Britishisms sneaking into American vernacular

[Flicka]

I find that British people are increasingly likely to use Americanisms too and I think it's a natural consequence of today's global communication culture. Personally, I mix Americanisms and Britishisms con gusto, since I come in contact with about 50% of each and English (of any kind) isn't my native language. I tilt towards British English though - it's how I was taught to spell, and I sound distinctively British when I speak. Well, to myself anyway. Interestingly, I was working in an international group a while back, it turned out everyone thought I was Irish, so maybe that's how I really sound? Or do I use Irish-isms? What are they?

 

[Louise Anne]

A lot of us do not go around using these words it seam as if you are picking up on our slang which come basically from the play ground, maybe it come from books, the Enid Blyton and the famus five books are a goos esample of this no one here goes around using words like that even when it was writen.
As a Britsh person I find this thread very annoying and upsetting.
and if you wander why there are not as many Britsh people on here maybe they read thread like this and say thank you but no thank you!

 

[Tomasso]

As a Britsh person I find this thread very annoying and upsetting.

Really? I can't think why......

 

[sheeplady]

A lot of us do not go around using these words it seam as if you are picking up on our slang which come basically from the play ground, maybe it come from books, the Enid Blyton and the famus five books are a goos esample of this no one here goes around using words like that even when it was writen.
As a Britsh person I find this thread very annoying and upsetting.
and if you wander why there are not as many Britsh people on here maybe they read thread like this and say thank you but no thank you!

Can I ask what makes you find this thread upsetting? Is it that people are treating the English language as the exotic?

Honestly, I'm asking.

 

[Louise Anne]

It's explain above

 

[sheeplady]

It's explain above

So it's basically that the article is presenting a category of language that wouldn't be used in everyday life? Or people are picking up on language that isn't used that often? Or is considered inappropriate?

In the case of the things some of us were talking about, it's not that we went out and said "huh, we like this word and want to use it." (Although there are some people here who have said that they have.) We've been using these words all our lives and never noticed that there was anything different or English about it. At least, speaking for myself, I've never known that "booking a room" was an English phrase- nor never really noticed that a lot of people outside my area only use "make a reservation." I never knew that the "sell-by" date on foods was regional or English in origin. These aren't terms that are considered raunchy or slang in the U.S. (at least not where I live). They are actually the correct way to refer to things where I live.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Or to put it in Golden Era terms, there are probably still Americans who think everyone in the UK goes around talking like Bertie Wooster. "Jolly good, old chap" and all that sort of thing. Literary or pop-culture use of dialect is rarely a good example of how it's actually used in real life -- writers always emphasize certain things and deemphasize others to create an impression of characters, not to recreate how real people actually talk. Not everyone from Brooklyn sounds like Ralph Kramden, not everyone from the South sounds like Scarlett O'Hara, and not everyone from Maine sounds like Titus Moody. But these characterizations remain familiar examples of those dialects because they were just exaggerated enough to sound real.

 

[dhermann1]

It's from the BBC, after all.

 

[Louise Anne]

Americanisms and expressions which have come over the sea to us

Pantyhose: This word has never take off in shops here , of course the Internet means now most ladies know what it means but we never use in shops when we ask for tights you also get a funny look if you use it.
Have a good day: I hate it when people say that me over here ,becuse most likely i have been having a good day before I seen the shop assistant.
Check out: Unfortunate this has become well established but I still like to use TILL it has a certain ring to it.
Nylons: That came over first with the GI's in the 40's I still prefer Nylon Stocking.

I bet there are loads more ..... I will see if any one else what to add to it.

 

[ButteMT61]

Don't get mad, get even...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...come-over-the-sea-to-us&p=1514625#post1514625

 

[Louise Anne]

The BBC web site under some strain at the moment.

 

[Louise Anne]

Don't get mad, get even...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...come-over-the-sea-to-us&p=1514625#post1514625

Too true, I do not expect any one to join in with it .

 

[Tomasso]

It's explain above

I must be daft because I don't understand.[huh]

 

[esteban68]

I have to admit that I don't find anything in this thread as offensive but that's me.......no doubt some 'Brits' do still talk like Bertie Wooster just like some 'Cockneys' still talk their dialect, for definate where Ilive the majority of 'working class (whatever that is nowadays) males over 35 still talk very broad Derbyshire....global TV/media and things like our own grown Eastenders( oh how I loathe that programme) do have a habit of catching on with people especially the young...down the bottom o the shire people to me sound very much like Southeners, apparently I sound like a 'Yorkshireman'....accents and dialects are great and should be embraced...I am very proud of mine and must admit I do get more broad when in similar company but have to moderate and slow down when the Dutch father in law comes over!
The 'problem' is with 'English' is that it is a mongrel language and as such can be difficult to get to grip with all the subtle nuances and prejudices that make it up, much of the South and some of the Midlands use Franco Norman affectations that became popular with the aristocracy around the French revolution, they never really caught on up here and we are still very much Anglo Saxon in the old Danelaw.....long live the 'English' language in all it's richness!

Watch Eddie Izzards Mongrel Nation if you can find it anywhere on the net http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406440/

here some on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPtByVapyS0

 

[Flicka]

I'm a foreigner so I have no stake in the discussion, but I really can't see anything offensive in that article or the discussion. Maybe I'm slow? Why is saying that "bespoke" and "trousers" is British, but picked up by Americans offensive? Is it about appropriation? Because then, what words am I supposed to use when I am by definition appropriating a language that does not belong to me?

Anyway, I say "trousers", "spot on" and "snog" and I'm not going to stop. I mean, "byxor", "fullträff" and "hångla" would just be unintelligible to you people. [huh]

The 'problem' is with 'English' is that it is a mongrel language and as such can be difficult to get to grip with all the subtle nuances and prejudices that make it up, much of the South and some of the Midlands use Franco Norman affectations that became popular with the aristocracy around the French revolution, they never really caught on up here and we are still very much Anglo Saxon in the old Danelaw.....long live the 'English' language in all it's richness!

Still a classic quote: "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

Randomly, I am also reminded of several pieces I've read on class as expressed in language, most notably of course Nancy Mitford's essay. The interesting thing is that it seems that the increased use of Americanisms in by all social groups in Britain is acting as a social leveller linguistically. At least that's what several articles I've read claim.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

BBC News: Americanisms -- 50 Of Your Most Noted Examples
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Hwæt! Wé Gárdena in géardagum
þéodcyninga þrym gefrúnon
hú ðá æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Gaelic? Welsh? Swedish? Nope, English as it was spoken over 1,300 years ago.

 

[esteban68]

"Still a classic quote: "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

Classic Flicka...... I nearly wet myself at that quote it absolutely sums up the 'English' language!

 

[Flicka]

"Still a classic quote: "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

Classic Flicka...... I nearly wet myself at that quote it absolutely sums up the 'English' language!

Ha, I blame James Nicoll who was the one who originally said it!

 

[Widebrim]

Gaelic? Welsh? Swedish? Nope, English as it was spoken over 1,300 years ago.

Aka, Anglo-Saxon.