50 Americanisms That Brits Apparently Hate

[fragmaster09]

I agree with Fry, if you're the type of person that has to complain about language in this way, then clearly you're too stupid to have developed the supposedly instinctive ability to understand language based around the context of its use.

i can turn that instinct off... like when an american says 'bucks', i feel the need to act all innocent and ask them why hey are using shotgun cartriges as money

 

[C.G.B.S]

Not really an Americanism but what irritates me is when people pronounce often as "off Ten" when it should be pronounce more like offen.

Where is your reasoning behind this? Is it not spelled "off-Ten"?

It doesn't matter how the word is spelt, pronunciation is different from the written language.

It's little things like this that I just don't understand. I mean, some stuff does make since,

I agree some things really don't make "since".

pronunciation wise. Vit-a-min instead of Vite-a-min for example, but the people that actually agree with the majority of the list have to remember that WE find the way YOU pronounce things sounds weird as well.

And some things are just wrong (and therefore weird) wherever you are . For example the mispronunciation of the word often.

In fact, I sometimes find a few of your pronunciations/rules pompous and pretentious in nature, with absolutely no justification for them other than they haven't been weened out of what is essentially a very inefficient language. For example, do people really say "fortnightly"?

Yes. It's a word that describes and event that happens once every two weeks, what's inefficient about that.

Do you have any idea how retarded that sounds to me? Really? Do people really have a problem with bi-weekly? As if fortnight makes more sense than bi-week anyway (no one says bi-week, by the way). Bi=two, week=... week. Simple.

Having words were the etymology isn't completely transparent is nothing to be afraid of. But if you find it more comforting having the meaning of words "spelt" out for you we can try renaming some basic objects for you. A knife can be a sharpcutter, a cup can be a liquidcontainmentvesselfordrinking, this is much simpler.

Also, a few of these are NEVER said. Some of them are actually words (like gotten), but WE rarely say them as well. Others we actually say both for (like normalcy and normality, although usually normality). It's like this entire list was made by people who just have nothing else to be mad or upset about. They're fucking words. Get over it.

They are much more then just fucking words. They are the means we relay information to one another and I think there should be some consistency to them.

 

[zz_]

Uh, I must admit, I don't understand what #1 means. What does he want people to say instead of "Can I get a..."? :3

Also, nr. 11 is just weird, what's wrong with transportation? ._. Transport don't even mean the same thing, or am I wrong here? In Sweden we sort of learn a mix of british and american English, so sometimes I have a hard time telling which is which. Not to mention I learnt 80% of my English from playing computer games...

 

[E.Blackadder]

Transport can be used in eg 'transport station' as can transportation, 'transportation station'.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

For real. Americans need to quit messing with English.

It's 'thou', not 'you'
It's 'ioy', not 'joy'
And who gave you the right to get rid of æ and Þ?

We haven't used those since the middle ages, long before america was colonised by brits

Keep thinking along those lines, and you might eventually figure out what the joke was!

 

[Lim3]

I catch myself saying trash instead of garbage once in a while.

I need to wash my mouth out every time it happens.

 

[sevreon]

This is silly. These people are annoying. I'm English and I don't hate any of these phrases. I even use some of them. Maybe it's just because I'm in the younger generation and not up my own arse with 'proper' vocabulary.

 

[xXGeckoXx]

Some of those people are morons. Especially 36 and 38.

My most hated Americanism is really one that encompases them all; the fact that it seems like most Americans are completely incapable of understanding alternative ways of saying the same thing. For instance while my family was living in the states for three years, she was ordering food from a resturant to bring back home, but the cashier couldn't understand what she meant by "take away." She had to spend so much time explaining the entire concept of it until stumbling across the words "To Go" at which point the girl finally understood what she was trying to say.

And this was all in the English language too, so it's not like either party didn't have a full grasp of it.

EDIT:

I think the Brits just don't like us butchering their precious language...

Funny thing; while a lot of Brits and Australians and other English-speaking nations like to think that American has bastardised English and changed it to their own means, their actually the only ones who use the spellings and other such things from 300 years ago. Since the revolution the rest of the English speaking world slowly evolved it, while the Americans didn't.

So really, the Americans are just holding onto tradition.

Read bill bryson ey. Reading that blew my mind. I still MASSIVELY prefer the english version. That version has more honour. *BADUM TISH*

 

[ishist]

Almost half of these are used semi-satirically. "That'll learn you" in particular. I'm an MMO gamer and I have a pet hate word that is growing almost universally used in MMOs. It's not your Character anymore, it's not even your Avatar, it's your "toon". Every time I hear this I want to commit violence against its user.

 

[Anchupom]

I must say, those americanisms are utterly terrible and that my fellow Brits are top-notch. What-ho, pip pip etc.

I don't mind other people using americanisms, I just prefer not to use them myself. Can't ask for more than that - Haters gotta hate.

 

[Jyggalag]

All we need to do now is make up a list of the fifty worst Britishisms.

I'll start:

"We're going to stop that American rebellion"

It's pronounced: "We surrender"

You americans either can't take a joke, or your to stupid to see it, not just your comment but most comments on this thread are taking ti way to seriously

How ironic. We were just joking on the matter and may have struck a nerve. By the way it's spelled "you're" not "your". Maybe it is you who should lighten up.

 

[Treaos Serrare]

god most of these are just Pedantic Grammar Nazis

 

[X123Lewis123X]

look at the list again. only a few of the opinions is from britain, the rest is from other countries, even the US itself. read before making thread name.

 

[General BrEeZy]

yeah, i dont fall into...even 1/5 of those. some of them i've never heard said that way.
weird brits xD just kidding, they're no better than anyone else in the World.

 

[Wicky_42]

Some of those people are morons. Especially 36 and 38.

My most hated Americanism is really one that encompases them all; the fact that it seems like most Americans are completely incapable of understanding alternative ways of saying the same thing. For instance while my family was living in the states for three years, she was ordering food from a resturant to bring back home, but the cashier couldn't understand what she meant by "take away." She had to spend so much time explaining the entire concept of it until stumbling across the words "To Go" at which point the girl finally understood what she was trying to say.

And this was all in the English language too, so it's not like either party didn't have a full grasp of it.

I know, right? I wanted to hire a pair of skates from one place, and they got out a job application form >_< Seriously?! I need to rent them instead? I'm not moving into them or anything!

 

[AngloDoom]

Has anyone posted this?

Stephen Fry is clearly against all this pedantic bullshit, and as a Brit I feel ashamed that these idiots take so much umbrage with words most Americans never even use e.g. "ridiculosity".

You made me very happy posting that video, I must say.

Stephen Fry has spoken! This debate is over

 

[E.Blackadder]

god most of these are just Pedantic Grammar Nazis

You need to sort out where your capital letters go. Also an apostrophe wouldn't go amiss after 'god'.

 

[Hoboape]

I like some British television shows like Doctor Who or the IT crowd, but I still have a hard time listening to the characters speak or taking the characters seriously (especially the bad guys). I could easily compose a list of British sayings that are equally annoying. for example I have never understood calling an elevator a lift, unless of course British elevators don't go down.

Because 'elevate' implies going down so well?

 

[Gustavo S. Buschle]

I'm neither an American or an Englishman, but as a speaker of multiple languages that have various dialects I really don't understand why are English people so irritated by dialect specific phrases like "my bad" or "heads up".

 

[Gustavo S. Buschle]

I like some British television shows like Doctor Who or the IT crowd, but I still have a hard time listening to the characters speak or taking the characters seriously (especially the bad guys). I could easily compose a list of British sayings that are equally annoying. for example I have never understood calling an elevator a lift, unless of course British elevators don't go down.

Because 'elevate' implies going down so well?

Well "lifting" doesn't either, does it?