Which looks like he’s talking about his roadster, which is over 30 years old, first came out in the early 1970s and was designed in the 1960s
And we know that car doesn’t have electronic throttle, and much has changed since the car came out
Yet . . . he’s talking about pedal placement, left-foot braking, electronic throttle controls, and so forth
He should have picked a different title, and posted it under “general discussion”
I did NOT miss his point, but I am choosing to respond in my own way
You can’t force me to do what is “expected” of me. And just because I respond in a way that you didn’t expect, doesn’t mean I misunderstood, missed the point, etc.
You’ve just made one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever heard: “THE standard English spelling.” Really?*It’s an Italian word! *There’s no other way to spell it.It can be mispronounced but not misspelled. There are hundreds of other words and phrases from other languages in English usage – way too many to even begin with (rendezvous, etc.). There are some bastardized words from other language that have made it into the English dictionary; cockroach comes to mind.
You’ve just made one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever heard: “THE standard English spelling.” Really? It’s an Italian word! There’s no other way to spell it. It can be mispronounced but not misspelled. I’m fluent in Italian speech but writing it is a whole other thing. There are hundreds of other words and phrases from other languages in English usage – way too many to even begin (rendezvous, etc.) with. There are some bastardized words from other language that have made it into the English dictionary.
I advise you to forget it . . . not because I necessarily think you’re wrong, but that you can’t win, so to speak
I’m from Germany, and so am fluent in written and spoken German
Every time I correct somebody about their mispronunciation and/or spelling, I get an earful
I suspect it’s particularly embarrassing for americans with 100% german names to get corrected by an immigrant, especially when that guy doesn’t have a German name, and doesn’t look like the typical german, either. but that’s another story
They claim to be 100% german, but learn that they’ve been mispronouncing things their entire lives. Shooting the messenger is apparently easier than admitting they were wrong
A good example . . . the former speaker of the house, John Boehner
I’ve NEVER here heard anybody here pronounce his last name the way anybody from germany would
I guess the easiest answer is . . . people in different countries choose to pronounce things in a certain way, and then declare their way to be correct
I got the idea no matter what the spelling comprende vu?, I have been behind some left footed brakers, every 30 seconds the brake lights flash, pass the ass when possible.
Pronunciation and spelling of foreign words is one thing, but names are in a special category.
For example, look in any German phone book, under Mueller. You will see Mueller and Müller, and each different spelling is correct. Hans Mueller will say that Hans Müller is a different name, and vv.
My family name started at Rissel, then shifted to Rüssel (sometime in the 17th century) then (at Ellis Island) to Russel, then to Russell. The pronunciation shifted along with the spelling.
rather small city in the southwest, mostly known for its professional soccer team, which has done occasionally done quite well, and because US military bases are located there . . . but I understand some of them are now either gone or a mere shadow of their former existence.
I was raised in the US by my Swiss, German speaking grandmother from Bern who was fond of saying “America is the only country where the people only speak one language and aren’t even ashamed of it.” Of course she died before we had large numbers of Spanish speakers.
Kaiserslautern. I have been there twice. I should have only been there once but took the wrong train not going to Ramstein Air Force Base. By the time it stopped at Waldfischbach I knew it was not going to Ramstein and got off. I chatted with the station master quite a bit who spoke excellent English. I had over an hour to walk around. What a lovely small town apparently quite popular for fly fishing. I returned to Kaiserslautern and was waiting for the correct train when a couple of US military guys got off another train. We usually recognized each other by the short hair. We started talking and when they discovered I was going to Ramstein where they were stationed they said they were waiting for a buddy to pick them up so just ride back with them. I arrived in style in the back of a very nice MB 450 (car related)!
I took the wrong train once in Germany, one came by minutes early and figured it must be the one. It was not, ended up at the end of the line in the middle of nowhere. German trains run like clockwork I later learned. What fraction of a second does 2 footed braking provide?
You can almost stand on the platform facing away from the tracks. When the clock hand clicks on the scheduled arrival time just turn around and step on the train as the doors open. It’s said Mussolini made the Italian trains run on time. Not so much when I was there in 2000.
I’ve been on Ramstein air base quite a few times, back in the days when the fighter squadron was still stationed there. I think they’re long gone, though. Might be cargo aircraft, now
To keep it car-related . . .
Back in the day, there was a cottage industry in Landstuhl, which was obviously geared towards selling clunkers to US servicemen. German businesses were selling cars which wouldn’t have passed the german vehicle inspections, but would still squeak by the vehicle inspections for us servicemen’s privately owned vehicles. This has now changed, as all servicemen’s povs must now pass german vehicle inspections. And the servicemen must obtain a regular german driver’s license, should they wish to drive a pov
as far as predatory business practices go, it wasn’t just confined to the germans
On and near the bases, there were obviously “car exchanges” which sold only new us-spec vehicles to servicemen and other americans working there, such as dod employees. The ideas was the servicemen would buy cars that they could take back home to conus
Many of the salesmen were americans, who were only too happy to sell young soldiers and airmen cars which they in no way could afford. afn and stars and stripes talked about this practice many times, and warned their readers to live within their means
I haven’t lived there for almost 20 years, so if somebody wants to post the latest information for that area I mentioned, go for it
As those who have visited Europe are aware, it isn’t unusual for people living on that continent to speak 2, or 3–or perhaps more–languages.
About 20 years ago, my state mandated that HS students pass two years of foreign language courses, and ANY language (other than the mandated 4 years of English) was acceptable for that requirement. They even accepted the study of American Sign Language.
In response to this new mandate, more than one of the… intellectual … parents with whom I had to interact stated that, “The US should just make everyone else in the world speak English!”. When asked how The US could accomplish that goal, of course they had no explanation.
My niece from an infant spent her summers in Germany and speaks fluent German. So, in high school took German for her language course and would correct her teacher! I’m sure that was appreciated…
The Philippines are considered an English speaking country when I was stationed there 40 years ago, TV was in English, Imelda and Ferdinand always spoke English in public, but go into the villages and the populace spoke Tagalog.
Back to cars, as I remember, a US drivers license was adequate to drive on base, but driving off base required an additional endorsement.
… parents with whom I had to interact stated that, “The US should just make everyone else in the world speak English!”. When asked how The US could accomplish that goal, of course they had no explanation.