Americanisms in UK English

[alex397]

More and more British people are saying "fired" rather than "sacked" these days, I've noticed.

Probably made even more popular by Sir Alan!

 

[urbophile]

I've also noted that there's been a tendancy to say "the XX00s" more commonly than "the Xth century".

For example, instead of saying "the situation improved at the end of the 20th century," Americanisms replace the sentence with "the situation improved at the end of the 1900s" - so you mean around 1907/08/09 or 1997/98/99?

Is that an Americanism, or just an evolution in the way we say dates? '20th' century, though obviously correct, can seem confusing when the years begin with 19. Italians say 'novecento' meaning the nine hundreds (implying the teen).

Not all changes to the language are imported from across the pond. And many of them (like 'gotten') were ours in the first place and have just been re-imported.

 

[PGAT]

Americans tend to say "railroads" whilst us Brits never say that, we say "railways"

 

[Calthrop]

We say polling place in Scotland of course which isn't quite as charming as outwith

Interesting -- I'd never before come across this as a Scotticism. I do like the Scots "outwith" -- same-but-different vis-a-vis archaic English alternative meaning of the word "without" -- "outside of", as opposed to (still current) "not having".

 

[61653 HTAFC]

One that I've noticed recently is British people pronouncing the word "buoy" as "booey" rather than the correct "boy"- which is either an Americanism or a simple error that's become an Americanism.

I was reminded of this earlier, hearing someone use the term "buoyed" as a synonym for "boosted" but they pronounced it "boo-ied".

 

[htafc]

I wonder how they pronounce 'Bowie'

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Similarly, what about "feels" rather than "feelings", something I was unfamiliar with until recently.

Most famously I misheard a recent song (Calvin Harris/Katy Perry/Pharrell Williams - "Feels") as "Don't be afraid to catch fish", when it was actually "Don't be afraid to catch feels" (I assume one of the Americans in the trio wrote the lyrics).

I'd suggest that might be an "internetism" rather than an Americanism. If you could go back in time to 1980s New York City, the people there would be just as irritated by it as you are.

I wonder how they pronounce 'Bowie'

Even David himself wasn't consistent with pronunciation of his own stage name!

 

[route101]

One I hear often is ' my bad'

Also ' I dont care for ...'

 

[takno]

One I hear often is ' my bad'

Also ' I dont care for ...'

I haven't much cared for things for 40 years now. That's perfectly cromulent British English. Might even be slightly posh.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I haven't much cared for things for 40 years now. That's perfectly cromulent British English. Might even be slightly posh.

Now there's a whole new category for discussion. Words that were invented as a joke by writers for The Simpsons, that later became real.

 

[Calthrop]

I haven't much cared for things for 40 years now. That's perfectly cromulent British English. Might even be slightly posh.

I loathe that bloody word; but that's just me -- in part, because of its overtones of Simpsons-worship; said cartoon can be quite funny, but ...

 

[davetheguard]

I loathe that bloody word; but that's just me -- in part, because of its overtones of Simpsons-worship; said cartoon can be quite funny, but ...

I've never heard of it before. And I still don't know what it means!

 

[ComUtoR]

“Yes, we invented it” replied the old boy.

Did the German guy sitting next to them say "Hold my Beer".....

A French guy leaned over..

Then in walked a Italian Lady

 

[Bald Rick]

Did the German guy sitting next to them say "Hold my Beer".....

A French guy leaned over..

Then in walked a Italian Lady

I wondered who would pull me up on this!

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Interesting -- I'd never before come across this as a Scotticism. I do like the Scots "outwith" -- same-but-different vis-a-vis archaic English alternative meaning of the word "without" -- "outside of", as opposed to (still current) "not having".

At the risk of going off-thread, there's a whole host of things that they say in Scotland and Ireland that they don't in England, which you often don't become aware of unless you spend some time there. (I have family living in Edinburgh.) For example, the Scots say that they 'stay in' somewhere rather than 'live' somewhere. ('I was staying in Arbroath...') They often say that something is 'barry' (it may be spelt 'barrie') instead of good; this last may be a specifically Edinburgh or East Coast term.
The Irish use the term 'laneway' instead of 'lane'; not sure why that is. Even officially; I've seen it on road signs.

Back on-thread, I personally don't have a problem with Americanisms. It's the natural evolution of the language which has been going on ever since the advent of the mass media. After all, if we insisted on only 'real' English we wouldn't have words like 'bungalow' and 'pyjama' (or pajama as I believe they spell it in the US...)

On the specific subject of 'Train Station' versus 'Railway Station' I've often noticed that Google Maps looks at you blankly if you type in XXXX Railway Station but will find you XXXX Train Station. So that's one we may have to get used to.

 

[AlterEgo]

The “train station” resistance I’ve never really understood and I’ve always considered it gatekeeping by enthusiasts.

At the risk of going off-thread, there's a whole host of things that they say in Scotland and Ireland that they don't in England, which you often don't become aware of unless you spend some time there. (I have family living in Edinburgh.) For example, the Scots say that they 'stay in' somewhere rather than 'live' somewhere. ('I was staying in Arbroath...') They often say that something is 'barry' (it may be spelt 'barrie') instead of good; this last may be a specifically Edinburgh or East Coast term.
The Irish use the term 'laneway' instead of 'lane'; not sure why that is. Even officially; I've seen it on road signs.

See also Irish “grand” meaning “fine, ok”.

I'd suggest that might be an "internetism" rather than an Americanism. If you could go back in time to 1980s New York City, the people there would be just as irritated by it as you are.

“Feels” is from a meme, yes. https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/feels/

 

[contrex]

I wonder how they pronounce 'Bowie'

For some decades I believed David Robert Jones' stage surname rhymed with Zoe, Nether Stowey, etc. I wasn't helped by the fact that early in his career e.g. 1966-73) radio DJs pronounced it my way.

 

[AlterEgo]

For some decades I believed David Robert Jones' stage surname rhymed with Zoe, Nether Stowey, etc. I wasn't helped by the fact that early in his career e.g. 1966-73) radio DJs pronounced it my way.

But that is how Bowie himself pronounced it?

 

[takno]

I've never heard of it before. And I still don't know what it means!

It's a word which was invented in a 1996 episode of the Simpsons and used in much the same context as I used it, so the only likely meaning is "valid" in the context of a word. I like it because it's a clever joke, and it's stuck because I'm of exactly the right age. There are loads of "traditional" British English or American English words for that matter which were made up on the wireless or TV in the 40s 50s and 60s, and are similarly only figured out from context by most younger speakers.

The only reason cromulent gets picked out is because it's a bit newer and easier to Google.

Spoken language changes. The French I learned at school was decades out of date when I learned it, and watching Polish or Norwegian TV from even 20 years ago shows significant differences there. If you want to fully understand particular groups of people you have to stay in touch with how the language is changing for them.

 

[nw1]

I'd suggest that might be an "internetism" rather than an Americanism. If you could go back in time to 1980s New York City, the people there would be just as irritated by it as you are.

I'm actually not irritated by it (or any of the other observations) to be honest. Apologies if I sound as if I am, they are really just observations!

Is that an Americanism, or just an evolution in the way we say dates? '20th' century, though obviously correct, can seem confusing when the years begin with 19. Italians say 'novecento' meaning the nine hundreds (implying the teen).

Not all changes to the language are imported from across the pond. And many of them (like 'gotten') were ours in the first place and have just been re-imported.

Certainly "the 1900s" to me would imply the decade 1900-1909. Inconsistently, however, I would consider "the 1700s" to be 1700-1799. I guess it's because I grew up in the 20th century and people used "the 1900s" to refer to the first decade of that century.

More and more British people are saying "fired" rather than "sacked" these days, I've noticed.

Mr Sugar is to blame for that, I guess.

 

[DerekC]

Getting slightly OT, there are some subtleties in usage in the US which take a bit of getting used to. In the UK "excuse me" said in a crowd means (politely) - "would you mind letting me through" and doesn't cause offence. In the US "excuse me" seems to mean "you have just infringed my personal space and please don't do it again". I took a while to get used to that one!

But these things change over time. Twenty years ago if you asked somebody in the UK "how are you?" you tended to get the response "not too bad". in the US you invariably got "great!" or "good!". Now the UK response (especially amongst people under 40ish) is the same as the US one.

 

[takno]

But these things change over time. Twenty years ago if you asked somebody in the UK "how are you?" you tended to get the response "not too bad". in the US you invariably got "great!" or "good!". Now the UK response (especially amongst people under 40ish) is the same as the US one.

I think it's increasingly being treated as non-speech - I'm finding the answer now is sometimes just "how are you?" repeated back. By contrast our Polish team will often tell you about all the unfortunate events which have befallen them in some detail.

I find if you want to trigger a conversation then "what's up/happening/occurring" will generally be more successful, and if you're just trying to acknowledge somebody's existence in the lift then the answer doesn't really matter much. Either way, I wouldn't say the drivers to me are overwhelmingly American

 

[nw1]

But that is how Bowie himself pronounced it?

I always thought it was Bowie to rhyme with Nether Stowey. Certainly that's the way most people (whether people I know, or DJs) seem to pronounce it. I will admit to not knowing the definitive answer, though.

 

[Calthrop]

At the risk of going off-thread, there's a whole host of things that they say in Scotland and Ireland that they don't in England, which you often don't become aware of unless you spend some time there. (I have family living in Edinburgh.) For example, the Scots say that they 'stay in' somewhere rather than 'live' somewhere. ('I was staying in Arbroath...')

Another Scottish thing which I find pleasingly different. I recall reading somewhere, the words of a juvenile McGonagall wannabe:

"Broughty Ferry is where I stay,
Right by the beautiful silvery Tay..."

An editorial explanation was added, for non-Scots: informing that the lad lived in Broughty Ferry, rather than going there for his summer holiday.

See also Irish “grand” meaning “fine, ok”.

I'm 100% English (love Ireland, but have had little first-hand experience of it); and have always used "grand" in that sense.

 

[takno]

At the risk of going off-thread, there's a whole host of things that they say in Scotland and Ireland that they don't in England, which you often don't become aware of unless you spend some time there. (I have family living in Edinburgh.) For example, the Scots say that they 'stay in' somewhere rather than 'live' somewhere. ('I was staying in Arbroath...') They often say that something is 'barry' (it may be spelt 'barrie') instead of good; this last may be a specifically Edinburgh or East Coast term.
The Irish use the term 'laneway' instead of 'lane'; not sure why that is. Even officially; I've seen it on road signs.

Stay is a bit regional within Scotland - you'll also get bide sometimes. Barry is one I haven't heard for 10 years or so, but I'm fairly certain was pretty Edinburgh. Mostly I like that the words are quite proudly defended, compared to the way local and regional character felt like it was being slowly crushed out of Yorkshire speech when I used to stay there.

 

[Western Lord]

It always irritates me when Americans use an unnecessary definite article. Americans used to say, "I flew over on the Concorde", as if there was only one of them. They also refer to somebody being in "the hospital".

 

[306024]

True story: my parents were once asked by a waiter in a Kansas restaurant, once he found out they were from England, ”if they speak English in England”.

“Yes, we invented it” replied the old boy.

Reminds me of similar. English friends and I were in Amish country Pennsylvania, eating at a cafe in a small town called Intercourse (honestly, Google it).

We order successfully, but the Amish waitress, finding our accent unusual, then says “do you mind me asking what language you were talking in earlier”.

“Cockney” we reply.

“Oh thank you”, and off she went. Wonder if she ever worked out we were having her on.

 

[Busaholic]

But that is how Bowie himself pronounced it?

Yes, according to his cousin Kristina Amadeus who very much grew up with him, first in Brixton, then a few miles away in Bromley. It was meant to be pronounced as in the Bowie knife.

 

[takno]

Yes, according to his cousin Kristina Amadeus who very much grew up with him, first in Brixton, then a few miles away in Bromley. It was meant to be pronounced as in the Bowie knife.

What's one of those, and how's it pronounced?

 

[306024]

What's one of those, and how's it pronounced?

Yes good question, I’m none the wiser either.

Bow - front of ship, or
Bow - in East London