Something I’ve Always Wanted To Know

[Jingthing]

Whilst amongst whingeing Poms at tea time, it's 'mind the gap' and petrol and round footballs, bonnets and boots, anaraks and footpaths. Great thread - it took 80 posts to reach the Brit-Yank divide. Betwixt us, I could care less.

Talking of the Brit-Yank divide... you Yanks say "I could care less" when you should be saying "I couldn't care less" (which is what us Brits say), because if you could care less about something else then it implies that you do care just a teensy-weensy little bit about it.

But if you could not care less about something, then that the subject is totally devoid of any semblance of care emanating from you.

So the Brits are right and the Yanks are wrong.

I rest my case.

Correct if you are tediously literal.

However, American English has strong Yiddish influences and it is much richer for it. You limeys should be so lucky! (But really I could care less.)

There’s a close link between the stress pattern of I could care less and the kind that appears in certain sarcastic or self-deprecatory phrases that are associated with the Yiddish heritage and (especially) New York Jewish speech. Perhaps the best known is I should be so lucky!, in which the real sense is often “I have no hope of being so lucky”, a closely similar stress pattern with the same sarcastic inversion of meaning. There’s no evidence to suggest that I could care less came directly from Yiddish, but the similarity is suggestive. There are other American expressions that have a similar sarcastic inversion of apparent sense, such as Tell me about it!, which usually means “Don’t tell me about it, because I know all about it already”. These may come from similar sources.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ico1.htm

Edited November 23, 2009 by Jingthing

[ballpoint]

One Pacific Island has just switched to driving on the left. Their reason? Cars with steering wheels on the right are cheaper.

I think you'll find that Samoa has more than one island, or did only one of them switch? Very confusing for the locals.

And for all the Anglophiles comforting themselves that the signs are simply Romanized transliterations of Thai, so could be any European language, what about the "City Limit" signs you see at the edge of many villages, including my own in deepest Buri Ram, well off any highway? What about the "Sharp corner" signs? No, the corner isn't sponsered by a Japanese electronic goods maker, it's a translation into English. What about the "Frontage Road" signs along every divided highway out of Bangkok? Transliteration of Thai? Amazing, Thai sounds just like English. Get over it, English is the international language. As noted in an earlier post, check out the number of French people who walk into a restaurant in Vietnam and are reduced to speaking English to a waiter who speaks it better than they do. It speaks volumes about a language when a former colonial and his one time master are forced into English as their only means to communicate. I also regularly attend scientific conferences globally, including, the past year alone, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Holland, Germany, Scotland and China. I understood everything everyone said, well, apart from some of those in Edinburgh, and all the published material, despite not speaking or reading fluent Vietnamese, Japanese, Dutch, etc etc, because they were all in English. Even when 90% of the speakers came from the host nation, they all addressed us in English. The language of champions.

And, as for the Yank / Pom divide; you say tomato, I say shut up ya boring gits. It's all English.

[slimdog]

I must admit that when I first moved to Thailand I did find it really useful that most of the roads were written in English, especially in Bangkok. But..

I can also remember the first time I tried to get a taxi to go to Rama 1 and getting completely blank expressions.

First time to the British Embassy was fun too.....

[sassienie]

OP, I am surprised that you were 'Afraid' to ask this question.

Is there anything else bothering you??? Perhaps you should post in Dear Mr Neverdie for your answers in future.

Perfectly logical question to ask.

Yes, you are bothering me and please don`t shout, you`re scaring my dogs.

No this is not shouting, THIS IS SHOUTING, sorry but I find it very hard to believe that your dogs are reading this forum .

You also failed to answer the perfectly logical question on why you were 'afraid'?

I am afraid of you, neverdie, very afraid.

And believe this or not, my dogs are you’re number one fans, especially the bitch; the avatar makes her come over all unnecessary.

Edited November 23, 2009 by sassienie

[mahtin]

In Germany, all roads also have US military / NATO signs which regulate traffic, defining on which lanes tanks should drive, etc.

When were you last in Germany?

Haven't seen a tank here in 10 years of road usage, much less US signs.

[neverdie]

One Pacific Island has just switched to driving on the left. Their reason? Cars with steering wheels on the right are cheaper.

I think you'll find that Samoa has more than one island, or did only one of them switch? Very confusing for the locals.

And for all the Anglophiles comforting themselves that the signs are simply Romanized transliterations of Thai, so could be any European language, what about the "City Limit" signs you see at the edge of many villages, including my own in deepest Buri Ram, well off any highway? What about the "Sharp corner" signs? No, the corner isn't sponsered by a Japanese electronic goods maker, it's a translation into English. What about the "Frontage Road" signs along every divided highway out of Bangkok? Transliteration of Thai? Amazing, Thai sounds just like English. Get over it, English is the international language. As noted in an earlier post, check out the number of French people who walk into a restaurant in Vietnam and are reduced to speaking English to a waiter who speaks it better than they do. It speaks volumes about a language when a former colonial and his one time master are forced into English as their only means to communicate. I also regularly attend scientific conferences globally, including, the past year alone, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Holland, Germany, Scotland and China. I understood everything everyone said, well, apart from some of those in Edinburgh, and all the published material, despite not speaking or reading fluent Vietnamese, Japanese, Dutch, etc etc, because they were all in English. Even when 90% of the speakers came from the host nation, they all addressed us in English. The language of champions.

And, as for the Yank / Pom divide; you say tomato, I say shut up ya boring gits. It's all English.

Ballpoint......er would you mind re-phrasing that in Australian English, I can't work out what ur on about

[neverdie]

I am afraid of you, neverdie, very afraid.

And believe this or not, my dogs are you're number one fans, especially the bitch; the avatar makes her come over all unnecessary.

Ohh, okay then. I have the same effect on eek.

Well I'm available Friday night if the bitch wants a night out on the town (not eek, your bitch) .....Im just worried about this date tho, if we hit it off and get married, do I have to pay you Sin Sot?

[PeaceBlondie]

I could care less.

Talking of the Brit-Yank divide... you Yanks say "I could care less" when you should be saying "I couldn't care less" (which is what us Brits say), because if you could care less about something else then it implies that you do care just a teensy-weensy little bit about it.

But if you could not care less about something, then that the subject is totally devoid of any semblance of care emanating from you.

So the Brits are right and the Yanks are wrong.

I rest my case.

Let me shout it: IT'S IRONY!!

The Chinese guy ways "I'm Wong. You're wrong.

I wrest my suitcase.

[MarkBKK]

Let me shout it: IT'S IRONY!!

Er ... like rain on your wedding day?

PS That's not irony.

[mahtin]

Its because England was so good at raping and pillaging around the world.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-...ng-1643969.html

History's so strong.

[neil324]

Its because England was so good at raping and pillaging around the world.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-...ng-1643969.html

History's so strong.

Yep must have left an impression.

[cobra]

... English is the worldwide trading language ...

Yes, the language of business, unfortunately it may be Chinese soon enough,

[thaihome]

... English is the worldwide trading language ...

Yes, the language of business, unfortunately it may be Chinese soon enough,

Not likely. Even when a Chinese company does a contract in another country, for instance in Asia or Africa, its in English.

TH

[bonobo]

... English is the worldwide trading language ...

Yes, the language of business, unfortunately it may be Chinese soon enough,

Written Chinese will probably keep it from ever being a universal language for business. It is just too difficult for most foreigners to learn adequately.

While another phonetically-written language such as German, Spanish, French, even Arabic, Hindi, or Russian could conceivably become a universal language, English does have the advantage of having the most words of any language, and that makes for easier and more exacting contracts, manuals, and the like.

Russian may be a language where emotions are easier to describe than English, and Chinese even has an advantage in poetry, but English is very well suited for business and law.

[ballpoint]

Ballpoint......er would you mind re-phrasing that in Australian English, I can't work out what ur on about

Crikey mate, I'm busy as a one armed paperhanger with the hives, and flat out like a lizard drinking, but I'll have a fling at it: While waltzing Mathilda around Thailand ya can see that heaps of the roadsigns out beyond the black stump are scribbled in Pommylish. What's more remarkable is they don't have bullet holes in em either. Seems different types of Pommylish are the language of the world. Get it? Good, as I said I'm busy as a blue arsed fly so gotta go. You really wanna stick to worrying sassanies's bitch and leave the intellectual stuff to us Kiwis mate.

Interestingly, I was once in a taxi in Sarawak with an Aussie. We were yakking away for a good 5 minutes when the driver turned around and asked if either of us could speak English.

[neverdie]

^Thanks for that Ballpoint....ur a funny lad .

Anyway, I don't wanna hold you up, I know you have sheep to tend too

[Bluetongue]

Good thread but I wanna argue with Sassenie about his observation that many shops etc have both languages as signs. Come to Soi Dao mate and drive up and down the main street, hundreds of shops no English signs, you actually have to walk or drive very slowly to find out the myriad of things that they've got here. Sorry I forgot Lotus Express and 7/11 and I'm pretty certain about V Mini Mart as well.

My general observation is that Thais learn how to read basic English at school, are reluctant to use/never use, and unless there is a purpose reluctant to speak English ie the kids in my own home are very shy to use English but quite happy to let me do homework.

My other observation about English raod signs is you'll be driving though outer Bangkok from East to West going South eventually, and follow the signs to Samut SongKhran until eventually you come to a huge tollway interchange where the options are Rama 2 Road or Thanon Fuknowswhere. I have several examples of this and I have driven cabs for many years and consider myself to be pretty good at navigating the new style of loop de loop. My Thai navigators are usually asleep or their interpretation of signs is extremely suspect, not to mention the four or five bridges in Bangkok that look pretty much the same to me.

yours sometimes hopelessly lost, gotta go can hear the dingo calling

[neverdie]

but I wanna argue with Sassenie

Yes, well thats a fairly standard feeling around this place