Britishisms and Americanisms

I will have more to say on this subject soon and will add a second post but for now....

I was inspired by an article in the UK based Telegraph concerning annoying Americanisms that the British cannot stand to write the following article:

First, the original article located here lists some rather lame "americanisms", one in particular that I myself have never heard. But it sparked off a very lively debate in the comments section.

First I will give my take on this subject and later I will include a few illuminating quotes from the comments.

My take:

I signed up as a member from all the way over here in New Jersey just so I could comment on this article :)

I actually found the examples of Americanisms and Britisms in the comments section to be much better than those in the actual article. (Sorry Toby.) As for those in the article I also have never heard "let's visit" - a better example would be something like "let's do lunch" - it captures the insincerity much better and is a common phrase among the "lady's who lunch" and American businesspeople who have no intention of ever having lunch with said invitee. Saying "You're welcome" is standard American usage and I was surprised to hear that it was grating at all - what does one say on your side of the pond in response to "thank you?" Perhaps in some shops and other crowded public places a non-response is normal? Maybe "Bitte" or "De Nada"?

I agree with our overly euphemistic "bathroom" used in place of toilet. But I must add that the Germans use WC for toilet because they learned the phrase "water closet" from the Brits - water closet is completely meaningless here in the states.

Some Americanisms I myself hate are:

"New and Improved!" used on advertisements - how can something be entirely new and yet also improved at the same time?

"I could care less" or "I could give a sh_t" - when it should say "couldn't care less"

"You's guys" - this one I don't hate but in fact cherish as a colloquial localism centered mostly around New York and New Jersey that Americans from other areas would also balk at. And I can concede that it would be grating on the ears of non-users. My friend Colleen moved from New Jersey to West Virginia (about a 2-3 hour drive, short for us!) and took a job as a waitress. She walked up to a table of older southern women and said "What would yous guys like?" Their silent look of bewilderment at the inappropriate gender usage cured her of that habit. However, within the NY/NJ area both "yous" (plural you - akin to the southern use of "ya'll") and "guys" for anyone of any gender are completely commonplace - and perhaps even a bit cutting edge "politically correct" (another Americanism I don't care for.)

And of course there are the various American pronunciations of words that set certain regions in the states against one another as well as against Britain. For example - one can immediately identify a fellow southern New Jersey/Philadelphia native by the pronunciation of water as "wooder." And there is the ongoing division of calling beverages such as Coca Cola either Soda or Pop. If you say pop in my region people would automatically inquire as to where you were from.

And the Britisms (and Australisms and Kiwi-isms and Canadian-isms) are:

"Bloody" - reminds me of "gosh" - too afraid to say "damned".

"Mate" - I know it's along the lines of a pair of gloves or shoes but it just makes Americans think of mating animals and thus carries a subtle homoerotic undertone.

"Care for a SPOT of tea?" - not really, I would prefer an entire cup, not just a spot accidentally spilled on the table cloth.

"Bonzer," "Walkabout," "Joey" and the many other silly Australianisms out there. I mostly hate these because there is a chain of restaurants here in the States called "Outback" that makes a big point of using these phrases in their marketing. If I actually met an Australian, like, for instance, Hugh Grant, and he said that he found me to be simply "Bonzers," I would probably melt on the spot as there is nothing sexier than an Australian accent (except maybe an Italian accent or perhaps French)to an American.

"Eh" and "Aboot" as Canadianisms.

...and I'm sure that's just the beginning as I could think of many others given a little more time.

for now,
Matt
p.s. let's do lunch some time ok?

The below mapto the left shows the percentage of Americans who list their ancestry as "American" on their census cards. Note that it has no correlation to native American populated areas but rather to the "hick belt" or "bible belt" and would probably indicate something along the lines of general education and sophistication.

ok, and here are some quotes i liked from the other folks:

"In 1898, when Otto von Bismarck was an

old man, a journalist asked him what he

took to be the decisive factor in modern

history. He answered, "The fact that the

North Americans speak English."

Pretty prescient for 1898.

English isn't the 'world language' because

the Brits speak it. Its the world language

because the Americans speak it. (Segue ...

'American' really means anyone from the

Americas, but this plays to a point that

I'm about to make. Language is what works

in the ears of the listener, the eyes of

the reader).

So if Americanisms (or Geordieisms or my native Yorkshireisms) transmit precisely to the listener the sentiment in the mind of the broadcaster the job is well done.

In rural Yorkshire I always liked, when addressed to people who jumped the gun, "Ye're a bit previous, love". Delicious. It speaks exactly to the Yorkshire ear. It is thus perfect. Do not be previous, dear readers.

But lower, lowest, on the totem pole are the picky who think English is static, has much to do with England anymore. Who affect an unwarranted superiority by virtue of accident of birth. The English language is simply a tool most of the time - less importantly a study and even a delight for relatively few. Kinda like stamps. Or cow creamers.

Here's an economical example of perfect communication I enjoyed between married professionals in upstate New York some years ago. Each had retruned to their home wherein I was a guest, exhausted from trying days in the world of psychology, their profession.

"Jeet?"
"Jew""
"Seat"

or in my hearing of the story - "jeet? no jew? i did, jew?"