h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've just checked the oldest revived conversations and they have only got to September. Our No. 1 conversation started in April 2001 and so there's a helluva long way to go yet.

Thanks for taking the magic out of "utter" for me. I should have worked that out for myself.

Where's Mycroft?

Happy Birthday Tonsil,

Where's Nikki?

Very many of the absolutely original members of the cast and founder Brit Eng Threaders are still with us. For example:

Kaeori (flourish of hat in that direction) - who started it anyway.
Duncan, who wrote post 2,
Phil - with all the aliases - who wrote Post 3
Wandrin' Star came in at Post 9
Cheerful Dragon - who is still around, I think - came in next.
Potholer was in on it right from the start, too.
Gnomon chimed in at Post 610
Nikki was with us from Post 991
Plaguesville first posted at Post 59.
I didn't join till Post 98.
jwf - (I searched for his former name, too) didn't appear at all.
Nor did Manolan, which surprised me.

Apologies if I missed anyone - that was just a random search.


And many more who came and went.

jwf, I have a link on my Personal Space to the original BritEng thread. I check just about every day to see has it come back. When it does come back, we'll have to find some way of stopping people posting to it otherwise we will have to keep track of two ongoing threads. Ideally, it would be nice to tack this one onto the end of the other but I doubt this is possible.

Why not ask? With our new elite status we might be able to pull a few strings.

For some odd reason, I have *one* conversation of mine from Jan 2000 visible (How to fix a microwave oven), which I've had pretty much since Rupert, but nothing more until September 2000.

It may well seem like I've been here forever but truth is I never posted to the original. I had just discovered it and was really enjoying reading the backlog in a diligent way, in anticipation of participating. It was quite interesting and stimulating and I did not want to just jump in and post some redundant inquiry and bore everyone to tears.

Then it all went poof last January. I did however join TC's Brit Eng substitute thread at Yahoo when we were all wandering in the dessert and haven't shut up since.

jwf

If the original postings of each of the two threads were combined into an explanatory new Entry, creating a new Forum called British English, then the Powers could easily move both threads to that new forum.

The downside is it would no longer be in 'Askh2g2' and be much less visible to the main community. Unless...

The upside is that a new Brit Eng Forum could provide many resources to researchers if a committee were established to manage the Forum and the Powers were willing to promote it on the Introductory and Help and other editorial pages with explanatory links to our new area.

There are several other entries around (like Mark's dictionary of US/British to name but one essential resource) that chould all be brought together in a new Brit Eng Forum.

It should be a resource for everyone, especially non-Brit newbies who sometimes need to ask about colloqialisms they find at h2g2. And, depending on the effort the committee felt like exerting, it could offer an indexed list of past inquiries and even a FAQ and other Entry pages on some of the more complex etymologies.

I understand, that inevitably, other threads of inquiry would spring out of it and a whole new chaos could result. The continuity of the this single linear format might be lost unless we all agreed to stick to one main thread.

Just a few thoughts...

peace
jwf

I was thinking that some kind of indexing of 'Ask h2g2' conversations might be useful at some point, but one problem with classifying is that we could end up with British English being lumped in with the various US vs UK threads, rather than a literary one.

Speaking as a future English for speakers of other languages teacher, I'd prefer it if no contamination by American English came onto the thread.
I could use the thread as a resource, but its very cerebral and I'd have to explain Mycroft.

I'd like to hear your explanation of jwf. Come to that - I'd like to hear your explanation of me. According to a BN this morning, I'm the best teacher of English as a Foreign Language in the place. I've got that comment in writing; so it will appear in my next portfolio

Sorry, I have already contaminated the thread - many, many times!

I don't think TPTB are adding any back-posts at all. There's been no change for months.

TC. Just for the record, I joined when you created the Yahoo forum and thought it sounded interesting. I've only read the original thread on paper (and then only briefly as there are better things to do in pubs)

I think I remember someone saying on Saturday night that there was some recent progress on the backlog.

Hi !

I was sort of lost in action, but I think I've found myself again .... thanks to all my friends who've asked after me, and especially TC who wrote to me .... I'm ashamed to say I didn't reply (please forgive me, TC) ....

I don't have any excuses .... just hope I'll be accepted back into the fold ....

Hugs & Kisses to all, Nikki

Welcome back, Nikki.

Hello, Beanfoto.

I'm sorry, but an avoidance of contamination by American English is impossible when you are dealing with the history of British English
because some pockets of American English speakers still use archaic British English forms, terms, pronunciations and definitions.
Given the fact that entire counties of dialect speakers often found themselves removed from their origins and spread to places like Australia, Canada and the US, with almost no remnant left on the olde
sodde, then in order to deal with the true linguistic history of British English you have to deal with the facts no matter where they come from.

The concept of the 'contamination' of a 'pure' language is an odd one in itself, but to apply it to 'British' 'English' (which is also an odd phrase) is to go back to the 'Beaker' people because English is not native to the UK in the first place....

Here, have some Oolong Sachong(sp?) and a ...

Yay Nikki's back!
The beaker people always make me think of Dr. Bunsen's assistant from the Muppets. At least it would not take very long to study his language.
"Meep, meee, meep."

Better a beaker person than a mug

could someone perhaps define blimey for me and list it's proper usage.

"Cripes alive! Gor blimey, Guv'nor!" quoth the true cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells etc.

"I say!", remarked the rather snooty looking gent in the horse-drawn cabriolet, "What on earth does he mean, Jarvis?"

"I believe, sir," Sir Lithebody-Litton-Jubbly's faithful, if somewhat condescending, manservant replied, "he was expressing his astonishment at his companion's contention. 'Gor blimey' is an accepted corruption of 'May the Lord blind me' among the East End hoi polloi."

"Good grief, Jarvis. Well I never."

"Indeed, sir."




By the way, thanks, Munchkin, for making me forever imagine the beaker people roaming pre-historic Europe in lab coats going "meep, meeeep!"

Seeya
Spiff

blimey - expression of surprise / shock. Usually following a verbal revelation of some information not expected.
Usually tagged to the word 'guv' in fake cockney speak. Unlikely to be heard in normal conversation (least, not where I live!). Can be swapped with things such as 'bloomin'eck' etc.

E.g.
Person 1:'I just done over the Bank of England for 3 million quid'
Person 2:'Blimey! How'd you manage that?'

Person 1:' What d'ya think of the new motor?'
Person 2:' Blimey guv, how'd you afford that?'

etc etc etc
I'm sure someone else can do better