Pick a Prompt Contest

2008-02-15 [Cia_mar]: this is so like my talk with [Remos Page] about the word "aluminum" i pronounce it with 4 syllables adn i thought he was saying it wrong cuz he uses 5 syllables .. but then when he spelled it,.,, it was "aliminium"
i looked it up adn saw that it was the original spelling and the reason was that when they named the substance it was named following the traditional spelling of things like "uranium".... so the "ium" was right...
personally, i think it matters not... it is just fun to point out differances in spelling.. but not to say one is better than the other, but more from the academic side of "wow! how neat, look how this word originated!!!"

ok that is all...lol

2008-02-15 [Jitter]: It's "Alouminio" in Greek(lish) so Aluminium sounds correct :P

2008-02-15 [Cia_mar]: yes, that is the other consideration, what is the root of the word,.,., greek, latin...celtic...(i say celtic because i have noticed that alot of their words dont have traditional L or G roots... but instead are one of those languages that was quite pure al by itself... though over time they have been influenced by latin... still... unlike things like french german adn spanish and english,.,, which are noticable influenced by latin and greek... celtic still has little in common with those languages...lol)

2008-02-15 [Jitter]: I think it's Latin to be honest :)

2008-02-15 [Cia_mar]: some of the newer words are... but in consideration of things like the greeting "how are you?" "ciamar a tha thu?" ... yes there is alot of latin influencing the language after a certain point, but it is not the base or source language...
only after rome made its way to gaul, britain and the island of ierne, did their languge influence the celts...
those of gaul were influenced more, only because they also had trade with those that came to the costs...
anyway,,, it hs been along time since i hve studied up on that... but as with all language, we all had our beginnings at bable/...lol

2008-02-15 [Imperator]: I like how the comment section of a contest has become an academic discussion on language. :p

2008-02-16 [Cia_mar]: well it is better than some of the comment sections that are arguments or people slamming others...lol... nah... sometimes it is nice to be able to talk about things that people IRL around me have no clue or interest in anyway...
i actually have some things in the elftown academy for learning gaelic...though i used to study it more... i am out of practice right now...

2008-02-16 [Yncke]: I am curious how it is done in English. I mean, in Dutch, it is written the way it is done in 'Het Groene Boekje' (the little green book), everything else is wrong (with some discussion about words written differently in the Van Dale, which is the leading dictionary). But at school somewhere in the USA, when you write 'colour' in a test, do you lose a point? And based on what authority, exactly?

2008-02-16 [Jitter]: When I sat the exam for my Proficiency Certificate from Michigan Uni we had to use American Vocabulary and spelling, when I sat my Cambridge Certificate Exam if we used Americanisms it was points minus, so I guess it must be the same for schools.

2008-02-16 [Yncke]: Okay, but is there an official definition of for example 'British English'?

2008-02-16 [Jitter]: From what I can remember (apart from the s vs z in verbs and 'ou ' vs 'u' etc) some words like "busted" are totally American and wouldn't be accepted in a composition in the British Exam I took :)
Most I know are from experience though :)

2008-02-16 [sequeena_rae]: Hah, you should see the crap they're letting into British exams now, it makes me sad :(

And you lot talk a lot in one night :P The English language has been influenced by many other languages, because nearly every bastard invaded us xD

2008-02-16 [Yncke]: But did they conquer you? I think that's an important difference.

2008-02-16 [sequeena_rae]: Um...Yes :P

2008-02-16 [Imperator]: He he he! The only invaders of Britain I can think of are the Saxons and Vikings though...

2008-02-16 [sequeena_rae]: William The Conquerer, hello? xP

2008-02-16 [Linderel]: I think this really should move somewhere else xD
Not that it isn't interesting, but if someone asks a question about the contest, it may drown :P

2008-02-16 [sequeena_rae]: Junk! :D

2008-02-16 [Imperator]: I'm shocked! This is not junk! This is a scholarly discussion. If it needs to be moved anywhere it should be the Elftown Academy...

2008-02-21 [sequeena_rae]: Right, whatever. If you're not part of junk don't knock it :P

2008-02-21 [Imperator]: ?Que?