The Americanization of spelling and terminology

ShatterAlan

764dak wrote: »

Sir Humphrey Davy discovered and named the metal. Aluminum is a slightly older spelling of aluminium.

https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2008/06/aluminum-vs-aluminium.html

Great.


So perhaps we should go back and call Sulphur ( Christ the americans spell it Sulfur) brimstone.


After all that was the original name, no?


I can think of a few elements such as Molydenum and Lanthanum (I'm sure there are others)....that kept their nomenclature. If you are trying to sell the idea that Americans call Aluminium A-Loo-minum, because they are in the know about its original etymoligy then you have a tough sell on your hands.


In the meantime I'm going to sprinkle some Sodum-Chloride in my chicken sandwich.

ShatterAlan

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Just like the Hubble Space telescope NASA told the contractor what to do, but didn't check they actually did it.


The US military has been using Klicks* since forever

Metric units are defined. Imperial units changed over time. In the USA a foot depends on the date.

On US maps heights are measured in different sized feet

*Kilometers.

I believe that the Americans actually made up their own effing imperial system to go along with their penchant for trying to be different and unique.


Correct me if I'm wrong but the fluid ounce in America differs from the original imperial fluid ounce?


16 fluid ounces consists of a pint. In America it's fcuking 20.


They even have to fcuk up an arcane measurement system to try to be "individual"


I COULD care less.


Why do they use the decimal system in their money instead of all this half-crown and farthing and guinea nonsense?

Black Swan

Awhile back was driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and saw a large sign over a cafe proclaiming "Try our Biscuits with Gravy."

ShatterAlan

Black Swan wrote: »

Awhile back was driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and saw a large sign over a cafe proclaiming "Try our Biscuits with Gravy."

Since WHEN did a piece of bread become a "biscuit"?

Capt'n Midnight

ShatterAlan wrote: »

I believe that the Americans actually made up their own effing imperial system to go along with their penchant for trying to be different and unique.


Correct me if I'm wrong but the fluid ounce in America differs from the original imperial fluid ounce?

'A pint's a pound the world around'

In the USA a pint has 16 fluid ounces.
Not even Canada uses that crap so it's not next door nevermind the world around.

Here a pint has another four fluid ounces.
Smaller pints means they are lightweights when it comes to the drink.


And there's 10 Mickey Mouse pints in a Mickey Moue gallon because


A US ton is 2000 lbs. 907.18 kg
A UK ton is 2240 lbs 1,016.05 kg so it's way closer to a real tonne.



But yes pretty much ALL the US units differ from proper Imperial ones.

dotsman

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

I'm old enough to remember when it was a new series of a telly programme, not a new season.

Then you are old enough to have been wrong!;) A series and season are 2 different things. A "series" refers to the entire collection of a related episodes while a "season" is a subcategory and refers to a batch these episodes release to be broadcast in a particularly television season or seasons.

i.e. Game of thrones is as a television series. Season 2 refers to episodes 11-20 which were written, filmed and release together.

Many decades ago, the British didn't bother using this distinction and confusingly referred to everything as a series (whether it was the entire series or part of a series). In recent decades however, British TV execs have begun to to describe them correctly. People heavily influenced by British culture would have traditionally also made this mistake, but have more recently corrected it.

I Am Nobody

Black Swan wrote: »

Awhile back was driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and saw a large sign over a cafe proclaiming "Try our Biscuits with Gravy."

I do miss the Sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuits from Cracker Barrel!

ShatterAlan

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

'A pint's a pound the world around'

In the USA a pint has 16 fluid ounces.
Not even Canada uses that crap so it's not next door nevermind the world around.

Here a pint has another four fluid ounces.
Smaller pints means they are lightweights when it comes to the drink.


And there's 10 Mickey Mouse pints in a Mickey Moue gallon because


A US ton is 2000 lbs. 907.18 kg
A UK ton is 2240 lbs 1,016.05 kg so it's way closer to a real tonne.



But yes pretty much ALL the US units differ from proper Imperial ones.

I thought that in UK Imperial measurements there were 16 fluid ounces in a pint but there were also 16 American fluid ounces in an American pint. However the the American fluid ounce is smaller so it takes 20 of them to make up a British imperial pint. I could be wrong.

amadangomor

Watching Peter Rabbit with the childer the other day noticed a lot of Americanisms for what is an English based story. With rabbits who lived in the lake district using terms like "I got this".

I know it is a commercial thing as the American market is huge but could they not have authentic language and let the Americans adapt and figure out the local phraseology.

GinSoaked

What I learned at school was 20 fluid ounces to a pint and "a pint of water weighs a pound and quarter".

If you think about that 20 fluid ounces of water is a pound and a quarter.

Capt'n Midnight

ShatterAlan wrote: »

I thought that in UK Imperial measurements there were 16 fluid ounces in a pint but there were also 16 American fluid ounces in an American pint. However the the American fluid ounce is smaller so it takes 20 of them to make up a British imperial pint. I could be wrong.

A pint has 20 fluid ounces. 568 ml.


A mickey mouse pint has 16 mickey mouse fluid ounces and is by definition exactly 23.1 mickey mouse cubic inches, because reasons.
About 473 ml.


Oh and a mickey mouse pint of water doesn't weigh a mickey mouse pound.

I Am Nobody

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

A pint has 20 fluid ounces. 568 ml.


A mickey mouse pint has 16 mickey mouse fluid ounces and is by definition exactly 23.1 mickey mouse cubic inches, because reasons.
About 473 ml.


Oh and a mickey mouse pint of water doesn't weigh a mickey mouse pound.

Ok I am confused about the mickey mouse reference.In saying that,I lived in the US for nearly 30 years.And I did adapt to the native slang and measurements.Which I still get a bollixing since being back home.

ShatterAlan

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

A pint has 20 fluid ounces. 568 ml.


A mickey mouse pint has 16 mickey mouse fluid ounces and is by definition exactly 23.1 mickey mouse cubic inches, because reasons.
About 473 ml.


Oh and a mickey mouse pint of water doesn't weigh a mickey mouse pound.

Ah yes....there are 16 ounces in a POUND (1lb)


There are 20 fluid ounces in a pint which is not a pound.



Now I remember. I exclusively worked with the metric system in school and university (Engineering) so never bothered really learning the Imperial system except the real basics like my weight in stone, a pint of milk or getting a pound of sugar for my mum at the shop.


The metric system is just so logical. It is predicated on water. A litre of water weighs exactly 1kg. 1000 litres of water weighs 1 ton. If you were to put that water in a cube shaped tank it would measure exactly 1 metre by length, breadth and height.


Same with temperature.

riclad

One more reason not to buy an iPhone it use, s American English dictionary, it would not be difficult to use UK English for phones sold in Ireland and the UK. Any Irish person who says fall for autumn is just an idiot.
I don't see American style spellings used on UK or Irish websites.
But UK programs set in the 70s or 80s often use slang words that were invented in the 90s or later.

joe40

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Ah yes....there are 16 ounces in a POUND (1lb)


There are 20 fluid ounces in a pint which is not a pound.



Now I remember. I exclusively worked with the metric system in school and university (Engineering) so never bothered really learning the Imperial system except the real basics like my weight in stone, a pint of milk or getting a pound of sugar for my mum at the shop.


The metric system is just so logical. It is predicated on water. A litre of water weighs exactly 1kg. 1000 litres of water weighs 1 ton. If you were to put that water in a cube shaped tank it would measure exactly 1 metre by length, breadth and height.


Same with temperature.

I think in Ireland we're quite good at using both imperial and metric systems.
I prefer metric absolutely, but if someone talked about feet and inches or pounds and stones I can still relate to those units.

Except Fahrenheit, I haven't a clue. I would have to convert to Celsius to relate to the figure.

Capt'n Midnight

ShatterAlan wrote: »

The metric system is just so logical. It is predicated on water. A litre of water weighs exactly 1kg. 1000 litres of water weighs 1 ton. If you were to put that water in a cube shaped tank it would measure exactly 1 metre by length, breadth and height.


Same with temperature.

The meter was based on the shape of the Earth.

A meter was one ten millionth of the distance between the Equator and North Pole via Paris. Quite a feat as no one had been to the North Pole yet.

And standards got refined and refined over time

Even so it's still close enough to 1 at 0.999975±0.000001 kg/L

764dak

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Great.


So perhaps we should go back and call Sulphur ( Christ the americans spell it Sulfur) brimstone.


After all that was the original name, no?


I can think of a few elements such as Molydenum and Lanthanum (I'm sure there are others)....that kept their nomenclature. If you are trying to sell the idea that Americans call Aluminium A-Loo-minum, because they are in the know about its original etymoligy then you have a tough sell on your hands.


In the meantime I'm going to sprinkle some Sodum-Chloride in my chicken sandwich.

It's not an Americanization if a British guy named it. Also, the -nium spelling was and is preferred among US-American scientists. Non-scientists use the other spelling because of Noah Webster.

Also, my post never said that it should revert to older spelling.