Because of the Johnny Come lately reality of English in North America, it simply hasn't had time to set in strong dialects as England has. We have varieties and regional slang, from my Quebec English, full of French, and the many accents and turns of phrase all across the continent. We have a large number of very threatened languages from the first nations that are unconnected to English. But we don't have that level of dialect in English. Quebecois french is kind of in that direction..
It's not just biodiversity we should treasure - it's also human diversity. Language is part of that. Here, television cut the top off a lot of accents. I was taught not to talk like my area talked. I have good friends who emigrated from Yorkshire, and sometimes I have to ask them to switch out of dialect so I can follow them. They assume I know their vocabulary, and I don't. It's great stuff, but I'd look like an idiot walking around spouting Yorkshire English with my Canadian accent. Every once in a while I run over to Quebec street English to make a point, but I'm completely outgunned and I know it.
Treasure all this diversity. Use local English forms. When we talk here, we all adjust. If this were a writing job, I'd even spell American. Since it isn't, I don't. But at home, use English correctly, which is to say, in all its local weirdness.
It's not just biodiversity we should treasure - it's also human diversity. Language is part of that. Here, television cut the top off a lot of accents. I was taught not to talk like my area talked. I have good friends who emigrated from Yorkshire, and sometimes I have to ask them to switch out of dialect so I can follow them. They assume I know their vocabulary, and I don't. It's great stuff, but I'd look like an idiot walking around spouting Yorkshire English with my Canadian accent. Every once in a while I run over to Quebec street English to make a point, but I'm completely outgunned and I know it.
Treasure all this diversity. Use local English forms. When we talk here, we all adjust. If this were a writing job, I'd even spell American. Since it isn't, I don't. But at home, use English correctly, which is to say, in all its local weirdness.
, I've already used it today.
