[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: [OT Why GB English is different] Re: Mozilla firefox en-gb



On Wed, May 26, 2004 at 06:36:48PM +0100, Oliver Elphick wrote:
> On Wed, 2004-05-26 at 17:57, William Ballard wrote:
> > Do you also say one million and fourteen thousand and two hundred and 
> > thirty seven?
> 
> one million, fourteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven.
> 
> I remember doing school exercises when I was 7 on writing out numbers in
> words.  
> 
> But to demonstrate that the use of "and" in numbers is not unAmerican
> either:
> 
>         "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this

That's poetical language.  Plus, it's half the time of the way back.

Do they teach you that saying "two hundred thirty seven" is wrong?  Do 
they actively explicitly encourage you to say the and?

There are many, many, many cultural things that can't be explained.

Our teachers put it in the same category as saying "um," "like", "you 
know"... the sign of a lazy mind that has to pause for minute to think 
what it's going to say next.



Reply to: