I can no longer resist chiming in to stand up for The One True English!  :-)

[ On Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 17:07:15 (+0200), Jaka Jejcic wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: English in NetBSD (Re: CVS commit: src/usr.bin/mklocale)
>
> On Tue, May 06, 2003 at 04:28:36PM +0200, Reinier Jonker wrote:
> > 
> > They are, in fact, the only correct spellings. American is nothing more 
> > than a regional variety. IMHO, the standard spelling and grammar for an 
> > international project should always adhere to British Standard English.
> 
> I don't think I agree with you on this one. I'm not a native English
> speaker either. But I think you can't just put American English to
> a 'regional variety'.

Well, being a "native" (though not indigenous resident) of a close
neighbour of the United States of America and a descendent of mostly
British immigrants, I can confidently say that American English most
certainly is no more than just a regional variety of English.

The spread of American English around the world still cannot even come
close to the original spread of British English around the world, and
indeed from which American English itself originated.  Hollywood might
like to think it is king, and USA media may have an enormous (and
detrimental) affect on cultures worldwide, but those self-asserting
Americans who come from the south half of North America are not (yet)
by any means authoritative rulers of all things English.

> On the contrary, it is the American spelling that
> prevails (and creates) the computer world of English and, if trying
> to set a standard, is closer to one. (In the sense of computers, of course)

Now that's putting the cart in front of the horse for certain!

> It is also illegal to put a comma before 'and' in Slovene.

Hopefully doing so is only frowned upon and not actualy illegal!  :-)


-- 
								Greg A. Woods

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