It might not be the good news that you think it is. At least some of us are saving more for our retirements (and spending less) because we have no faith that the state pension, the social care system, or the nhs will exist in a form that meets basic needs by the time we retire.

Thanks for a great example. 'Kicked the bucket' is the type of phrase that is in my day to day vocabulary as a Brit, that I should certainly exclude when trying to be understood globally. These are great and expressive phrases, showing the value of dialects, but also the trade off in intelligibility

Also a great example of the type of argument I would hope to encounter more of on the internet.
You make your point well, and in a humorous way, poking a little fun at me.
But without the need for personal attacks or vulgarity. Thank you.

Thanks for a great example.
This is a sentence in a dialect of English that is geographically pretty global but used primarily by the young. Meaning that I as a native English speaker had to look it up.
So while expressive and succinct, it's not universally understood.

Yes, and I suppose that's a rather large 'if' that I am assuming / anticipating based on the range of possible dialects of my imagined conversation participants.

So there is a need for a universal version of the language for inter-group communication. Then we can also have local dialects full of loan words, slang, locally specific similes,... that are more expressive and beautiful than the universal version.

I see your point, and to an extent I agree. But when that locally accepted change in the language reverses the meaning of the (e.g. I could care less vs I couldn't care less) I feel it begins to limit the ability of speakers of that dialect to communicate effectively outside of their group...

Well fuck you too. I'm not sure why you have taken such offense at my apparent misunderstanding of the original post.
I'm not wonderful at language, either English or others. But I have spent time in the two locations mentioned as an outsider and have observed their effectiveness in communication.

No

Yes, the English school system has a lot of room for improvement. In my experience the Dutch generally speak a more universally understandable version of English than the brits as well.

Speakers, the version of English spoken in the Netherlands and the Nordic countries is one of the 'best' I've encountered. I include in that comparison most of the UK dialects and accents, of which many can be a struggle even for thos of us from the UK.

Universal understandable to English speakers from elsewhere (who have their own dialects). It may well be true that any one dialect lacks a particular expression or turn of phrase that would make it the optimum for a given situation, but in terms of universal communication with other English...

Well firstly, language my dear, watch your language.
Secondly, if they purpose of language is to clearly and accurately to communicate your thoughts to others, and often to as many others as possible, then there will be better versions / dialects of a language. And the Dutch version is more...

They speak with a more universally understood vocabulary and fewer slang or regionally unique words. They seem to have read classic literature in English. They also do not seem to make common mistakes I observed Americans making routinely, e.g. 'I could care less' or 'I'm doing good'.

As an English person that has lived in, and travelled extensively in the US and also visited the Netherlands countless times; I can confirm that the Dutch generally speak better English than north Americans. They have a clearer understanding and adherence to the grammatical rules of the language....

How long did the update take?
Oh, right, there isn't an available tool to measure that

I have a joke about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but people don't seem to find it a-moo-sing