Posted by Peter Ceresole on August 11, 2008 at 08:12:18 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Bad Spelling posted by Mike Dennis on August 11, 2008 at 06:39:44:
It's enough for us in the UK to talk of English, anywhere else that uses a variant it has to be so named.
I agree that that's a tempting line, but language is functional and evolving. 'England', although the origin of English, is no longer the main user, nor the main innovator.
From 'New Scientist':
'Perhaps the reason that Microsoft has focused on "US English" (Feedback, 16 October) is that 72 per cent of the people that have English as their first language speak "American English". Some 16 per cent use British English, 6 per cent Canadian English, 5 per cent Australian English and 1 per cent New Zealand English.
As Susan Butler, the publisher of Australia's Macquarie Dictionary, said recently: "It looks like the centre of gravity for the English language has shifted."'