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spell/spelling
> Would you use it with people who expect to hear that form?
I wasn't even aware anybody would expect to hear that form, and I'm still not convinced anybody does.
"I wasn't even aware anybody would expect to hear that form, and I'm still not convinced anybody does."
Are you from the USA?
I agree with furrykef. I'm an American and I've never heard anyone say "How are you spelling that?" or been given any indication that I was expected to say it by anyone.
It's well know that American English holds less possibilities to show formality.
<I'm an American and I've never heard anyone say "How are you spelling that?" or been given any indication that I was expected to say it by anyone. >
Do you expect or plan to only ever communicate with Americans?
Listen English rascals. America is a super power so American English holds more importance than any other variety. As for communicating with others, there have been no people as educated as Americans on the surface of the Earth. Yeah, we hardly care about the rest of the world. We lay down the benchmark and so everyone else has to follow it.
I, an American, am embarrassed to be associated with the above poster.
That said, in response to Pos, I have never had any problems communicating with English speakers all over the world, nor do I forsee any in the future, so I don't see a problem... An American who wants to communicate with Brits would do well to focus more on issues like terminology and avoiding resulting faux pas (for instance, many of us have the mistaken notion that "fanny" refers to the buttocks in Britain, when in fact it refers to the female genitals) than worrying about such subtleties as the connotations of "How do you spell that?" versus "How are you spelling that?". - Kef
Kef, dont try to be someone when you are not. We cant understand British accents or for that matter any other foreign accent than our native one so we do have a problem understanding native speakers as well as non-native speakers. Let's face it. There is no country like America and there are no citizens like Americans. We are truly a great nation! Our dictatorship (whatever you call it, hardly care) should be accepted all over the world in terms of language usage and everything that is American. Come on, most of the time we hit the spot, our ingenuity and the ability for reaching other planets (read not sky) is unparalled! Come on , we are the most correct people in the world, and we hardly say something incorrect!
<Listen English rascals. America is a super power so American English holds more importance than any other variety. >
You wish. "Jamie Pearson, Dominican Republic Much of the USA already speaks a 'simplified 'corrupted form of English. I find that students prefer to learn the clarity of British English, and have difficulty understanding the slurring which characterises US English." http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk/vote/vote27_globalish.shtml "Only the King's English Please!" http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/194955.htm
Back to the topic on hand:
The simple form seems to be saying "I don't know at all how to spell that name". But the other (progressive) one seems to be saying "I know more than one way to spell that name and need to know which one is applicable in the present situation".
>>The simple form seems to be saying "I don't know at all how to spell that name". But the other (progressive) one seems to be saying "I know more than one way to spell that name and need to know which one is applicable in the present situation". <<
You've got it right there, Pos.
>>Kef, dont try to be someone when you are not. We cant understand British accents or for that matter any other foreign accent than our native one so we do have a problem understanding native speakers as well as non-native speakers. Let's face it. There is no country like America and there are no citizens like Americans. We are truly a great nation! Our dictatorship (whatever you call it, hardly care) should be accepted all over the world in terms of language usage and everything that is American. Come on, most of the time we hit the spot, our ingenuity and the ability for reaching other planets (read not sky) is unparalled! Come on , we are the most correct people in the world, and we hardly say something incorrect!>>
I highly doubt that you're an American. Your just another person who dislikes America using a caricatcher of the stereotype of what a "typical American" thinks.
There is nothing wrong with "highly doubt". It's more common than "strongly doubt" anyway... And he meant "caricature".
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