Exactly. I had a Chilean co-worker who occasionally scrambled his adjectives and adverbs. Once I told him we needed light bulbs, and he said “I bought actually light bulbs yesterday.”
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My favorite spanish teacher learned english as a second language and to this day my favorite phrase of hers is “do you can believe it?” Somehow that mixed expression worked wonderfully as a way of showing her shock and dismay.
I love that sort of thing, as it inspires me to view my native language through a new lens. That same Chilean co-worker (where you at, Mauricio?) forced me to consider why it’s “in Manhattan” but “on Long Island.” Because they’re both islands.
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It’s not just on websites - just listen to the news broadcasts in the US. And my pet peeve is when they say “I went to go see _____”. Really???
Is there a “thing” about the word “and” in the US?
I’ve often noticed that Americans would describe this year as “two thousand eighteen”, whereas Britons would say “two thousand and eighteeen”
Not that I know of! But we do tend to abbreviate a lot!
Hmmm, I would more likely say twenty eighteen.
Admittedly Plains to West Coast guy.
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I’m an east coast gal and definitely say twenty eighteen, never two thousand eighteen.
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And the always annoying “Join John (insert any name) and I . . .”
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I was a fan of the preposterous TV series, Sleepy Hollow (don’t judge, the star was gorgeous). I know the Catskills area well, but it was obvious that the writers were West Coasters. One early episode referred to Route 9 as “the 9”, and to a small farm as a ranch. NY has tourist venues that have bridle trails, with saddle horses for hire. They may be called dude ranches, but there are no cattle drives.
I know!!! Another pet peeve. I have many!!!
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I won’t even read a post with shouting, as in all caps.
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If you live in Northern California your freeways are numbered and you say “I took 580 to 880”. If you live in Southern California you took THE 5 to THE 10. I have no idea why the difference.
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That’s how we can tell the SoCal transplants.
I do local geographical placement by what word folk use to describe a bread roll. For me, it’s a barmcake or just barm. The town where I used to work (10 miles away), it’s a bap. Go another 10 miles and it’s become a cob.
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A pub I visited in Vegas some years ago (supposedly authentic), had “leak soup” on the menu. I knew what they meant, but still…
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That said…I have been in pubs where the soup tasted like piss.
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I’m going to take the contrarian position here.
Grammar, spelling and punctuation mark mistakes stand out to me like blinking red lights. I delight in pointing out the unintentionally funny ones.
See here for example.
But somehow, I find the OP’s example kind of charming. You know who wrote that? The kitchen help. Maybe the owner, for whom English may or may not be their first language.
Somebody whose main concern is getting a bunch of people fed that day.
I don’t know… if the food is good, it wouldn’t bother me at all.
If it’s not, Darwin will have his will.
I would sit at the bar with a laptop and offer to proofread their website for two pints. Copy it to a word doc and knock it out and email it to them.
Win/Win.
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I watched a rerun of QI, a show I adore. Host Stephen Fry corrected a minor grammar gaffe on the part of panelist Matt Lucas, who riposted with this:
ML: Knock knock
SF: Who’s there?
ML: To
SF: To who?
ML: It’s to WHOM
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Absolutely count. I do give room and support to people for whom English is not their first (or even third) language. After all how many languages do you speak? It counts. For business websites, especially local ones, I try to kindly point out the errors. I want them to succeed.
