Americanisms-Get Rid!

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Helen_J

is it just more or does hearing words that the Americans have chosen to be in the english language make you cringe? i know english is a language that is derived from loads of other languages, and coming from Yorkshire i know that there are soo many variations on it! but people in Yorkshire don't force their way of saying things on to 'English' as a language like those across the ocean do...if i hear see or experience in any way the word 'gotten' one more time i will scream!

Jerk.

, Only screwin with ya, but no I'm American and have been living in this country for like a year now, and people I know have picked up Americanisms off me, as I have picked up English sayings etc off them :smile:

Reply 161

burningnun

Emers

'I'm good' is possibly one of the most annoying phrases in the world. That's what's wrong with it. If someone asks 'how are you?', it's fine to say 'I'm good', but if someone is offering you a drink, saying 'I'm good' just doesn't sound right. You're not answering the question.

It's short for "my dear sir, I'm good (fine) in my current state without a beverage and as such I politely decline your offer to provide me with one."

Reply 162

BrightGirl

I know someone on myspace who used the word 'juicebox'.
I mean COME ON. Who says: "Hi, can I have an apple juicebox please?" You'd just ask for a carton of apple juice like a normal English-speaking person.
:no:

Reply 163

burningnun

BrightGirl

It's lucky you only know him/her on Myspace.

Reply 164

BrightGirl

burningnun

It's lucky you only know him/her on Myspace.

They went to my school lol but I never really knew them properly. Infact, the same person also used on their profile the word 'mom'. It was clearly just to look cool because there's no way you can use 'mom' in real life with an English accent!

Reply 165

burningnun

BrightGirl

I actually know someone that does that sometimes. She's part Irish though, which is probably where the American accent draws a lot of influence. We take the piss but it's probably not her fault, bless her.

Your acquaintance sounds like a right failure though.

Reply 166

WithFlyingColours

Got is past tense already (eg. he got it there). Give an example of when you'd say 'gotten'.

Reply 167

burningnun

"If only I had gotten her number."

Basically, after "to have". That kind of past tense, since there is more than one kind. I don't know the names of all the tenses but I'm sure someone has the necessary patience to look it up on Wikipedia.

Reply 168

Nu Ordah!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every time I hear the word 'dude' I am physically sick.

Thing is though most of the time its not often an American that says it but frequently a guy with long hair and a beard from St Albans.

Reply 169

username91207

burningnun

I think it's the perfect tense, or at least that's what my Spanish lessons tell me :biggrin:

I'm sure there are Americans who use British phrases a lot, I wonder if it winds up Americans as much as Americanisms are winding some people up here?

Reply 170

eMJaaay♥

snowyowl

I think it's the perfect tense, or at least that's what my Spanish lessons tell me :biggrin:

I'm sure there are Americans who use British phrases a lot, I wonder if it winds up Americans as much as Americanisms are winding some people up here?

Nope we love it :biggrin:

Obviously not on someone with a strong strong accent but we don't find it annoying either ... my cousins think its adorable when me or my other Amebrit cousins are speaking with a slight British / American accent and saying words like init ... though its more like Chav

:frown:

Someone should post British type words here cuz I don't know any! :o:

Reply 171

DirtyHarry

One of the worst for me-

'Trick or treating'

**** off.

Reply 172

username91207

eMJaaay&#9829

Nope we love it :biggrin:

Someone should post British type words here cuz I don't know any! :o:

I don't know, now I think about it :p:

I think "bloody hell" and things are commonly used examples of typically British sayings, although I'm not sure :smile:

I remember when the last Harry Potter book came out, and there were stories about Americans not quite understanding Ron's expressions (like "git", and words like that) :smile:

Reply 173

eMJaaay♥

Oh hehe yup bloody it the one word we always use :biggrin:

Reply 174

WithFlyingColours

I suppose. But then again I've never thought of using gotten and would say 'if only I had've got her number'. You could probably get away with just saying 'if only I got her number' aswell. If it's in your head it's hard to change how you speak I find.

Reply 175

burningnun

I normally find a way around saying gotten, that's just one case when I think it works.

I get annoyed when people write "practice" instead of "practise." It's normally Americans who do this.

Reply 176

sarcastic pratchett fan

burningnun

There's nothing wrong with gotten, it's the logical way to use "got" in the past tense. I don't like to use it at all because "have got" sounds stupid and "have gotten" will cause people like you to judge me. This forces me to be creative in my word choice, which is not a bad thing I suppose.

And WHAT THE ***** is wrong with saying "I'm good"? "Good" means the same as "fine." The weather is good. The weather is fine. I'm fine. I'm good. They mean the same thing. There is nothing gramatically incorrect about using an adjective such as good to describe yourself. There is also nothing American about it. It is just how words ****ing well work. I don't care if it originated in America. I don't even care if it originated on Friends. There's nothing ****ing wrong with it.

The 'gotten' thing may be perfectly logical - it just isn't UK English.

The sentence 'I am good' is indeed perfectly good grammar and syntax. However, it is unlikely that you mean this. 'Good' in this context has moral implications. It is more likely that you mean 'I am well' or 'I am fine'. any say that this is only a small distinction - so why make a fuss? The answer is that we like clear and concise English. Misunderstandings can arise. English is already a terribly convoluted and confusing language. There really is no need to increase this.

Many are saying that Americans did not force this on us. To some extent they are right. What they forget, however, is that most of the English version wikipedia is in US English. My school textbooks are in US English. My computer game installation programme offers Spanish, Italian, Japaneese three forms of French and two forms of German along with other languages. However, the only form of English is US. The propagation of US English is most common through modern technology. Thirty years ago we never accessed anything: we gained access to it. Now we access the data on our computers every day.

I am not a true pedant. There are almost certainly typos in the abovce post. Uk English does seem to be dissappearing. This is certainly a natural process. Language evolves. This is not necessarily a good thing. If I said that the poor should be left to starve because this was part of evolution and natural forces should be left alone, what would you think? The argument that we should not try to protect our language because it is evolving and evolution is natural is ridiculous.

Reply 177

NDGAARONDI

Helen_J

Languages which are used as widely and with so many people as English has, will always have regional variations. In fact, the largest of these deviations happen within the country. Look up some Geordie dialect, Cockney slang and some Yorkshire phrases. Admittedly, the American changes are annoying simply for the fact that I have a software telling me I have spelt a word incorrectly. As I write this, Firefox highlights the word 'spelt'. See what I mean? Other than that, it is the occasional misunderstands which may result from slight changes in definitions of words.

Bismarck

Ultra-nationslism FTW!

Nationalism is an ill concept.

Reply 178

Bismarck

NDGAARONDI

Nationalism is an ill concept.

Tell that to the people who are incensed by another country's language making slight adjustments to their own. "Spelt" is considered proper spelling in the US by the way; it's just not used as commonly as "spelled". Firefox told me that "dialogue" isn't a word before.

Reply 179

NDGAARONDI

Bismarck

Yeah. Just seems to be a fuss over something rather minor. I have always preferred spelt though for some reason. Some times these differences are interesting to read, albeit just for reference value. Was reading up over the alternative spelling to Covent Garden a few weeks back.