Sending a "gift" to someone in the Ukraine

[Manny]

That's amazing.  Now, I know there are some dialects/accents I have no hope of understanding when spoken (a former Scottish coworker comes to mind), but the written word hasn't presented itself as difficult until this thread.

I think what it is Dave, is only those with a certain minimum level of English tend to participate in online discourse. We Brits were brought up on American TV, so we understand pretty much all of what we hear and read. We may not use it day to day, but we grasp it and can easily write it. I now use the phrase "often times" in writing, where I would not in speech for example. Many Americanisms have slipped into our language because of TV, so as a rule, we communicate across the pond seamlessly.

However, the English MH2U uses, is an underclass version of British English that is usually spoken rather than written. We understand it, but you guys likely don't because you never had exposure to it. We get exposure to underclass American English via stuff like Jerry Springer; but I bet you guys don't get "Jeremy Kyle" where guys like MH2U are featured every day babbling this bollox.

I like words. I like language. English was my favourite subject at school. I got A distinctions in all my English exams. But, when we did our book, as 90%+ of the market was the US, I decided we best use American English to make it read smooth for you guys. Not so hard? Edit a couple of hundred pages from UK to US?

Boy, did I get a shock. Twenty or thirty years of American television didn't even prepare me a little. I had two US editors who tore my text apart. I had to fly the flag and leave words like "chap" in there, but aside from the spelling differences, the grammar rules, double or single quotes, where to use curved and square brackets, where to use italics, what to capitalise (capitalize), I felt like I was eleven years old again. I got sick of consulting the Chicago Manual of Style.

Even then, there are things that are basically an aporia. Should one capitalise "internet" for example? The experts still argue about that. Here is one example. I don't - many still do.

MH2U is British, as is his English. The 30+ pages on RUA on him, on one topic, confirms some personal details about him. The words we saw upthread were not Russglish. It was indeed him all along. His wife never put finger to keyboard here IMHO. His English is about the lowest grade available. But, seldom written. It is closer to African/Jamaican English actually. It is simply very basic, lazy English (this version came from African immigrants to the UK). Without correct tenses and referring to oneself in the third person.

Edit - there are some format issues on Chrome on RWD that need fixing. One must short edit to fix the format

[SANDRO43]

I now use the phrase "often times" in writing, where I would not in speech for example. Many Americanisms have slipped into our language because of TV, so as a rule, we communicate across the pond seamlessly.

Not a US TV coinage, although correctly spelt as a single word: R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 1064 [He] would oftentimes‥carrie a fagot‥before him‥for the raising of the mount. (http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/67623)

Its usage even predates the Norman Conquest, apparently .

[Rubicon]

Not a US TV coinage, although correctly spelt as a single word: R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 1064 [He] would oftentimes‥carrie a fagot‥before him‥for the raising of the mount. (http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/67623)

Its usage even predates the Norman Conquest, apparently .

I like that bit about "carrie a fagot...for the mount"  Yeah, I know it's a cigarette.

[Kineo]

Here is the list of restrictions for Ukraine:
http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/tz_015.htm#ep4401933


In regards to some of the other comments, there are a few possibilities:
a) she is not a scammer, so no big problem.   Probability of scammer is relatively small if you have emailed her a week or two.
b) you send her $100 in gift or money... and she then disappears.  You lose $100.
c) you meet her for a day or two to find out she is only interested in expensive dinners and you taking her to the mall to buy things.   Net cost for you is probably quite a bit higher than $100.

Very helpful link, Thanks JohnDearGreen.