Going forward!

We saw a sign in Australia which informed us:
CROCODILES DO NOT SWIM HERE

SiL assumed it was safe in that particular area.

Then there is a job waiting for an active pedant with a thick, indelible felt-tipped pen!

I used to live close to a road called RALPH'S WIFE'S LANE but written without benefit off apostrophes. The locals always ensured it was correctly apostrophised however even going to the bother of cutting out and using black masking tape

A news report stated yesterday that apostrophes are being removed from street signs - presumably to be bought as a job lot by the nations's' greengrocer's' s

Oops, this is Pedants' Corner; so for consistency should have said "so he accepts the compliment!"

Grumppa's fine. Whether he's good is for others to judge, so I accept the compliment!

grumppa, i like your replies . Grumppa's good

I don't think it is nano - as others have said, language changes. I'm good thanks is a great way of being friendly, but not encouraging personal questions if the person asking isn't someone you'd want to confide in.

I'd never heard the 'I'm good' response until I went to New Zealand in 2000. It has spread at lightning speed since then. Is it really any worse than saying 'I'm fine'?

I wasn't criticising a country I visited - she was visiting mine! Please read my post .

And when I visited the USA I genuinely did not understand what she meant. Should have taken my English/American vocab with me.

Just observing that it sounded rude, she obviously didn't mean to be if they never say p and q.

Funny that, things must have changed over the years since I had an American boss. He was the loveliest politest person I ever worked for.

I don"t think Americans on the whole , say please and thankyou as we do On my many trips over there , does not bother me one single iota .
We , I believe should accept the customs of the particular country , for heavens sake , who are we to change them , bit cheeky really to criticise
your host country . You picked to go there !

Hmmm

I wasn't being rude, jane, merely stupid. Not understanding either what she said or the accent.

But the American who kept saying "I wanna vanilla, I wanna chocolate, I wanna toffee" without any ps and qs was in Port Meirion.

Grumppa isn't 'I'm good, thanks' just an abbreviated form of 'I'm in good health, thanks' ?
Just an example of the evolving nature of the use of language. I'm usually glad to hear it - much better than a litany of misery
As long as someone speaks clearly I don't really care what they say, as long as it's not invective directed at me personally.
Now the written word is a different matter, but even then, the rules change over time.

Note preposition at end of sentence.

And isn't moaning what Pedants' Corner is for?

Point taken, thatbags, and there is nothing worse than someone going on at length about their health in reply. But for me "I'm good" carries a strong flavour of sanctimoniousness.

Mind you, "Can I get" is just as irritating.

And of course I'm moaning, and of course it's age related. That's why I' called Grumppa!

And nobody grumbles about it.

In Uganda the protocol is to greet everyone one meets on the road or anywhere elsee for that matter with a very lengthy exchange which lasts for a long time. Roughly translated it goes

Good day Mother / Father,

Good day Mother / Father,

How are you today?

Very well

Mmmmmm

How are you today?

Very well

Mmmmmmmm

God bless you Mother / Father

God bless you Mother / Father

Thank you for working

Thank you for working.

All must be said in a special slow tone and hands held with the same gender or a bow to an older person. Children and teenagers will kneel to older people.

The whole exchange takes a good four to five minutes, it makes a trip to the village a very long excursion.

move on

The thing is, though, grumppa, that the phrase how are you isn't really asking after a person's health, is it? It's really just a polite way of saying hello. Nobody wants a long spiel about a person's actual state of health upon greeting. And so we reply, "Fine, thanks", even when we are not quite fine, because the idea is to get over the hello(e)s and on to proper conversation or to move one swiftly

Fine, thanks
I'm good
Fair to middlin'
etc

are equivalents. In my view, people who complain about changes to such trivia are just moaning and showing their lack of tolerance and adaptability (because of age, perhaps?).

Margaret I think when going to a foreign country, it's incumbent on visitors to find out find out the local customs, manners and patterns of speech of the population, and try to fit in as much as possible.
They may speak English in America, but not as we know it, and that's their perfect right, as an independent country of over 200 years
It's one thing to complain about British people adopting American usage in Britain, but quite another to criticise their use of the language over there.

Yes,first heard American tourists using that expression. Sounds so so rude.

When in the States I was asked, when waiting to be seated for breakfast, "do you wannit to go?". Excuse me, not sure what you mean? "Do you wannit to go" (enunciated slowly). I did not understand, so asked what she meant . " DO YOU WANT YOUR BREAKFAST TO TAKE WITH YOU? (STUPID?)". Oh, no thanks, I'm staying here, I'd like to be seated please.

Then there's "Can I get ...?" instead of "Can I have ...?"

When I'm in a café, I've been sorely tempted to lean over and say (in very sincere, old-lady style): "Actually, they make the drinks for you here, dear. They won't let you go behind the counter and get it yourself".
So far I have resisted the temptation, but one of these days ...!

Yes some of DD2'sfriends use that as a response. I always want to say "well, I don't think you are particularly, but are you well?"

"I'm good" drives me mad. I always want to reply "I asked after your health, not your moral state", but manage to curb my tongue.

I'm going forward to another thread now.