I spent the better part of an hour combing through H.L. Mencken’s crappy old book, The American Language: An Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States Fourth Edition AND both Supplements searching for an explanation for Z vs. S as in civilization vs. civilisation but could not really find it. Not saying it’s not there b/c I’m sure it is, I just couldn’t find it. I did like the characteriZation of The American Z. The English S just doesn’t have the same zing to my ear.
I did learn though that Noah Webster was quite the controversial chap. Who knew that there was a whole movement to rid the world of Webster’s preferred spellings? I also learned that it was not until the printing of Shakespeare’s fourth folio that the spelling became consistent.
We take so much for granted.
Yesterday was devoted to civilization. What did I discover?
My little home library is missing Vol. IX of the Durant’s The Story of Civilization. This is easily remedied, as these books are freaking everywhere.
My little home library is missing eight of the ten original volumes of Toynbee’s A Study of History.
This is not so easily remedied.
Clark’s Civilisation is still not available on BluRay for Zone A. For those who are unaware, not all DVDs or BluRays play on all players. Discs are coded based on region of sale– those intended to be sold in North America can only be read by players sold in same. Unless you have a zone free player.
The brand new BluRay player I ordered– arriving today!– is not zone free.
Toynbee fell of fashion in the 1950s, and taking the long view, that’s too bad.
A Study of History Volume X: The Inspirations of Historians; A Note on Chronology (1954)
“…the Development of English in the United States…”
I’m not sure we speak English in the US…I think we speak American! They’re different. Similar – in fact _almost_ the same – but different.
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This is his main point. We speak American, and how that came to be.
He makes another point that i’m not sure is still valid and that’s that an englishman can understand american better than vice versa.
All quite interesting!
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“…the Development of English in the United States…”
I’m not sure we speak English in the US…I think we speak American! They’re different. Similar – in fact _almost_ the same – but different.
This is his main point. We speak American, and how that came to be.
He makes another point that i’m not sure is still valid and that’s that an englishman can understand american better than vice versa.
All quite interesting!