Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - American's use of 'then' instead of 'than'

McKay · 11-30-2004, 10:42 AM

It's amazing how the useage of the English language is deteriorating. I am 35 years old and live in England. When I was at school, even at the age of seven or eight, if I had confused words like "then" and "than" or wrongly used apostrophe marks in my school work my teacher would have certainly corrected me. Do teachers no longer bother to correct spelling mistakes? An American poster here has stated that his incorrect use of "then" and "than" was only pointed out to him quite far on in his school life. Do people no longer read books...novels, history etc? How can even a remotely well-read person confuse and misuse such simple words? It's amazing! I don't really have a great problem with other people's poor English but I feel sorry for those who cannot express themselves properly in their own language. There is a reason for the rules of the English language.. If we all take each word to have the same meaning then we can perfectly understand each other. If we use different, incorrect, meanings for words then we run the risk of at best looking like uneducated idiots when we write or at worst being totally incomprehensible to others.

Examples:

Wash the car then go to school.
She is fatter than him.

There are twenty chairs in the room. (NOT chair's)

Only use an apostrophe if you are refering to someone's/something's property or component part.

The chair's seat fell off. (not great English but correct.)

It seems to me that many of the most common spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes in English come from an American source. It's unfortunate that the poor quality of modern British teaching combined with the constant media bombardment of American culture has resulted in young Brits not being able to express themselves well in their own language.

I've read that a prominent American dictionary is to include the alternative spelling of "loser", ie "looser." Hundreds of years ago we realised that we all must keep to the same spellings if we are to be understood, thus the birth of the dictionary. It seems that now the dictionary is happy to become incorrect in order to reflect current trends. It looks like Political Correctness has now gone so far that we are afraid to discriminate against bad spelling!

Will American English eventually become a purely phonetically-spelled language? Do the words all have to have baby-spellings so that their pronunciation is obvious? It is moving in that direction. "Center" instead of "Centre"? "Looser" instead of "Loser" (why not add another couple of "o"s and make it "Looooser?" "Draft" instead of "Draught" When are they going to change "Circle" into "Circel?"

CJ.

11-30-2004, 10:42 AM	#34 (permalink)
McKay Upright	It's amazing how the useage of the English language is deteriorating. I am 35 years old and live in England. When I was at school, even at the age of seven or eight, if I had confused words like "then" and "than" or wrongly used apostrophe marks in my school work my teacher would have certainly corrected me. Do teachers no longer bother to correct spelling mistakes? An American poster here has stated that his incorrect use of "then" and "than" was only pointed out to him quite far on in his school life. Do people no longer read books...novels, history etc? How can even a remotely well-read person confuse and misuse such simple words? It's amazing! I don't really have a great problem with other people's poor English but I feel sorry for those who cannot express themselves properly in their own language. There is a reason for the rules of the English language.. If we all take each word to have the same meaning then we can perfectly understand each other. If we use different, incorrect, meanings for words then we run the risk of at best looking like uneducated idiots when we write or at worst being totally incomprehensible to others. Examples: Wash the car then go to school. She is fatter than him. There are twenty chairs in the room. (NOT chair's) Only use an apostrophe if you are refering to someone's/something's property or component part. The chair's seat fell off. (not great English but correct.) It seems to me that many of the most common spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes in English come from an American source. It's unfortunate that the poor quality of modern British teaching combined with the constant media bombardment of American culture has resulted in young Brits not being able to express themselves well in their own language. I've read that a prominent American dictionary is to include the alternative spelling of "loser", ie "looser." Hundreds of years ago we realised that we all must keep to the same spellings if we are to be understood, thus the birth of the dictionary. It seems that now the dictionary is happy to become incorrect in order to reflect current trends. It looks like Political Correctness has now gone so far that we are afraid to discriminate against bad spelling! Will American English eventually become a purely phonetically-spelled language? Do the words all have to have baby-spellings so that their pronunciation is obvious? It is moving in that direction. "Center" instead of "Centre"? "Looser" instead of "Loser" (why not add another couple of "o"s and make it "Looooser?" "Draft" instead of "Draught" When are they going to change "Circle" into "Circel?" CJ.