Question on English Language to British Members

The British use the English language more skillfully than Americans do. I don't mean here at EVC necessarily, but on average throughout the whole population.So I'm curious if you are wrestling, in England, with a problem we wrestle with in America: the "he/she" problem. An example is in the sentence "When a fire fighter enters a smokey building, he/she must follow strict safety proceedures." We don't know if the fire fighter is male or female, and we don't want to offend anyone by using either "he" or "she" alone.Here are some of the ways we handle this problem in the United States:1) We use the plural "they". So the sentence becomes "When a fire fighter enters a smokey building, they must follow strict safety proceedures." We use this solution more often in speech than in writing, and it is probably the most common solution we use in speech.2) We make "fire fighter" plural, and write "When fire fighters enter a smokey building, they must follow strict safety proceedures."3) We write "he or she", "s/he", or "he/she".Is this a problem in England, or do you have it resolved? Just curious; thanks in advance for any replies.IGIT

Well I am sort of glad that we give that impression. But I am not sure it is true. This is mildly off topic - But I have wondered previously whether Americans (men especially) are less keen to invoke their full vocabulary than Brits for fear of sounding sort of "intellectualyl camp".I would not dream of speaking the way I write here in common parlance (there is a good example - I don't think I have ever uttered the word "parlance". And nor do I intend to do so anytime soon).Are the British just less afraid of expressing themselves in writing in a form that would sound vaguely ridiculous if spoken?It always strikes me that American men write much more how they talk than I do. But that is a sweeping generalisation that I am happy to renege (another word I have never actually spoken) on if people disagree. I think we have the same issues and quandary (another word I have never spoken) that you guys do with respect to the examples you highlighted.

Americans write the way they speak because eithera) they are too lazy to spell properlyb) they don't KNOW how to spell properlyc) they think they are cool if they spell using "1337 sp33k", conversely, they may perceive only nerds to know proper grammar.

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Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

I am not so much talking lazy spelling here as vocab.There are many intelligent people here at EvC. On all sides of the debate. And from various countries.But the Brit contingent seem most able/inclined to express themselves in a manner that is quite pseudo-intellectual sounding in terms of vocab (IMHO) in a way that the Americans do not.Maybe I am deluding myself in such a way as to justify my own relatively flamboyant means of expression. Or maybe I am deluding myself that my means of expression is any different or more worthy of comment than any other.But there still seems (in my mind) to be a cultural difference in terms of use of language that is about willingness to use, rather than ability.

In that sense, I agree. Whenever I "talk all fancy like", my old lady calls me snobby.It may be due to media. Our media generally uses language for dummies. When I listen to BBC radio, I hear proper grammar. I don't know how many times I have mentally corrected simple grammar whilst watching TV or listening to American radio. When i listen to the BBC, I only notice having to do it when they interview......Americans.So I would venture to guess that you guys hear and see proper language more than we do.Edited by hooah212002, : don't mind my shift keyEdited by hooah212002, : No reason given.

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Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

I dunno. Maybe.Would you say that there is an anti-intellectualism in the US that precludes writing in the most articulate manner possible?As I mentioned before I don't speak as I write. If I did I would be considered some kind of weirdo. That is a form of bias and prejudice in it's own way.

YES..YES..FUCK YES. Look how Obama was chastised for articulating and pronouncing nuclear, Iraq etc.. The media hounds him to this day because he annunciates. I know you are talking about writing, but this is the attitude and it is reflected in "our" written word. Wasn't it an American who wanted to re-write the dictionary so all words were written as they sounded?Schools are barely getting children by. I learned better writing skills AFTER high school than while IN high school (no college). It is a daily occurence, like I said, to read something, or hear a program that has either horrible spelling or atrocious grammar.I would also say that most American's vocabulary is pretty slim, so using eloquent words when writing blows right past your audience.

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Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

Unfair my good sir! I'm an American and I can spell correctly in both British and American English, and I do so without any thought of one being "right" and one "wrong". They are just different. Depends on your audience. Language evolves. The Americans spell things the way they do because these spellings were standardised by people, in America, who came long before them. You know all this man!

I agree. As it should. however, ours is de-volving. Improper spelling is not an advancement.Here, let me quote something I just read at an Overclocking forum I frequent. Tell me if this doesn't chap your ass. Edited by hooah212002, : No reason given.

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Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

I know what you mean, but I find some British people in the UK that think many Americanised spellings make more sense to them.Centre or Center? How is one more right than the other, apart from a declaration on which came first? Which is phonetically closer to the actual pronunciation? I'm not exactly sure of the answer myself hehe, but I don't exactly think the interchanging of the position of the two letters in question there (a mutation if you will) makes any difference.I think many British just feel like we yanks bastardised their language, but if that's the case, so did much of the rest of the world.I do think you make valid points about a general dumbing down in American society. I'd have to admit that a disproportionately significant portion of my vocabulary has been acquired since migrating to the UK.I believe British intellectuals on the whole seem to utilise the language to better effect than their American counterparts.It is a shame that in some circles a high degree of literacy is something to be ashamed of.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.

Here's an exaggerated, hypothetical example: I think the British have a better grasp on the nuances of individual words, and when one is better suited to express your thoughts than another very similar choice.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.

Exactly. English is a very precise language (at least it can be, in the right hands). There is no excuse for one to not be able to express his/herself in the manner in which they intend.

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Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people
-Carl SaganFor me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
-Carl Sagan

Well, some languages evolve, and other languages are created. In created languages, counting only goes from -4004 to +2010, whereas in evolving languages there are words for bigger numbers, like 'billion'.Joking aside, That's not just a shame, that's the world on its head.Edited by Parasomnium, : No reason given.

Nice hehe. (I feel like I can type "hehe" in the Coffee House, but I try not to let it creep into my regular posts)Speaking of "billion", it reminded me of my confusion when I came across a reference to "one thousand million" in a (relatively old) British book recently. In my head I was seeing that as one billion, and so I had to chase up what was going on... -- from Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary

In Dutch, we have 'miljoen', 'miljard', and 'biljoen', for a million, a billion, and a thousand billion.