50 Americanisms That Brits Apparently Hate
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I can understand the odd one (e.g. it's zed!), but most of those i don't get and thats coming from someone whose british (e.g. train station, train station and railway station are both accepted here)
Maybe i'm reading it the wrong way round but we brits do say ten to five, never heard anyone say the other.WhySoElitist said:
I love the fact that everyone is saying this is all English language elitists when quite a lot of the examples are from the US and other non British countries.aashell13 said:
Inbreeding? Explain how a country where immigrants come from all over the world produce Inbreeding, when that country have a wide gene pool from a number of backgrounds. In a Logical and Scientific analysis shows that the population with less outside influences are more subject to being inbred. Note: research the lineage of European Royal families.Versuvius said:
Also seceeded should be spelled seceded, British and European needs to be capitalized since they are proper nouns. So I misspelled 1 brand name/ Brit word. Still do not explain how your country "made from" 1: German Bombings, 2: French Royalty and 3: being hated by the Scots and Irish.
Good day if you please.
I think what would be a more interesting debate is how and why Americans decided to use different words or terms for things. Here's a couple examples:
America UK
Fries Chips
Chips Crisps
Personally, I think 'Chips' became known as such in the UK because they are chipped potatoes, while Americans decided to name them after how they're cooked.
Crisps can be named Chips for pretty much the same reason and is debatable more accurate, though 'slices' is technically just as accurate. The UK went with what they are when they're ready to be eatten (crispy).
America UK
Fries Chips
Chips Crisps
Personally, I think 'Chips' became known as such in the UK because they are chipped potatoes, while Americans decided to name them after how they're cooked.
Crisps can be named Chips for pretty much the same reason and is debatable more accurate, though 'slices' is technically just as accurate. The UK went with what they are when they're ready to be eatten (crispy).
Not too sure what best means, but he was saying that English is the best language and I think Latin is easiest to learn, and frankly that's my only qualification for a good language (also, Latin depends less on finicky punctuation and word order)megamanenm said:Uh, is Latin supposed to be the best language again? What does "best" even mean?orangeban said:Hip hip for this dude, just jumping on to the bandwagon here to say stuff you Versuvius with your "British Isles can join in if they want." Dude, Scotland (and Ireland and Wales) have just as much claim to English as England. And frankly I think we should all revert to Latin if we're talking about the "best" language (though the number system would need changing up, it lacks a zero) because it definetly seems the easiest language.megamanenm said:First of all I never said that language should evolve (that would make the job of linguists SO much easier), I just said that it does. Anyway it's clear that you just hate the US for some unknown reason, and that you are looking for ways to justify that. As long as you understand that change isn't bad (as humans like to thing with EVERYTHING), then my job here is done.Versuvius said:Its 50/50. Yes i believe language should evolve but i do find americanisms infuriating, coupled with the godawful, ear raping accents i feel im obliged to be opposed to this nonsense infiltrating the nation through wank US media. It should evolve. Just not from the US brand of change. I guess i just dont like the USmegamanenm said:
oh we work 9 to 5 normally even later as well i just picked those numbers as an exampleVersuvius said:
we had a house guest from the yorkshire dales it might just be for that areadevotedsniper said:
Um... some of these are a little anal-retentive. Variations of a language are going to happen in other countries; that's how language, as a whole, evolves in the first place. Besides, fuckloads of English words are stolen and bastardized from Latin anyway, which I'm sure probably pissed off at least a few people back in the day.
I don't mind americanisms. A lot of my friends are from the US and Canada and I found that article to be an overreaction on the part of the brits interviewed. It's just the way someone talks. Don't make a big deal out of it. Also, I have always used the term train station. When has that been a bad use of english? Also, I have never heard the word "deplane" and when I asked my friends who live in the US, they never heard it either. They must get some weird folk going to the Netherlands...
In the 70s or 80s or some weird decade in the 20th century a lot of French people were getting pissed off with 'Franglais', where lots of french people were incorperating English into French. Goscinny and Uderzo even got a Asterix comic out of it (not a big book type one, just a page or two).
Look here everyone, that was simply an article on an exceedingly British website, where British people were engaging in an extremely British past-time of discontented grumbling amongst like-minded people. Nobody asked for Americans to intrude and read it. That's like eavesdropping on the neighbours whilst they're having a moan about how you need to trim your side of the hedge, then confronting them the next day and being all defensive about how you like it looking natural and prefer it the way it is. They weren't going to say anything to you, but now you've put them in an awkward situation where they have to justify and argue their side. Then things can only escalate. Soon you'll have the neighbours creeping into you're garden at night with clippers while you're planting weeds in theirs and... oh wait, sorry I've let the analogy run away with itself! I think the point I was making was, don't take it as a personal attack, just a few people grumbling away about how "people wouldn't speak like that if it was up to us!" without thinking that this was would end up as an actual debate.
It is rather interesting though, the differences between our two vernaculars. I think perhaps a thread should be started to document noted examples, without argument over which is correct or better.
It is rather interesting though, the differences between our two vernaculars. I think perhaps a thread should be started to document noted examples, without argument over which is correct or better.