On 07/14/2010 07:18 PM, NoOp wrote:
On 07/14/2010 07:06 PM, John Jason Jordan wrote:
...
But in reality talking about "British English" and "American English"
is a pretty imprecise thing. There are dozens of varieties of British
English, and dozens more of American English. And dozens more if you
count other countries where English is widely spoken. Each variety has
its own grammatical peculiarities. For example, while trying to turn
onto a busy street during rush hour this morning I yelled at the
drivers on the busy street: "Dayumn! Y'all people have to stop drivin'
here, 'cause I'm late for work." Now, what do you suppose your grammar
checker would do with that sentence? Yet, I maintain that it is
perfectly grammatical for millions of English speakers.
To me a grammar checker should limit itself to finding a missing open
or end quote and similar simple issues. Trying to check grammar is too
involved.
OK... take me to hospital. :-)
This is another good example of the differences between UK and US
English. In the US one would say "Take me to a hospital." or "Take me
to the hospital." To us, leaving out the article sounds funny.
However, one can have a lot of fun with the differences. For example:
In the UK you might tell a girl, "I'll pop around in the morning and
knock you up." Meaning that you will go to her place and knock on the
door. In the US to knock a girl up means to make her pregnant. You can
imagine the different reactions you would get from a girl in the US or a
girl in the UK.
Idioms like this also complicate the tasks of a grammar checker.
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