Here's an amusing link, thanks to my aunt, having to do with people's use of language. Though I'm not really sure the U.K. would want to be associated with the U.S. at all these days.... (Apologies for any slightly off-color humor.)
http://starrgazr.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/john-cleeses-letter-to-america/
And in reply to two anonymous comments:
I wouldn't want to build a bridge even if you paid me.
Caedmon was an Old English cowherd (though his name is Welsh, so maybe he's not as Old English as some people would like to think) who wouldn't sing at feasts because he didn't have any skill with singing or playing the harp. In Bede's account, the story goes that one night when it was coming time for Caedmon's turn to sing at a feast, he crept out of the hall and went to take care of the cattle, which was his job. After he'd seen to his work, he lay down in the barn and went to sleep. But while he was asleep, he had a vision that someone came to him, called him by name, and commanded him to sing. He replied that he didn't know how to sing, or what to sing, and the man told him that he should sing about creation. So Caedmon sang a few lines of Old English poetry praising God for creation, and that was supposedly the first Christian Old English poetry. After his dream, Caedmon discovered that he had somehow miraculously acquired the gift of poetry. He joined a monastery, and though he couldn't read, he had other people read to him. When he had heard the Biblical narratives read aloud, he meditated on them and then turned them in to poetry.
Yes, Caedmon was always an interesting old chap.
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You changed the lay of your blog! :-O Probably been like this for a long time, but as my internet time has been sadly lacking for the last month or so, I haven't noticed. Sorry!
:-D
Well that's an interesting story about Caedmon. I'd never heard of him before.
ReplyDeleteThat John Cleese letter is rather funny. The Indian woman that I had for my chemistry lab always said "Aluminium" and I thought at first she just couldn't pronounce it.
The Microsoft "US English" thing had me laughing :)
As did the "Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys."
Thanks!
I have to also tell you that later, I found a follow up link that says it wasn't written by John Cleese. But it still is funny. I remember being in school and spelling words like honour and favour and being told that they were wrong. They couldn't be! I had read them in all my British literature. The teacher still counted it wrong. So unfair.
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