I do have a topic in mind for today's post, at least, but considering that I'm at work you should excuse me if I don't quite get to all of it. I'll give it a go, though.
So, the subject of today's pointlessly black and white photo (I was bored) is, as my two fans know, Max. Max would likely be referred to by some of my two fans as a mog. The rest of my two fans would be left wondering what a mog even is, I'd imagine.
Yep, it's the old saw about two countries (England and the US, if I need to be clearer for those of my two fans who are from neither one) being separated by a common language.
I'm realising as I get older just how much unconscious translating I do from US English to British English, and vice versa. I find it kind of bizarre just how many British terms seem to have to be explained to American television audiences. Sometimes I think that American broadcasters don't give their viewers enough credit for having at least a base amount of intelligence (and I think that to a certain extent that's true. People aren't nearly as stupid as they seem to be treated on -- or by -- TV), but then I'll see phrases or idioms that are second nature to me needing to be spelled out to people on internet forums that I frequent (ok, lurk on) and I'll realise that things aren't always as common sense as all that.
And I'll remind myself yet again that I'm a little weird.
I'm in an odd personal position, I suppose. I come from a family that's got a very strong UK background (except for my paternal grandfather, that is. And really, doesn't everyone need some good, solid Ukrainian to keep them grounded?). I have a paternal grandmother and a maternal grandfather who both came straight from England, and while I didn't know my grandfather his influence on his family was strong enough that his youngest daughter was teased for having an English accent when she started school. So obviously some of the feeling for British English is something I just grew up with and probably didn't even realise.
It's definitely affected the way I phrase things, if not my accent. I didn't know that about myself until I started performing in interpretive skits at a local campground as part of my job here. At one point my partner was from the Maritimes, and his accent always became heavier when he performed. One of the plays we did had him playing an Easterner and me playing an Albertan, and after the shows people would often remark that it was obvious that he was from the coast but they wondered where I really grow up. Um... forty minutes away from here?
Yeah, I guess I don't speak Standard Albertan even though I am one.
Add to the family thing the fact that I'm a very longtime fan of British sketch comedy and certain British authors, and you've got someone who can merrily follow along with most things that come from either side of the pond.
People from both sides of the pond, however, probably scratch their heads at my apparently schizophrenic approach to spelling, and I have just one thing to say about that:
I'm Canadian.
Yes, welcome to Canada, where we never really felt the need to shake off the oppressive British influence but we also have a big, noisy neighbour to the south that likes to do things differently. What to do in that case? Well, borrow from both. It's what leads to such mongrel (moggie? Is spelling canine or feline?) signs as Tire Centre, for example, which no true Canadian would ever think twice about. It also leads to interesting debates during school spelling tests, and to every individual coming to his or her own conclusion about how things are actually spelled. You'll notice that I favour (ha! Favour) a fair amount of British spellings, but there are plenty of other Canadians out there who go the other direction. That's ok. For those of us who go the extra-letter route it's partly just upbringing and, frankly (well, in my case, I'll admit), a way of at least slightly distinguishing ourselves from the Americans. We're not saying that the Americans are doing things wrong; we're just saying that Canadians and Americans are different things.
A strange way to do it? Maybe, but this can sometimes be a strange country.
Anyway, this will no doubt come up again when I have more time to blather because I have a long-standing fascination with language. For now, though, back to work. Oh, and I'll be missing from the internet for the next couple of days. Hope for me that the rest will give me time to get past the worst of this cold, because overall I'm not in such a bad mood and I'd really like to be a bit (or a lot) less moany about things.
See you after the weekend, all.
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