What Do You Hate About America?

[PlatyPius 5]

Hi Everyone,

Hmmmm....What I dislike (not hate, as that's such a strong word) about America is:

1) The fact that Americans don't spell words and write numbers properly, as in the way it was intended to when the English invented it and the way it's spelt in Canada and other coutnries too, which is more formal and makes more sense. For example: colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy. Oh and did I mention about the metric system and not the non-metric system? I guess that this would be under the "academics" category...

Spelt is something you can use to make bread for no-wheat eaters. It's spelled, actually. Or, is that another American mis-spelting? Hee hee...

"Spelt" is correct in British and Canadian English.

[PlatyPius 5]

Hi Everyone,

Hmmmm....What I dislike (not hate, as that's such a strong word) about America is:

1) The fact that Americans don't spell words and write numbers properly, as in the way it was intended to when the English invented it and the way it's spelt in Canada and other coutnries too, which is more formal and makes more sense. For example: colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy. Oh and did I mention about the metric system and not the non-metric system? I guess that this would be under the "academics" category...

Just in defense of the US though, I'm going to address these.

1. don't spell words and write numbers properly...when the British invented it: The British are the ones guilty of this. The English that is used in the US is "older" than current British English is. We're still using, essentially, the Queen's English from the time of US colonisation. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. "Original English" would be similar to the text of Beowulf.

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,

þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,

hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,

monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,

egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð

feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,

weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,

oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra

ofer hronrade hyran scolde,

gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning!

ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned,

geong in geardum, þone god sende

folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat

Somehow, I'm thinking that neither Canadians nor the Brits use original English.

2. colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy: color vs. colour. Yes, I spell it as colour. Not because I think it makes more sense, but because it is spelled thusly in more places than not. Take the words Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour. Now use those our sounds to pronounce colour, behaviour, neighbour. Do you REALLY say "col-OUR" or do you say "col-or"?

Centre and Cheque: I thought we were talking about English... Those are French spellings that were adopted by the Brits at some point. They are NOT English spellings. Say "Theatre" in french. Is that how you say it in English? Then why spell it the same way? In the French pronunciation, the 're' is said that way. Tay-at-reh (my own, poor, means of trying to show how it sounds). English it Th-EE-ah-ter. Different spellings, different pronunciations.

Date: Americans tend to say "May 8th" whereas people from other countries tend to say "The 8th of May". Hence 05/08 vs. 08/05. Ours is shorter and takes less time. That seems to be what our language (US English) strives for - brevity. Unless you're a lawyer or part of the Political Correctness crowd.

3. Metric System: Which part, exactly? I'm pretty sure England isn't completely Metric - at least not all of the citizens. Do Brits use miles or kilometers? Do they use Celcius exclusively? Again, if we're using "Original English" as the standard, which came first? Cups and Ounces or milliliters and liters?

Okay. Done now.

Edited October 12, 2008 by PlatyPius

[one...two...tree 2,762]

2. colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy: color vs. colour. Yes, I spell it as colour. Not because I think it makes more sense, but because it is spelled thusly in more places than not. Take the words Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour. Now use those our sounds to pronounce colour, behaviour, neighbour. Do you REALLY say "col-OUR" or do you say "col-or"?

That's a pretty damn persuasive argument for spelling it colour. I'm sould.

[almaty 19]

i had pretenders...

[Scott & Lai 12]

2. colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy: color vs. colour. Yes, I spell it as colour. Not because I think it makes more sense, but because it is spelled thusly in more places than not. Take the words Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour. Now use those our sounds to pronounce colour, behaviour, neighbour. Do you REALLY say "col-OUR" or do you say "col-or"?

That's a pretty damn persuasive argument for spelling it colour. I'm sould.

Actually, the "ou" in Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour is a dipthong; two vowel sounds blended together. The "ou" in colour, behaviour, neighbour would be spelled phonetically with a schwa, which is a single short vowel sound. The only reason Platy gave in support of using "ou" in colour is that it is the majority spelling, in spite of how it is actually pronounced.

[Mags 112]

What do I hate about America?

Well, apart from the racism and anti-gay stance (which is in no means restricted to the USA only - although it does seem more prevalent in certain places), I hate that the minute I open my mouth I hear this:

"Where are you from?"

I used to not mind but, 100,265 times later it is really starting to p!ss me off. I wish I had an accent everyone hated.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

What do I hate about America?

Well, apart from the racism and anti-gay stance (which is in no means restricted to the USA only - although it does seem more prevalent in certain places), I hate that the minute I open my mouth I hear this:

"Where are you from?"

I used to not mind but, 100,265 times later it is really starting to p!ss me off. I wish I had an accent everyone hated.

I can hate you if you like

[one...two...tree 2,762]

What do I hate about America?

Well, apart from the racism and anti-gay stance (which is in no means restricted to the USA only - although it does seem more prevalent in certain places), I hate that the minute I open my mouth I hear this:

"Where are you from?"

I used to not mind but, 100,265 times later it is really starting to p!ss me off. I wish I had an accent everyone hated.

"I reckon you ain't from these parts."

I would imagine that foreigners in general stand out more in areas that are less metropolitan. In LA, you're accent would probably go unnoticed.

[LuckyDucky 0]

Interesting topic. Technically speaking, I suppose I "hate" the KKK. However, that doesn't mean I hold "America" responsible for it or hate America because of it.

The only reason I hate the KKK is because they employ violence. If there was a group of folks that peacefully believed their race to be superior, I would merely disagree with them. Once they use violence or intimidation to push their agenda, then it becomes criminal.

Reading this poll reminded me of a quote from "American President". While this is a bit hokey to quote Hollywood, this is one of the few movies where something said really stuck with me:

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

I am a male US citizen. I am not affiliated with any party; I have voted for Republican and Democrat candidates in the past.

[Mags 112]

What do I hate about America?

Well, apart from the racism and anti-gay stance (which is in no means restricted to the USA only - although it does seem more prevalent in certain places), I hate that the minute I open my mouth I hear this:

"Where are you from?"

I used to not mind but, 100,265 times later it is really starting to p!ss me off. I wish I had an accent everyone hated.

I can hate you if you like

What do I hate about America?

Well, apart from the racism and anti-gay stance (which is in no means restricted to the USA only - although it does seem more prevalent in certain places), I hate that the minute I open my mouth I hear this:

"Where are you from?"

I used to not mind but, 100,265 times later it is really starting to p!ss me off. I wish I had an accent everyone hated.

"I reckon you ain't from these parts."

I would imagine that foreigners in general stand out more in areas that are less metropolitan. In LA, you're accent would probably go unnoticed.

Absolutely! Unfortunately, apart from a student at the local university (who I've chatted to a few times about London) and my son, I appear to be the only British person in these here parts!

[jundp 191]

2. colour not color, centre not center, cheque not check, grey not gray, dd/mm/yyyy not mm/dd/yyyy: color vs. colour. Yes, I spell it as colour. Not because I think it makes more sense, but because it is spelled thusly in more places than not. Take the words Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour. Now use those our sounds to pronounce colour, behaviour, neighbour. Do you REALLY say "col-OUR" or do you say "col-or"?

That's a pretty damn persuasive argument for spelling it colour. I'm sould.

Actually, the "ou" in Hour, Sour, Dour, and Flour is a dipthong; two vowel sounds blended together. The "ou" in colour, behaviour, neighbour would be spelled phonetically with a schwa, which is a single short vowel sound. The only reason Platy gave in support of using "ou" in colour is that it is the majority spelling, in spite of how it is actually pronounced.

Be still my heart......

Mags, if it makes you feel any better, many people ask me (and mind you, these are "educated" folks) "Does your husband speak English?"

[Cassie 8]

Things that tick Me off about the USA:

--if you speak up and dare to criticize the government (ohmigosh you can't actually want to hold them accountable!!) you're automatically labelled anti-American, unpatriotic, etc etc

--if you speak up about the government sending troops into impossible situations (the war in Iraq for one), you're automatically labelled anti-American, unpatriotic, not supporting the troops, etc etc

--if you speak up against the "I, me, my" mentality, if you dare to care about providing for others less fortunate than yourself (providing universal healthcare for one example), you are automatically labelled as a socialist, enabler, etc etc

--if you profess to hold a belief or faith in God, you're automatically labelled brainwashed, judgmental, etc etc etc

I could go on, but methinks you get my drift. I just hate the automatic, one size fits all labelling that goes on WAY too often around here.

[LuckyDucky 0]

Things that tick Me off about the USA:

--if you speak up and dare to criticize the government (ohmigosh you can't actually want to hold them accountable!!) you're automatically labelled anti-American, unpatriotic, etc etc

--if you speak up about the government sending troops into impossible situations (the war in Iraq for one), you're automatically labelled anti-American, unpatriotic, not supporting the troops, etc etc

--if you speak up against the "I, me, my" mentality, if you dare to care about providing for others less fortunate than yourself (providing universal healthcare for one example), you are automatically labelled as a socialist, enabler, etc etc

--if you profess to hold a belief or faith in God, you're automatically labelled brainwashed, judgmental, etc etc etc

I could go on, but methinks you get my drift. I just hate the automatic, one size fits all labelling that goes on WAY too often around here.

To these points, I would never call you anti-American, unpatriotic, or brainwashed or anything like that.

I also feel you can support the troops, but not support the war. In other words, you want the troops to do good, represent the country well, and return safely, but you can also feel that they were sent somewhere they shouldn't be.

However, in needing to stand by my previous statement, I also have to say that people have a right to say that we are unpatriotic or un-American. It is just as their right to hold to their opinion as it is to hold to our own.

So I would humbly submit that you should be ticked off at some of the people, but not necessarily the USA. It is the USA which allows us to all have our opinions. It just may seem that you're in a location where the majority of people say/believe these cruel things.

[pedroh 21]

ooii the simplification of the worlds like colour and stuff.. is simpler.. Mr Webster (the dude from the 'dictionaire' loloL) saw that it was the same pronunciation and easier spelling to take off the U.. that's why it's not commonly used..

[Mags 112]

Mags, if it makes you feel any better, many people ask me (and mind you, these are "educated" folks) "Does your husband speak English?"

Thanks!

The other week some lady did say to me "Oh my gosh, are you REALLY English?"

Well, no, I just put the accent on so silly women like you can guess where I REALLY come from.