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MLeake · June 17, 2011, 02:24 PM

The fs is still in use in modern German, where we would use a double s.

English was derived from the Angles, a Germanic tribe (the Saxons, as in "Anglo-Saxon," were also a Germanic tribe). Middle English, a la Chaucer, is very, very similar to German.

We may have dropped the fs in 1810, but at that time the British monarchy still mattered (as opposed to being quaint figureheads), and they were Hanoverian (German).

Enough for the etymology lesson...

I could see the people who made the sign not knowing diddly about US military uniforms, weapons and gear, but I can't understand how they could screw up the US flag.

Well, I can... they were probably products of a PC public education system.

June 17, 2011, 02:24 PM	#24
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	The fs is still in use in modern German, where we would use a double s. English was derived from the Angles, a Germanic tribe (the Saxons, as in "Anglo-Saxon," were also a Germanic tribe). Middle English, a la Chaucer, is very, very similar to German. We may have dropped the fs in 1810, but at that time the British monarchy still mattered (as opposed to being quaint figureheads), and they were Hanoverian (German). Enough for the etymology lesson... I could see the people who made the sign not knowing diddly about US military uniforms, weapons and gear, but I can't understand how they could screw up the US flag. Well, I can... they were probably products of a PC public education system.