[GZG] Language Use - was Re: GZG official news - we've moved premises!

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Englanders have broken down and formed an Institute to conserve
and protect the English Language. I was listening to the lady behind the
movement, inspired it seems by the institutes in Spain and France.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lovely lot to conserve of English history,
but
before anyone speaking the King or Queen's English is allowed to become
curator of the amorphous nature of English, I think the English have to
'splain some things to us poor colonials...

Listening to BBC radio (which I love for the most part), I am left to
wonder
whether the people who originated the language have forgotten how to
speak
it!

I am left wondering:

Do you have privets in your mlitary as a rank?

Reason: BBC commentators pronounce privacy as 'priv-ah-see' rather than
'prive-ah-see'... and since it has the same root as the word private,
why
would you pronounce it with a 'priv' which sounds like 'shiv'? Do you
also
then say 'reg-you-late-or-ee' when you pronounce 'regulatory?'?

Why did the BBC decide that 'Drug War' and 'Drug Lord' needed replaced
by
'Drugs War' and 'Drugs Lord'? That's probably strictly a usage decision
and
therefore not an error, but it sounds very odd to my ears.

Also, what is with 'Drink Driving'? Was there something wrong with
'Drunk
Driving' - as in driving while drunk/intoxicated? That too sounds very
funny
to my ears. And if Drugs War is plural, shouldn't Drinks be plural here?
Should it not be 'Drinks Driving'? (Which also sounds barking mad to my
ears!)

----

As to Gingers: Term is common enough I've heard it mentioned. There was
a
'kick a ginger' day if I recall. The Aussies and Brits probably use it
more
than us former colonials in North America, but if you haven't heard it,
you
should listen to a bit more world news! :0)

As to Pop/Soda/Coke: Everywhere I've travelled in Canada, Pop seems to
be
understood. Soda would be as well. If you asked for a Coke though,
you'll
get at least a cola, if not a Coke. And when I say Coke, I mean
Coca-Cola(TM) not some blasted Pepsi(TM) (aka crap) product.

Now, there are funny bits to all linguistic groups. I recall visiting
Mike
Sarno and company in Towanda, PA. We went for a late dinner and some
drinks
and at about 9 or 10 pm, Mike said they (the Americans) were all really
impressed. I was puzzled and inquired. I'd been there for 4-5 hours and
they
hadn't heard me use 'eh?' once. They'd been watching for it.

Of course, having mentioned it to me, I inevitably could not stop saying
it
for the rest of the weekend. It's sort of an all purpose punctuation,
eh! We
like to add it to interrogative statements as well, eh? Sometimes it can
be
just declarative, like saying "Yup, I'm Canadian, eh." I guess that's
foreign to most folks in America. It's nearest equivalent is the equally
all
purpose surfer-term 'Dude'.... 'Dude, where's my car?' 'Cool, Dude!',
"Duuuuude!', etc.

I still want to hear the story about the eraser.

And it is 'Cougar' not mountain lion! :0)

T.