Young Writers Society

ArticulateOverlord wrote:
Concerning the metric and other jibes:

It seems some of you are taking it a touch too seriously. This piece was meant to be a humorous epistle rather than a satire. If the tone came across as otherwise, suggestions on how to add to the frivolity would be appreciated.

I caught it, but wanted a response from you. I was merely playing the role baby, don't be harsh~

Your John Hancock is a little overbearing. It's the only part of the response which reeks of smug. I would say with great certainty that this is a very descriptive and colorful letter. Nicely done mate.

Um... to add to the frivolity and make it more ironic and such, you might want to poke a little bit at the other side. I am thinking about Jonathon Swift's ironic pieces... he pretty much slaughtered both sides utterly. xD So! You might consider doing this.

I read about three replies to this before my ribs (and my brain) started hurting. I love you crazy Americans and how you hate everybody

The most annoying thing about the metric/imperial dilemma is reading American books that involve people driving in cars, and thinking, "You're speeding at EIGHTY! Psssh! My NANA drives faster than that!"

Also, Spellcheck on American computers. Enough said.

emoinpink wrote:I read about three replies to this before my ribs (and my brain) started hurting. I love you crazy Americans and how you hate everybody

oooo we so crazy. I agree. We just want to be loved~

"I love you crazy Americans and how you hate everybody" Haha! Definitely true. But don't hate me, pls?

Just have to add that there's a law here in the States concerning that darn metric system. I think it happened back in the 80s, and it said, in my non-legal-trained understanding, "Switch to metric or else, fool!" Which is why everything sold here is marked both in metric and imperial, which is how I know 8.25 fl. oz is equal to 244 ml, which is handy for when I travel to Europe and can thus recognize that 250 ml is about a couple swallows.

The most frustrating thing, however, is when you're trying to bake from a European recipe book. Because we measure things by volume here. A cup of floor, two cups of milk. Not weight. Which means that I have to break out a scale whenever I attempt to make something from one of my European cookbooks. Which is frustrating.

But back to your piece! If you want to make it more frivolous and light-hearted, you could add some examples of a ridiculous nature--and don't forget to attack us over our comma usage! ("Why do you insist on adding a comma before 'and' and the last item in a list?" "Why do you make 'that' the restrictive modifier and 'which' the unrestrictive one? That's not nice!")

...and, okay, all right, I can't resist the temptation to argue back any longer.

I was skimming other reviews one day when I saw one that consisted of 'correcting' 'spelling errors.' The reviewer, US American. The reviewee, British. So, I know that such misunderstandings do occur here. I myself, being a comma lover, have one heck of a hard time with it, because sometimes the telltale 'ou' words aren't in a piece, and I have to scramble to decide whether the comma in question is actually in a funny place.

Tragic, I know.

So, I guess there are two problems. One, a reviewer doesn't know that English is spelled differently on the other side of the Pond. Two, a reviewer can't tell what type of English is being used.

We could stamp everything with BE and AE!!! [/joking]

Anyway, the last thing I wanted to add was an angry face at everyone insinuating that American English is somehow subpar or misused or ugly or awful or inferior. Because such insinuaters are wrong. Nothing's wrong with American English. Nothing's wrong with any type of English. British, American, Australian, African-American Vernacular, Jamaican, countless others--all equally valid. And every single language of the world, whether it's English or Mandarin or Guugu Yimidhirr or Navajo, is equally valid and awesome.

Now, the writing system of a language... there you've got to some wiggle room to say that one system's superior to another, but there's nothing about the British system that makes English any easier for, say, a non-native-English speaker to learn, so British and American spelling and punctuation are equal.

The metric system on the other hand... undoubtedly superior, but....

at least we didn't abandon our Old English roots for Latin! Hahahahahaha!

Bahahaha, tha's so funny. And true. Very true. Overlord, you must ignore the nit-picky American's who 'correct' your spelling. They are a very popular sort which I like to call 'ignorant' or 'unlearned' perhaps. And I do agree with you on the metric system, although it would be a tad difficult to change every ruler in every elementary school from their original twelve inches. Perhaps that is the only issue there, I am not entirely familiar with the metric system; only that it is far more easier to use.
I liked the 'signature' touch, very nice.
-The laughing American,
WaywardBird

Hehehehe. Americans just don't know how to spell. /joking

I like our extra vowels, though I find myself double guessing myself when faced with american spellchecks.... like the site used to have. Kind of glad it's gone, I was sick of seeing red lines under words like colour. XD Now that I have said that, I realise my browser is doing it, must go find the setting and change it...

I was just joking with my post. (Well, maybe I was a little serious). I just always wanted a reason to use that pic. :p

But, hey, give us Americans a break. We don't know every word that has extra vowels and it should be YOU to tell us. Don't think everyone knows. :B And us Americans, we just like to be different so we went separate ways when it comes to other things. Don't blame us for our forefather's ideas. :]

While the metric system is indeed distinctly more useful, as several people have pointed out, it would be an immense pain where the sun don't shine.


On the point of spelling, I'll have to disagree. It's not 'col-o-ur', or 'co-lure', it's 'co-lor'.
Although to be honest, I suppose that really depends on accent. Some people say "co-ler", some say "co-lur". So, you know, whatever. But American spelling seems, to me, to fit with the pronunciation. The English language is completely ridiculous, but imho British English is even more so~

Toodles c:

lunahlove wrote:While the metric system is indeed distinctly more useful, as several people have pointed out, it would be an immense pain where the sun don't shine.


On the point of spelling, I'll have to disagree. It's not 'col-o-ur', or 'co-lure', it's 'co-lor'.
Although to be honest, I suppose that really depends on accent. Some people say "co-ler", some say "co-lur". So, you know, whatever. But American spelling seems, to me, to fit with the pronunciation. The English language is completely ridiculous, but imho British English is even more so~

Toodles c:

Pronunciation defines written and spoken language? Teddy Roosevelt an idol of yours?
There are reasons for colour, humour, etc, which are root in history and when seen for as they are, make as much sense as color. An extra "u" or "e" in a word is not reason for ridiculousness. Using "Mtn Dew" instead of "Mountain", that is INSANITY. There are are reasons why In My Fair Lady it's said that Americans haven't spoken English in years.

ArticulateOverlord wrote:My Dear Americans,

There is something I wish to direct your attentions to, and that something is the existence of British English. Although essentially the same as American English in all the important aspects (else one would cease to be English), there are several marked (but ultimately superficial) differences in typography, most noticeable of which involves spelling. Take "colour" and "favour", for instance: the presence of the "u" is deliberate, as are the "o" in "foetus" and the "a" in "encyclopaedia".

These so-called "extra letters" are not errors; they are in fact perfectly valid spellings. Please stop "correcting" them. It is mistakenly pedantic and ultimately futile considering that the rest of the world uses British English. Although, if one must be absolutely technical about it, the "ae" in "encyclopaedia" should be rendered "æ" with the "oe" in "foetus" similarly rendered as "œ". Alas, standard English keyboards do not come readily equipped with æsc and ethel keys, or ligature keys in general.

In any case, the fact of the matter is that, while Americans in general seem in favor of amputating letters willy-nilly, the British seem to have more of an appreciation for the history of our shared language and so retain the older, more historied spelling, just as Americans insist upon retaining the imperial system of measurement. Please keep that in mind before you go about "correcting" misspellings in an otherwise grammatically sound piece.

With Regards,



P. S. — Give up the imperial system. The British abandoned it years ago, and they invented it. Besides which, metric is far more sensible.

This is very interesting. Further, a list of the British English variations of words would be helpful as a guide when critiquing. It's so easy to forget that the US shares a language with the nation of its origin, England.

I've run into some interesting differences in both spelling and dialect, as I'm from the southern US, and I enjoy watching some shows on BBC, as well as reading pieces online that originate from various nations.

Truly, the metric system is far superior to the Imperial system; in math it drives me crazy trying to convert fractions and feet and yards and such; why can't the US just use metric? It's so sensible, with decimals that make calculations easy.

Webster wrote the first American dictionary, and is responsible for the alteration of many of the words that differ between the American and British forms of written English. It's my guess that he intended to create a distinctly American form of English to differentiate American culture from British, as America was still a recently formed nation at the time.

Great piece. Might I recommend you do one on differences in dialect and accent next?

PS: It was pretty darn funny too. I can't wait to see what the accent/dialect one will be like, supposing you do one!

lunahlove wrote:While the metric system is indeed distinctly more useful, as several people have pointed out, it would be an immense pain where the sun don't shine.


On the point of spelling, I'll have to disagree. It's not 'col-o-ur', or 'co-lure', it's 'co-lor'.
Although to be honest, I suppose that really depends on accent. Some people say "co-ler", some say "co-lur". So, you know, whatever. But American spelling seems, to me, to fit with the pronunciation. The English language is completely ridiculous, but imho British English is even more so~

Toodles c:

Oh, man, if you think "co-ler" is bad, you should hear the way people where I live say it! "cuh-lerr", with a very thick "u" sound and a long, drawled "r", is how people where I live speak. (The Southern US, respectively)

It's amazing how many different accents one can hear within the same country; New Englanders speak quite differently from Southerners, and still Bostonians have their own accent. The Mid-western states seem to have almost no accent at all, well, to an American listener, that is.

vox nihili wrote:

lunahlove wrote:While the metric system is indeed distinctly more useful, as several people have pointed out, it would be an immense pain where the sun don't shine.


On the point of spelling, I'll have to disagree. It's not 'col-o-ur', or 'co-lure', it's 'co-lor'.
Although to be honest, I suppose that really depends on accent. Some people say "co-ler", some say "co-lur". So, you know, whatever. But American spelling seems, to me, to fit with the pronunciation. The English language is completely ridiculous, but imho British English is even more so~

Toodles c:

Oh, man, if you think "co-ler" is bad, you should hear the way people where I live say it! "cuh-lerr", with a very thick "u" sound and a long, drawled "r", is how people where I live speak. (The Southern US, respectively)

It's amazing how many different accents one can hear within the same country; New Englanders speak quite differently from Southerners, and still Bostonians have their own accent. The Mid-western states seem to have almost no accent at all, well, to an American listener, that is.

I's a midwestawna and yu sayin' I's got no ackcent?

Actually very true, part of why our accent, Midwestern Twang, is used in the media. It rings without ringing, it's neutral and inviting, unless you associate it with hick. Which is sooo true.

Honestly I commend Overlord for writing this, as the work itself is nice, but the discussion it has created is very interesting and popular. Good job chap, you went above and beyond a normal review process here.

PS: It was pretty darn funny too. I can't wait to see what the accent/dialect one will be like, supposing you do one!

While it is tempting to write another epistle on accents and dialects, I am unfortunately not as well-versed in them as with grammar. Perhaps another topic.

Honestly I commend Overlord for writing this, as the work itself is nice, but the discussion it has created is very interesting and popular. Good job chap, you went above and beyond a normal review process here. :D

Why thank you. I wish I could take all the credit.