Nick Patrick

hopscotch v1.2, now with native address, category, and location editing

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:03:00 -0400

It’s been an exciting start for hopscotch, the iPhone app for foursquare superusers. A few hundred superusers have downloaded the app, the app has been featured on CNET, and I’ve received a lot of great feedback. Thank you!

hopscotch v1.2 takes the app to another level by adding native venue address, category, and location editing capabilities. With in-app editing, it’s easier than ever for superusers to fix venues on-the-go. Check out the screenshots below for a preview.

Download hopscotch v1.2 now in the App Store!

What do you think of hopscotch? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a review or tweet to @nickpatrick.

hopscotch, the foursquare superuser iPhone app

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:00:00 -0400

Update: hopscotch v1.0 is now available for free in the App Store, and v1.1 is already on the way. Send me your feedback!

I love foursquare. In fact, I love it so much that I signed up to be a foursquare superuser. Unfortunately, foursquare’s superuser tools are currently only available from the browser, making it difficult for superusers to edit venues on-the-go.

That’s why I built hopscotch. hopscotch is an app that enables foursquare superusers to quickly and easily find and edit venues from the iPhone by providing quick links to foursquare’s web-based superuser tools.

Features:

find venues nearby or by name and location
for any venue: quick links to venue page (to edit categories), edit venue details page (to edit address, location, contact info), venue tools page (to close, delete, merge venues), copy venue ID, Google or Yelp search
quick link to general superuser tools page (queues, guidelines, etc.)

I finished the app just in time for this weekend’s global foursquare hackathon, and it’s now pending App Store approval. Follow @nickpatrick for launch updates!

Did Americans in 1776 have British accents?

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:51:00 -0400

Reading David McCullough’s 1776, I found myself wondering: Did Americans in 1776 have British accents? If so, when did American accents diverge from British accents?

The answer surprised me.

I’d always assumed that Americans used to have accents similar to today’s British accents, and that American accents diverged after the Revolutionary War, while British accents remained more or less the same.

Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet diverged. That’s not too surprising.

What’s surprising, though, is that those accents were much closer to today’s American accents than to today’s British accents. While both have changed over time, it’s actually British accents that have changed much more drastically since then.

First, let’s be clear: the terms “British accent” and “American accent” are oversimplifications; there were, and still are, innumerable constantly-evolving regional British and American accents. What most Americans think of as “the British accent” is the standardized Received Pronunciation, also known as “BBC English.”

While there are many differences between today’s British accents and today’s American accents, perhaps the most noticeable difference is rhotacism. While most American accents are rhotic, the standard British accent is non-rhotic. (Rhotic speakers pronounce the ‘R’ sound in the word “hard.” Non-rhotic speakers do not.)

So, what happened?

In 1776, both American accents and British accents were largely rhotic. It was around this time that non-rhotic speech took off in southern England, especially among the upper class. This “prestige” non-rhotic speech was standardized, and has been spreading in Britain ever since.

Most American accents, however, remained rhotic.

There are a few fascinating exceptions: New York and Boston accents became non-rhotic. Irish and Scottish accents are still rhotic.

If you’d like to learn more, this passage in The Cambridge History of the English Language is a good place to start.

Sources:

American English, Rhotic and non-rhotic accents, Received Pronunciation - Wikipedia
The Cambridge History of the English Language - Google Books