BBPrompt – Blank

by rugby843, posted in Uncategorized

Blank, blank. . .I guess that means I can write any thing about any thing and have 250 words minimum to accomplish that. That is not my usual style. My usual scribblings are short and attempts at humor (no u in there for you across the ponders) sorry about that. In fact that might be a good subject for this prompt. Why did the English language float across the ocean to a practically blank space and decide to change the way their language appeared. Accents aside, the English language is challenging enough without multiple spellings of the same word.

I’m not even going to mention pronunciation, or homonyms–someone’s idea of thinking. . .maybe to show their superiority over the feeble minded, like me, for instance. I am privileged to have grown up reading and speaking what one of my English friends refers to as “mericun” instead of what he speaks, proper English. Ahem, who’s fault is that?

I doubt the settlers in the 1600s suddenly decided another way of speaking and writing the same language would serve as another affront to their English oppressors. I imagine it now, the first town hall meeting. “As your newly appointed mayor, I have decided to change the spelling and meaning of some words we have heretofore known as the English language. We’ll start this process with eliminating some “u”s in words. Yes, it will initially be confusing, but it’s just a start, as we begin a new life here, something new in a new land with new ideas.” Applause from the colonists.

257 words

https://bbprompt.com/2021/01/08/be-known/

30 thoughts on “BBPrompt – Blank”

  2. Yes, the variations between Americans, Scots, Irish, British, Australian, Kiwis, etc. can be many and daunting. We all call it English, but individual meanings can vary greatly by locale. Always a daunting prospect, keeping track of the differences. : )

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  3. Ahh the cross pond debate continues. When is a hood not a hood? When it’s a bonnet… hmm, that’s got two meanings too 🤔 Then theres “s” versus “z”. What’s that about? Or putting gas in your tank. Gas comes in a pipe to my combi-boiler. Heats the water. I use petrol in my car. I also have a loft.

    I digress into the world of…oh yes it’s called English for a reason too.

    Where was I? Blank. Pondering a post on having nothing to say is a pretty cool idea. I could be heading to such a point in this very reply!

    Also “spelt” a word I look at and end up thinking it looks wrong. The more I look the more I am convinced. How does that work?

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  4. I’m reminded of my tutor at university and a paper he co-authored with colleagues in the US. The topic was colour centres in diamond, and each time he sent a revised draft out, the spelling was COLOUR and it time it returned, every instance was changed to COLOR.

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  5. It indeed is interesting to compare Canadian English, English English, Aussie English… Same language, yet so different. These are different countries, but let’s narrow it down – we speak different languages depending on where we live in the US. The differences might not be as stark as they are in Am. English vs. British English, but they’re still there.

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    2. I was raised in Bristol (UK) where the local accent/dialog was reckoned to be one of the most incomprehensible to English-speaking outsiders, on a par with Scouse. There was even a series of humorous books on the accent, starting with the one entitled “Krek Waiters Peak Bristle”.
      My impression is that it was very much something of my parents’ generation (but not actually my parents, since they variously came from Wales and Sussex) and which has now been diluted over the years.

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    3. It is fun to watch series from around the world and hear the local jokes, slang, etc. I have to look the meaning up and then will use it once in a while for fun with thd grandkids

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    6. I blame television, and that’s not just me being less young than I used to be.
      Every so often I notice that my choice of word or phrasing is “wrong”, because I’ve clearly adopted an American idiom rather than a British one.
      I am sure that will change. I’ve noticed that several channels in the UK have started importing Australian dramas. 🙂

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    8. I’ve almost got used to that, but with English on English, as my partner is hearing impaired. It’s very easy to stop watching the picture and just read the text.

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  6. This was a rather thought provoking bit with a stream-of-consciousness flavor. I liked the imaginary scene of the town hall meeting: Even though we Americans made no conscious effort to alter the way we speak, it is amusing to think we did it on purpose. This contemplation leads me to thinking about what lies in store for English. With regional dialects fading in the states due to our worldwide connection, will some differences between here and UK also fade? Nicely done!

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  7. Pingback: #BlogBattle Stories: Blank | BlogBattle

  8. As per above, I live in a neighbouring country that still uses ‘u’s which causes a lot of confusion with spellcheck! It keeps telling me I’m wrong, and I’m like “No, you’re wrong!” Like how it just put a red squiggle under neighbouring!

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  9. It’s the Spanish / French. American English (?!) is influenced by the Spanish language which doesn’t use the U everywhere. English English (😲) is influenced by the French language which does.

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  10. I suspect you’re right. Probably started as a revolutionary thing, although a lot of American words are spelt more practically (e.g. if you heard the word “humour” by sound alone, you probably wouldn’t write it down with a “u” in it.

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