Fistful, I'm assuming that your last reply was directed at me.
If so, you've very cleverly invited me to debate three entirely separate topics: illegal immigration, illegal drugs, and abortion.
You should run for public office, as most office-holders would lose any debates they would have with you.
However, as this thread is devoted to the use (or misuse) of the King's English, I think that we should take any discussions about illegal immigration or illegal drugs to the threads devoted to those topics.
As for abortion, that is one issue I just don't want to get involved with in online forums, and for reasons that should be obvious (ie, I'm not going to change anyone's mind), selfish (I don't want to spend time trying to change someone's mind), and then reasons that are entirely personal.
Now that all that is aside, I would invite you to visit the South Side of Milwaukee. I don't know where you grew up, but you certainly wouldn't understand English as it is spoken here.
"I went by my ma's house today." No, that doesn't mean that the person speaking just drove past his/her mother's home; it means the person actually went into the mother's home.
"How 'bout dose Packers, eh?" No, this doesn't mean that the person speaking watched the game. Actually, it doesn't even mean that the Green Bay Packers even played a game recently. It's more a form of social greeting. I think the British use a phrase more along the lines of, "Good morning."
"Cold enough fer ya?" This is a line you'll generally hear from those whose power didn't get cut out during a blizzard, and who didn't have to thaw out the corpses of their parents or children before autopsies could be conducted.
"Hot enough fer ya?" This line is one you'll hear from guys with 42" waistsbands who insist on wearing Speedo's while well into their 60's. They mow their lawns with pride (not to mention the nausea of their neighbors).
"I'm going down by K-Mart." This is a bad message on many levels. It means that you're going to get cheap underwear that will leave your privates in uncomfortable positions in a matter of days. If the item bought is electrical, keep a fire extinguisher close at hand. (This assumes that the appliance even functions to begin with).
Worse yet is K-Mart's ad slogan, "you can't do better than K-Mart."
Now that's motivation. If that's my future, why not slit my wrists tonight?
"Hey, look at her!" Granted, this is probably a phrase uttered by guys in every country, no matter the language.
On the South Side of Milwaukee, though, it has a slightly different meaning. As in, "hey, look at her! She ain't so ugly."
I know that if Barbara or Trisha read this thread, I'm going to catch hell.
But it's the truth: the people on the South Side of Milwaukee are ugly. If Hizzoner the Mayor gets his way, we may soon see issuance of shampoo as one of the city's social programs.
I often see some handsome Juan Valdez-style mustaches. Problem is, they're on the women.
None of this is to say that I'm in any way good-looking. I resemble the southbound end of a northbound horse.
But, the South Side of Milwaukee is still a mix of cultures and languages.
I just wish the predominent language could be English.
Verste?
