Questions for our American friends

[Xexemedes]

Credit to wikipedia

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney (D.A.) is the appointed public official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of assistant (ADA) or deputy district attorneys. Similar functions are carried out at the local level in other jurisdictions by officers named the Commonwealth's Attorney, State's Attorney, County Attorney, or County Prosecutor. Depending on the system in place in the particular state or county, district attorneys may be appointed by the chief executive of the region or elected by the people.

A note: The DA does not work directly for the police, but often the two have common interests. In my town we have Town Council.

[eelcat]

Originally Posted by Nick Danger

Many times patients in the US are put in double rooms -- i.e. a room with two patients. You hardly ever see this in drama movies or TV shows but it has often been shown in TV sitcoms (so the star can be annoyed by the other patient, with comedy ensuing). I can think of several examples from the '70s: A classic All In The Family episode where Archie is placed in a room with Roscoe Lee Browne without realizing he's black; A first season Mary Tyler Moore Show where Mary goes in to have her tonsils out; and several Odd Couple episodes.

Yes I do remember some comedic scenes set in U.S. hospital rooms but I reckon the bulk of the scenes that I have seen in movies and drama tv shows involving a single patient in the room they are being stalked by someone trying to kill them because they witnessed something

[Oswald]

Americans spell words in a different fashion to us in the UK. They don't include the letter 'u' in words such as 'colour', 'favour', 'honour' etc. They swap around the 'r' and 'e' in words such as 'centre', 'fibre', 'metre' etc. They use an 'i' where we use a 'y' - in 'tyre' for example and completely miss out letters in a word such as 'axe'.

[eelcat]

Originally Posted by Oswald

Americans spell words in a different fashion to us in the UK. They don't include the letter 'u' in words such as 'colour', 'favour', 'honour' etc. They swap around the 'r' and 'e' in words such as 'centre', 'fibre', 'metre' etc. They use an 'i' where we use a 'y' - in 'tyre' for example and completely miss out letters in a word such as 'axe'.

I saw something about that on tv a few years ago. Apparently after the American Revolution one of the ways that the U.S. distanced themselves from their former colonial rulers was to change the spelling of words where possible. A lot of the words that were altered were French in spelling and the Americans simplified this and was seen as another step to an independent America.

[beezer60]

Originally Posted by Oswald

Americans spell words in a different fashion to us in the UK. They don't include the letter 'u' in words such as 'colour', 'favour', 'honour' etc. They swap around the 'r' and 'e' in words such as 'centre', 'fibre', 'metre' etc. They use an 'i' where we use a 'y' - in 'tyre' for example and completely miss out letters in a word such as 'axe'.

The Pilgrim Fathers forgot to pack a dictionary. Now it's too late

[The Black Baron]

Originally Posted by Oswald

Americans spell words in a different fashion to us in the UK. They don't include the letter 'u' in words such as 'colour', 'favour', 'honour' etc. They swap around the 'r' and 'e' in words such as 'centre', 'fibre', 'metre' etc. They use an 'i' where we use a 'y' - in 'tyre' for example and completely miss out letters in a word such as 'axe'.

That is the result of deliberate efforts on the part educators and grammarians, in the early years of our republic. Noah Webster was one, for example, with his dictionary, who strove for a break with Britain, even in the area of the language.

In the case of words ending in -or, British spelling maintains the influence of French, which supplanted the older spellings Old and Middle English used, based on the Latin origin of such words. Same goes for words ending in the "-er" sound. For most of them, we spell them more phonetically, except where a word was borrowed more recently from another language, like "macabre", or where the spelling is maintained by tradition, as in "theatre".

German is better than English, in that respect. "macabre" in German is "makaber", "theatre" is "Theater", and they're both pronounced as they're spelled.

(I was a language major in college )

[DTravel]

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James Nicoll

[DTravel]

Changing of the English Language


Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EEC, the
European Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study in ways of
improving efficiency in communications between Government departments.

European officials have often pointed out that English spelling is
unnecessarily difficult - for example, cough, plough, rough, through
and thorough. What is clearly needed is a phased programme of changes
to iron out these anomalies. The programme would, of course, be
administered by a committee staff at top level by participating
nations.

In the first year, for example, the committee would suggest using 's'
instead of the soft 'c'. Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would
resieve this news with joy. Then the hard 'c' could be replaced by 'k'
sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up
konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be
made with one less letter.

There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it kould be
announsed that the troublesome 'ph' would henseforth be written 'f'.
This would make words like 'fotograf' twenty per sent shorter in
print.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be
expekted to reash the stage where more komplikated shanges are
possible. Governments would enkourage the removal of double letters
which have always been a deterent to akurate speling.

We would al agre that the horible mes of silent 'e's in the languag is
disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop thes and kontinu to read and writ
as though nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four years sins
the skem began and peopl would be reseptive to steps sutsh as
replasing 'th' by 'z'. Perhaps zen ze funktion of 'w' kould be taken
on by 'v', vitsh is, after al, half a 'w'. Shortly after zis, ze
unesesary 'o kould be dropd from words kontaining 'ou'. Similar
arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli
sensibl riten styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls,
difikultis and evrivun vud fin it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems
of the Guvermnt vud finali hav kum tru.

[gtos4ever]

Originally Posted by brianwp

Yes, years ago it was called a "soda pop", now it's just a soda.

Depends on what part of the US your in. Here in the Upper Midwest it's a pop.

[gtos4ever]

Originally Posted by Rangertom1357

Because they're out in the sun, as apposed to the covered "good" seats and you get bleached white in the sun...

At least that's what my dad told me a long time ago.

Not exactly. The spectators don't get bleached white (quite the opposite) the seats themselves do.