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I just took the Australian test and scored 70%! Lucky guess with three questions though. Fun to try.100%English 70%American and only 30% Australian to be honest the Australian seemed difficult.
Dave
I just took the Australian test and scored 70%! Lucky guess with three questions though. Fun to try.100%English 70%American and only 30% Australian to be honest the Australian seemed difficult.
Dave
I've always thought it was correct usage to call English money sterling, as in pound sterling, when did this stop being correct?That can't be real...
Edit: in my local bank branch when I was talking with one of the assistants about money transfer and currency exchange/conversion, he used the term "Sterling" instead of pound.
That can't be real...
Edit: in my local bank branch when I was talking with one of the assistants about money transfer and currency exchange/conversion, he used the term "Sterling" instead of pound.
I've always thought it was correct usage to call English money sterling, as in pound sterling, when did this stop being correct?
Wikipedia:
The full, official name, pound sterling (plural: pounds sterling), is used mainly in formal contexts and also when it is necessary to distinguish the United Kingdom currency from other currencies with the same name. Otherwise the term pound is normally used. The currency name is sometimes abbreviated to just sterling, particularly in the wholesale financial markets, but not when referring to specific amounts; for example, "Payment is accepted in sterling" but never "These cost five sterling". The abbreviations "ster." or "stg." are sometimes used. The term "British pound" is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_sterling#Names
Yes, but... You have to understand how words are selected for inclusion in the OED: most words are selected for their prominence and popularity. The OED is the accepted authority on the English language and how it has evolved over the past 1,000 years. In the case of "British English", it is included in the OED because of its popularity in today's usage, not because it is correct or logical. Hence, I stand by my pet peeve that "British" is redundant (not to mention annoying).Let me know when you have convinced the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, and I'll listen. Until then, that's just how it is referred to :b ..but we all have our pet peeves, don't we?
Working for an American owned business you can imagine the fun we have
Sure. But the distinction made between BE and AE here, strictly speaking, doesn't have to do with inclusion in the OED list of words as much as they are categories or terms used in and by the dictionary. Second, when included in the OED list of words, I'd say it by definition is if not correct then at least not uncorrect. Sort of the idea with dictionaries, no? Not on par with a grammar book, perhaps, and I do know the distinction between a prescriptive/normative dictionary and a descriptive one.Yes, but... You have to understand how words are selected for inclusion in the OED: most words are selected for their prominence and popularity. The OED is the accepted authority on the English language and how it has evolved over the past 1,000 years. In the case of "British English", it is included in the OED because of its popularity in today's usage, not because it is correct or logical. Hence, I stand by my pet peeve that "British" is redundant (not to mention annoying).
...I'd say it by definition is if not correct then at least not uncorrect...
Incorrect.
Don't feel bad, I'm an American and I missed two on the American quiz. It's a big country and there are regional dialects that use obscure words:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0
...but nothing came close to the problems I had in the south. I played golf in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama and most of the time I could not understand a word people said! Brilliant times
That is one of the toughest parts of learning English as there really are no rules for when to apply "un", "in", "non", etc., before a word. Theoretically, some say it depends on the origin of the word, e.g., "un" if it is a Germanic English or "in" if it Latin English. I assure you that not one native English speaker gets these correct every time.
There are also some dialects in the UK that are languages all of their own