You see it on tv a lot, in war movies and police shows, when they have to communicate orders silently. It looks like a formal language, but not really like ASL.
211276
In todays combat no.  Most of todays combat is fought in an urban environment.  In Iraq currently the majority of patrol are mounted.  We talk through the use of CVC's and the only time we use hand signals is when we are mounted and trying to communicate with a dismounted troop on the ground that has no radio.  When dismounted in Iraq, hand signals aren't necessary because you are usually surrounded by kids.
154919
No! For me personally, it is more about the language used to express some ideas. I too have served in the military and stand for freedom of speech.It is not necessary to yell,use foul words,throw things,   destroy people or property to get your point across. Yet all too often we do.Ask why? To be a better listener is a start.
63061
As far as institutional acronyms go, they are much shorter and simpler to write and say. When writing out news stories and such, they don't want to take up the space to say Central Intelligence Agency of Federal Bureau of Investigation every time they need to say them. As far as the other web acronyms, I think it's because people are simply lazy.
661898
We speak like that in Australia, too.\n\nThe first two examples are both simple cases of liaison, where otherwise silent word-endings attach themselves to the front of a vowel at the start of the next word. Because the terminal r wouldn't be silent with most American accents, this phenomenon isn't really known there, hence all the confused Americans.
317029
To me, it's a very elegant language.\nListening to it, I can definitely picture very proud people, noble people.\nI really like the sound of it.
295709
grammar is important because it unifies a language under one established set of rules. this is important because if people use these rules and understand them then they can understand what another person is saying without unnecessary confusion. confusion wastes time and it can lead to frustration and hostility. think about an emergency situation in which a person calls 911 speaks to a dispatcher who then has to communicate to several people police paramedics fire fighters and so on; in an emergency time is of the essence, and if the people are spending their time trying to figure out what each other is saying or if they misunderstand it can be disastrous.it just like laws you have to have one set of laws not a bunch of people making up their own this only Leeds to anarchy, but with grammar rules, and laws, the little ones are sometimes broken with little consequence; kind of like eating a grape in the grocery store without paying for it or saying I when you meant me, no big deal.
212151
yes very much so. there are even regional dialects. i learnt British Sign Language but even in the next city, there are variations. you could use Macaton, I think thats international but its only basic
217401
Excellent point, buddy.  It is often subtle and subliminal (word stucture and sentences).  Good job bringing this to the forefront.
630821
A lot of people think that English is the only acceptable language of the US.  So when people translate it, they get angry.  Some people are just really ignorant.
10204
If you have access to American television shows, watch a lot of them. We don't speak the king's (British) English, which is what is taught in most foreign countries. \nWe use a lot of slang and contractions, among other things. And we also spell and pronounce a lot of words differently.\nReading books by American authors would help somewhat, but you still would not know how we pronounce things, or how we like to run words together.
432120
Maybe its just a figure of speech to them
457173
Because it has some swearing. Thats why
651812
It is Dominate-and the language of the US.\n\nThey either are Rude not  trying to learn it--or are Stupid and can't.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\n\nI know lots of older now citizens who have learned enough to pass the simple exam.\n\nNew ones it is understandable they need time.
445644
Its a subtle way of saying the F word
660758
ASL is a great language, but it is not universal.  I tried to learn French and Spanish, but just could not pick it up.  I had so much more luck with ASL.  I think it all depends on your learning style.
639890
Often it is a local habit or colloquialism, which is quite acceptable in everyday speech, but not acceptable in formal speech or writing.   Not a big deal to me.
546150
The trouble with "rhetoric" is often that it is so "sound-byte"-ish. People like to say a lot with as few words as possible.