Really hate yanks butchering our language. Latest obscenity is their, now, pronunciation of ‘ route’ to ‘rout’. But surely we already have a ‘rout’, as in Trump has just been routed. Or is that ‘rooted’? Aussies might know.
Permit me to clarify. I do not hate Americans. Quite the contrary. America has a fascinating history and American triumphs in so many fields of endeavour and the importance of America for the survival and continued development of the hard won culture of the West is both pivotal and central. My admiration for American achievements is boundless. However, that having been said, the grasp of basic rules of English grammar is not one of America’s finest accomplishments.
For example, words like bile, file, Nile, pile, tile, vile, while, reptile, oh and yes, fragile are all pronounced like mile, with the ‘i’ as a long vowel sound. Why? Because the last ’i’ is followed by a single consonant and an ’e’ which lengthens the ‘i’. ‘I’ followed by a double vowel and no ‘e’ would sound like bill, fill, pill, till and dare I say, fragill (which is not actually a word). Fragile is of course not pronounced fragill not by anyone, except Americans. Why? Because to do so ignores this simple grammatical rule.
Another example. Americans pronounce titanium as titanium (like the rest of English speakers) and not as titanum and also they pronounce uranium as uranium and not as uranum. Yet when it comes to aluminium they pronounce it as aluminum. If the simple rules of grammar are followed then there is no question which is correct. Is the origin of American mispronunciation of these words eccentricity or ignorance? Where is the justification for flaunting the simple rules of English grammar?
YA MA DONKEY 
Really hate yanks butchering our language. Latest obscenity is their, now, pronunciation of ‘ route’ to ‘rout’. But surely we already have a ‘rout’, as in Trump has just been routed. Or is that ‘rooted’? Aussies might know.
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Because English spelling and grammar rules are so consistent?
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Permit me to clarify. I do not hate Americans. Quite the contrary. America has a fascinating history and American triumphs in so many fields of endeavour and the importance of America for the survival and continued development of the hard won culture of the West is both pivotal and central. My admiration for American achievements is boundless. However, that having been said, the grasp of basic rules of English grammar is not one of America’s finest accomplishments.
For example, words like bile, file, Nile, pile, tile, vile, while, reptile, oh and yes, fragile are all pronounced like mile, with the ‘i’ as a long vowel sound. Why? Because the last ’i’ is followed by a single consonant and an ’e’ which lengthens the ‘i’. ‘I’ followed by a double vowel and no ‘e’ would sound like bill, fill, pill, till and dare I say, fragill (which is not actually a word). Fragile is of course not pronounced fragill not by anyone, except Americans. Why? Because to do so ignores this simple grammatical rule.
Another example. Americans pronounce titanium as titanium (like the rest of English speakers) and not as titanum and also they pronounce uranium as uranium and not as uranum. Yet when it comes to aluminium they pronounce it as aluminum. If the simple rules of grammar are followed then there is no question which is correct. Is the origin of American mispronunciation of these words eccentricity or ignorance? Where is the justification for flaunting the simple rules of English grammar?
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