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Hailing from neither said nameless islands, nor the equally nameless former colonies... Legolas Send a noteboard - 09/11/2017 06:41:43 PM

View original postIt seems that the former is one of a myriad of debased grammatical practices on certain islands which shall remain nameless, including an excessive affection for the letter "u" and a pathological hatred for the letter "z", to the point that not only do they fail to spell many words properly with it, they refuse to name it out loud, calling it "zed". But I digress. Those are just preferences which may be attributed to inbreeding or local parasites or allergens or something. Using "to" instead of "from" would seem to be completely opposite meanings, as that is the literal denotation of those words.

View original postSo which makes more sense when used in the manner described?

I would say 'different from'. Can't immediately think of any contexts where I'd use 'different to', which does look weird. On the other points mentioned, it varies. We get so much exposure to both kinds of English here, that almost nobody is any good at consistently picking one or the other, we always end up with some kind of mid-Atlantic. I would say I'm generally in favour of both the letter u and the letter z, in the respective contexts you describe.
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"Different to" or "different from"? Discuss Cannoli - 09/11/2017 05:29:38 PM 608 Views
Hailing from neither said nameless islands, nor the equally nameless former colonies... Legolas - 09/11/2017 06:41:43 PM 323 Views
An answer. The Shrike - 09/11/2017 06:54:32 PM 446 Views
Despite what the link says, I prefer 'from" or "than." damookster - 09/11/2017 07:35:36 PM 266 Views
I think I say 'than' The Shrike - 09/11/2017 07:41:45 PM 306 Views
The pronunciation of "colonel" isn't a Brit/American english thing, is it? damookster - 09/11/2017 07:59:27 PM 342 Views
Regarding your inside statement - Not for an Anglophile The Shrike - 09/11/2017 08:22:44 PM 308 Views
I don't believe there's a colonel of truth in what you've just written Tom - 09/11/2017 08:51:00 PM 310 Views
I was going to say, no, the French have it with an L too... Legolas - 09/11/2017 08:39:05 PM 324 Views
Just say "different then" [sic] and irritate everyone *NM* Tom - 09/11/2017 08:48:40 PM 166 Views
then than same thing random thoughts - 10/11/2017 02:26:37 PM 290 Views
No. They don't have the same meaning and can radically change a sentence's meaning. The Shrike - 10/11/2017 05:34:16 PM 329 Views
HA! Tom - 10/11/2017 07:49:15 PM 339 Views
That one is a good one too! The Shrike - 12/11/2017 03:06:53 PM 370 Views
can you explain that in more detail? random thoughts - 11/11/2017 12:23:41 AM 354 Views
Here - I have done it for you. The Shrike - 12/11/2017 03:06:00 PM 260 Views
maybe you could define sarcasm random thoughts - 13/11/2017 04:09:40 PM 389 Views
You're welcome. The Shrike - 13/11/2017 05:24:33 PM 303 Views
No you really should have know I was kidding so you run along *NM* random thoughts - 14/11/2017 02:11:22 AM 169 Views
The past participle of know is known. The Shrike - 14/11/2017 12:28:03 PM 278 Views
I found the article in the sidebar on the October Revolution quite amusing *NM* Tom - 09/11/2017 08:48:07 PM 178 Views
This one? The Shrike - 09/11/2017 10:59:39 PM 510 Views
The very same! Tom - 10/11/2017 07:47:35 PM 275 Views
different than *NM* random thoughts - 09/11/2017 09:57:20 PM 181 Views
Can I understand what you're saying/writing? That's all I really need. aerocontrols - 10/11/2017 03:32:47 PM 397 Views
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