A request to Americans posting on threads. (1 Viewer)

[ColinEssex]

I have noticed that when American posters here mention a town or city, they have to clarify which state this place lies in. Therefore they use the abbreviated form (Fl, Tx etc), this fine, except for some non Americans (like me) who have no idea what the abbreviation means. Some are obvious, but others are a puzzle.

I know that the state name is needed because many places in the USA have the same name.

Could it be possible to take the extra few seconds to type the full state name then the posts can be understood a little better.

Thank you

Col

 

[Mr. B]

I had not really ever thought about this but I can see how it might be a challenge for some. I have no problem with typing in the complete name of the state (mine is Texas (TX).

Here are a couple of links to help determine from the two character abbreviation which State it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_abbreviations or https://www.usps.com/send/official-abbreviations.htm

 

[ColinEssex]

Thank you. Obviously as an American you use these abbreviations all the time, so there's no reason to think that there is anybody that doesn't know.

It's the same in the UK, we use Lincs, Bucks, Lancs, Yorks etc etc routinely, but being British, we don't really care if Johnny Foreigner doesn't get it.

Col

 

[Alansidman]

Col--
Excellent point. I'm in. By the way, IL is Illinois, and the 's' is not pronounced.

 

[ColinEssex]

Col--
Excellent point. I'm in. By the way, IL is Illinois, and the 's' is not pronounced.

Yes, the one I find odd is "Arkansas" pronounced "Are-kin-saw" yet "Kansas" is pronounced "Kansas" not "Kinsaw".

Col

 

[Alansidman]

Let's blame it on the French Fur Traders. But there are many abnormalities in the American version of your mother tongue.

In Maine, Calais is pronounced Callas
In Illinois, Cairo is pronounced Karo
In New York City, there is a street Houston, pronounced House-ton, yet in Texas the city is pronounced Hooston.

There a many more of these here in the wild lands.

 

[Vassago]

Let's blame it on the French Fur Traders. But there are many abnormalities in the American version of your mother tongue.

In Maine, Calais is pronounced Callas
In Illinois, Cairo is pronounced Karo
In New York City, there is a street Houston, pronounced House-ton, yet in Texas the city is pronounced Hooston.

There a many more of these here in the wild lands.

Is has more to do with the origin of words. As if the English language isn't just as confusing.

Cactus - pl. cacti.

So... octopus - pl. octopi? No? optopuses and octopods are acceptable? *flips table*

Though, Rough, Tough, Through

Pointing out state pronounciation just seems pointless when you consider all of the deviations English has from its own rules. This isn't an American English problem, it's an English problem.

 

[Brianwarnock]

Ask Col for the phonetic on
Leominster
Norwich

We have a local suburb Gateacre which the BBC pronounce as seen, but the locals, ie everyone born on Merseyside, pronounce as Gatacer with a hard C !!

Brian

 

[Vassago]

Ask Col for the phonetic on
Leominster
Norwich

We have a local suburb Gateacre which the BBC pronounce as seen, but the locals, ie everyone born on Merseyside, pronounce as Gatacer with a hard C !!

Brian

I would probably pronounce it with a hard "C." It looks like "Gate-acre." We pronounce "acre" with a hard "C." Is it different across the pond or did you mean a soft "C" in your last line?

 

[Brianwarnock]

No we do pronounce acre with a hard c, I was just making doubly sure that nobody pronounced Gatacer with a soft c , that was probably not necessary.
Actually the real issue is that both "a"s are pronounced hard, but then we do up here we sat bath not barth as they do down South.

Brian

 

[Vassago]

No we do pronounce acre with a hard c, I was just making doubly sure that nobody pronounced Gatacer with a soft c , that was probably not necessary.
Actually the real issue is that both "a"s are pronounced hard, but then we do up here we sat bath not barth as they do down South.

Brian

I would pronounce both "a"s hard as well. I can't help but see it as two words. I imagine that was the intention when it was named. (Gate Acre)

The UK may have many pronunciations and accents, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to the US. I've been in other US cities where I've needed a translator for their version of American English.

 

[Galaxiom]

Is has more to do with the origin of words. As if the English language isn't just as confusing.

Cactus - pl. cacti.

So... octopus - pl. octopi? No? optopuses and octopods are acceptable?

Cactus is from Latin, hence plural cacti (as in radius - radii)

Octopus is from Greek hence plural octopodes for the pedantic.

 

[Vassago]

Cactus is from Latin, hence plural cacti (as in radius - radii)

Octopus is from Greek hence plural octopodes for the pedantic.

I know. I've posted this more detailed description before on another thread where English inconsistencies were brought up. That was sort of my point when I said "origins of words."

English is still the most complicated "cut and paste" language. Other languages don't complicate it as much by having these contradictory rules. Imagine trying to learn English as a second or third language as an adult... :banghead:

 

[Fifty2One]

Indeed, English is a horrible language to learn and now is further complicated with so many people feeling that SMS in acceptable in mainstream communication.

I know. I've posted this more detailed description before on another thread where English inconsistencies were brought up. That was sort of my point when I said "origins of words."

English is still the most complicated "cut and paste" language. Other languages don't complicate it as much by having these contradictory rules. Imagine trying to learn English as a second or third language as an adult... :banghead:

 

[Vassago]

Indeed, English is a horrible language to learn and now is further complicated with so many people feeling that SMS in acceptable in mainstream communication.

WTF? U mean it's not? Wen did that happen? I h8 wen I dun get the memo.

 

[kevlray]

There have been several places that I have lived where the town name is mispronounced (by the local standard).

Rolla, Missouri is not pronounced as Roll-a, but more like Raleigh. Tulare, California is pronounced like Tul Lair E. Visalia, California, Vi Sail uh

The american english language is a challenge.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Then, of course, there are the names you find in New Orleans, Louisiana. Many of the names are the French spelling of the Choctaw (local nation of native Americans, a.k.a. American Indians) words. Though to be honest, Choctaw wasn't a written language until the French tried to spell it out.

Take, for example, Tchopitoulas Street (chop-e-tool-ass) named after a Choctaw tribal chief. Then there is Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The humor there is that Istrouma is Choctaw for Red Stick - which is also what Baton Rouge means if translated from French.

And of course we won't go into those folks who would cheerfully butcher any language offered up for sacrifice. So we have streets named after the Greek Muses, right? But you wouldn't know some of the names. Calliope - but pronounced cal-e-yope. Euterpe - pronounced you-terp. Ah, well, language isn't so important to some folks anyway...

 

[ColinEssex]

Then, of course, there are the names you find in New Orleans, Louisiana. Many of the names are the French spelling of the Choctaw (local nation of native Americans, a.k.a. American Indians) words. Though to be honest, Choctaw wasn't a written language until the French tried to spell it out.

.

Wasn't Choctaw in a song in the 60's? Something about Billy-Jo jumping off a bridge at Choctaw ridge. I get that song confused with Harper Valley PTA.

Col

 

[Rx_]

I have a big problem spelling out the entire state name.
As a native of OKLAHOMA - I find that most people can't spell it correctly. Oklahoma is based on Choctaw Indian words which translate as red people (okla meaning "people" and humma meaning "red"). A slight misspelling can mean something very rude. So, we just say Oklamona is OK. Mind you, it is not Great, It is not fne, it is just OK.
There are other states that are very hard for me to spell because I went to a public (government) school. It is embarrasing to be around Catholics and rich private school graduates who can acutally spell the states out. It is important to bring them down to our level.

But, the main reason is that it takes all of the fun out of Kentucky! My gosh, how often do you get to use KY in a sentence? And, to keep conversations interesting, the use of Kentucky towns with the abbreviation just works. For example:
Hancock, KY or Hardin, KY or even Pulaski, KY

I am saying all of this in fun. But, I still won't spell out a state for you. OK?
(that was an acknowledgement, not my native state...)

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Colin, the song was "Ode to Billy Joe" and the reference to "Choctaw Ridge" is related. The Choctaw Nation (aggregation of multiple allied tribes) was centered in the USA in the area that is now part of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, going inland from the Gulf of Mexico a couple of hundred miles. The song mentions the Tallahatchee Bridge, which is a small river in southern Mississippi that does indeed pass through what used to be Choctaw land. So it is indeed related to my comment.

The tribes further inland were part of the Cherokee Nation. To our east is the Seminole Nation. More to the northwest of the Cherokee Nation was the Sioux Nation. Farther to the west was the Navajo Nation. I happen to know a little bit about this because I studied it briefly when I found out that I am part Cherokee. I stopped studying when I learned that my Cherokee ancestry is too small a percentage to actually be able to claim to be a Native American for legal purposes.