The Blog of American English
Here we will post on the English language. Whatever ticks us off, whatever we find interesting, whatever we think people need to know.
posted by Alexandra at 9:12 PM
A guide to words and practices that are spurious, monstrous, and unfit for usage.
posted by Alexandra at 9:12 PM
1 Comments:
Dear Alexandra and Craig,
Congratulations on your exciting and informative website about English usage.
I'm a French national living in New Zealand, and there would be so much to say about New Zealand English.
Now, I have a wee question about shall, that is quite frequent here in NZ. It is often used over the telephone to express a commitment that wraps it all up:
I shall see you at 8.00pm in front of the cinema
I shall email you my travel details.
...or convey hesitation
mhhh...I shall...have... the roast chicken.
When I shared this with scholars, they exclaim: " You're wrong, shall is non existent in oral speech. People only say I'll and sometimes I will."
What do you think? Do you think you'd be able to write a post about "shall"?
Out of interest, here's the URL of my own blog regarding English usage:
http://dichtelblog.blogspot.com
May I include you in my mailing list?
Best regards
Frédéric Dichtel
Te Awamutu - New Zealand
frederic.dichtel@paradise.net.nz
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