Re: Internet English Resources 5 on EnglishIsFun (Facebook)

gerardM Sam 19 Nov - 13:17

Hi Muriel,

> How to spell though, through, thorough, thought
In American, it's tho', thru

To add to the confusion, we can also take throughout, tough

I read -on a British English grammar book:

THRU (preposition) *This is NOT Standard English...do not use!
Pronunciation: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/british/thru

Meaning/Grammar: Again, this is NOT Standard English. It is a poor and easy spelling of the word through

I don't agree. "Thru" is not "a poor and easy spelling", it's the choice of Americans to simplify the weird spelling of "ough": it's exactly the pronunciation of "through".
There's a subbtle difference of pronunciation between Brit and Am English, listen to http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/thru

The only proper use of the word "thru" in British English, is in the word "drive-thru".
Ex. Whenever we eat at McDonald's, we use the drive-thru

gerardM Sam 19 Nov - 13:45

Hi Muriel, everyone,

Would you like to know "everything" about "ough", take a look at Wikipedia

Spelling reforms
Because of the unpredictability of the combination, many English spelling reformers have proposed replacing it with more phonetic combinations, some of which have caught on in varying degrees of formal and informal success. Generally, spelling reforms have been more widely accepted in the United States and less so in the Commonwealth.

In April 1984, at its yearly meeting, the Simplified Spelling Society adopted the following reform as its house style:

Shorten ⟨ough⟩ to ⟨u⟩ when it is sounded as /uː/ – through→thru.
Shorten ⟨ough⟩ to ⟨o⟩ when it is sounded as /oʊ/ – though→tho (but doh for dough).
Shorten ⟨ough⟩ to ⟨ou⟩ when it is sounded as /aʊ/ – bough→bou, plough→plou, drought→drout.
Change ⟨ough⟩ to ⟨au⟩ when it is sounded as /ɔː/ – ought→aut, bought→baut, thought→thaut.
Change ⟨ough⟩ to ⟨of⟩ or ⟨uf⟩ (depending on pronunciation) when there is the sound /f/ – cough→cof, enough→enuf, tough→tuf.
Already standard
"hiccup" instead of folk etymology "hiccough"
"hock" instead of "hough" (word is rare in the United States)
"plow" instead of "plough" (standard in American English)

As you can see, the reform came from the UK; however, Americans accept new waves easier than the Brits and the Commonwealth so that we have the impression the reform is American.
On the page at Wikipedia, we can also find other categories of words differently accepted: "Already varyingly formal", "Common informal", "Rare informal".

MurielB Sam 19 Nov - 17:54

Very interesting indeed, thanks Gérard !

gerardM Mer 30 Nov - 21:33

gerardM Mer 30 Nov - 21:37

Internet English Resources 5 on EnglishIsFun (Facebook) - Page 8 15319312_1434568793222924_3068352817314099864_n

Let's remember winter begins on December 1 in many countries, of which USA.

I'd like to add that, even in France, meteorologists state Winter in the nortern hemisphere begins with december -> https://www.meteomedia.com/nouvelles/articles/pop-meteo--a-quelle-date-commence-lhiver/17864
Ainsi, les saisons «climatologiques» sont divisées de cette façon dans les régions au climat tempéré de l’hémisphère nord :

Printemps : mars, avril, mai
Été : juin, juillet, août
Automne : septembre, octobre, novembre
Hiver : décembre, janvier, février

MurielB Mer 30 Nov - 21:49

gerardM a écrit:

I agree but as we grow older, it is much more difficult ! LOL
Internet English Resources 5 on EnglishIsFun (Facebook) - Page 8 Never-give-up-on-your-dreams

Internet English Resources 5 on EnglishIsFun (Facebook) - Page 8 Never-give-up-on-your-dreams

gerardM Mer 30 Nov - 22:28

MurielB a écrit:... I agree but as we grow older, it is much more difficult ! LOL

Difficult? No!

gerardM Mer 30 Nov - 23:06

gerardM Jeu 1 Déc - 22:03

MurielB Jeu 1 Déc - 22:27

What is important is not succeeding but trying !

gerardM Jeu 1 Déc - 22:47

MurielB a écrit:What is important is not succeeding but trying !

Muriel,
I don't agree with you.
Such as the pic I guess what is important is succeeding and it starts with trying - success begins with a try: let's not hesitate, let's try!

gerardM Jeu 1 Déc - 22:50

MurielB Ven 2 Déc - 9:53

gerardM a écrit:
MurielB a écrit:What is important is not succeeding but trying !
Muriel,
I don't agree with you.
Such as the pic I guess what is important is succeeding and it starts with trying - success begins with a try: let's not hesitate, let's try!

Gérard I like the scenario theory. When you build up a winner senario you tend to be confident in the future. It is very important for a child to build up a winner scenario. Do you know script analysis from Eric Berne ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_analysis ?

Script analysis is the method of uncovering the 'early decisions, made unconsciously, as to how life shall be lived'

Berne came to believe that 'from earliest months, the child is taught not only what to do, but also what to see, hear, touch, think, and feel....each person obediently ends up at the age of five or six with a script of life plan largely dictated by his parents. It tells him how he's going to carry on his life, and how it's going to end, winner, non-winner, or loser'.^[14] That is, the child is given information both about themselves and also about the external world (which may be factually correct or incorrect) by the parent concomitant with which the child is encouraged by the parent to use this information in order to decide how to live.