a sub-dialect.

Originally Posted by cbwm

I believe that language is Ebonics. When I was younger, my Australian friends always seemed to have an easier time with California girls once they spoke. Accent sluts. Then again, I've always had a thing for girls with a southern drawl...

Brooklyn Ebonics? The accent thing can work in reverse, too, as a repellent. A hottie sounding like Fran Drescher would send me running in the opposite direction. Well, maybe not so long as she shut up.... Funny that what we call a "nasal" voice doesn't use the nose at all.

Originally Posted by cbwm

@Tim... Perhaps we do cater a bit too much to foreign speaking people in this country. Personally, if a business wants to print Swahili along side their English, thats OK with me. The minute people start demanding the government print anything in a language other than English, I get irritated.

Knowledge of American English should be a requirement for US citizenship. It should also be a requirement for taking your order at the take-out window.

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

Ha! I tricked all of you!

We're secretly working to make the national language American. But the secret is that American, here, is an adjective, not a noun. We haven't decided whether it'll be an Apache or a Navajo language we choose for the US national language, but either will be a truly American one!

That would work about as well as Esperanto. Do you actually know anyone who speaks Esperanto? Like I said, I specified American English to begin with, and I'm sure those who framed the law you quoted implied it.

tim