As one with experience now among three English-speaking nations, I continue to be shamelessly amused by notable differences in our great language. From place to place and continent to continent, we 'Native Speakers' tend to customize English without realizing. (Or shall I say 'customise without realising'?) Time passes and our language lives, breathes and thrives in separate circles. Then, some of us find ourselves together again hundreds of years later attempting to navigate our way through simple dialogue. Hypothetically, let's imagine an American, an Irishman, a Scotsman, an Englishman and an Aussie... and, for giggles, let's toss a South African and a Canadian in there too. Suddenly we require a translator to mediate the conversation among 6 'English-speaking' individuals. ....Oh, brother.... (Or is it 'Oh, bother'?)
I will say this: It does cause some insecurity for this American English girl as I've been immersed in other English-speaking cultures. I used to have unwavering confidence in my English abilities, both spoken and written. I may not have always used proper English in everyday conversation as a young adult living in Texas (i.e.: "Hey, did you eat yet? I think I'm about to drive through somewhere and get somethin. You wanna come with?") But when it really mattered, I knew how to switch on the suitable American English and I'm proud to say I have confidently conversed with several world-renown politicians and professionals. (No prob, Bob. I'm an educated, cool & composed English speaker after all... right?) But nothing provided a more humbling reality than becoming a 'Texas transplant' in various English-speaking cultures worldwide... beginning in Oxford, England. The common English used in any section of that beautiful little ancient town is rich and eloquent, as though somehow they've scripted their thoughts the night before and are currently reciting a well-researched response to my casual, conversational question. They use words like 'precisely', 'quite' and 'fond', and they NEVER say 'Umm'. (Even if they did get caught saying 'Umm', they spell it 'Erm' over there, which -let's be honest- is so much fancier.) Suddenly, by comparison, even my most proper American English sounds about as formal as "What up, yo? Catch y'all on the flip side". Even here in Australia, I have been bewildered when certain words or phrases I commonly use draw a blank stare at the receiving end. (Fortunately, my dear friends all over the world have usually, in their kindest and least-disparaging tone, said, "Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean?") Eek. It almost makes me want to carry around a wallet-size photo of my diploma to prove, if only to myself, that I have been educated by an accredited University in the States.
But that's the interesting point of it all, isn't it? The fact of the matter is this: Living things grow. They change. They adapt. They produce offspring, and that offspring is often an entirely new character of its own, with specific placement and purpose. American English is, after all, just as useful in moving mankind forward as any other spoken or written version of English, both ancient and modern. (Still... there's a reason we're all glad that Downton Abbey doesn't sound like an episode of Modern Family. We want both! We love both. Thank goodness we have both.)
I stumbled on this BBC article from July of 2011 and found it to be incredibly interesting. (My personal favorite, and the one that caused spontaneous laughter for me, was #35, but they're all pretty good.) In reading through the comments it seems the article may have ruffled a few feathers amongst readers 'across the pond' from the BBC headquarters, but I hope any US readers will find it entertaining rather than offensive. I personally enjoyed the not-so-subtle spirit of annoyance that's been woven into this article. I liken it to the eye-roll of an older sibling whose younger brother has returned from Summer camp using the words 'wicked' and 'whatever' in every sentence. It's a lighthearted dig at us, but all in good fun I'm sure. (wink, wink) It would take an entire lunch break to peruse this in its entirety with comments included, but if you are similarly fascinated with the ways in which our English language is growing, you may find it to be worth your while. If not... No worries, Mate. I'm sure I'll catch ya later with some kinda awesome post with my FAB bloggin' skills and lingo. It's all good. Peace out.
Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples
(click here to read the full BBC News article)
Here are 50 of the most e-mailed:
1. When people ask for something, I often hear: "Can I get a..." It infuriates me. It's not New York. It's not the 90s. You're not in Central Perk with the rest of the Friends. Really." Steve, Rossendale, Lancashire
2. The next time someone tells you something is the "least worst option", tell them that their most best option is learning grammar. Mike Ayres, Bodmin, Cornwall
3. The phrase I've watched seep into the language (especially with broadcasters) is "two-time" and "three-time".
Have the words double, triple etc, been totally lost? Grammatically it
makes no sense, and is even worse when spoken. My pulse rises every time
I hear or see it. Which is not healthy as it's almost every day now.
Argh! D Rochelle, Bath
4. Using 24/7 rather than "24 hours, 7 days a week" or even just plain "all day, every day". Simon Ball, Worcester
5. The one I can't stand is "deplane", meaning to disembark an aircraft, used in the phrase "you will be able to deplane momentarily". TykeIntheHague, Den Haag, Holland
6. To "wait on" instead of "wait for" when
you're not a waiter - once read a friend's comment about being in a
station waiting on a train. For him, the train had yet to arrive - I
would have thought rather that it had got stuck at the station with the
friend on board. T Balinski, Raglan, New Zealand
7. "It is what it is". Pity us. Michael Knapp, Chicago, US
8. Dare I even mention the fanny pack? Lisa, Red Deer, Canada
9. "Touch base" - it makes me cringe no end. Chris, UK
10. Is "physicality" a real word? Curtis, US
11. Transportation. What's wrong with transport? Greg Porter, Hercules, CA, US
12. The word I hate to hear is "leverage".
Pronounced lev-er-ig rather than lee-ver -ig. It seems to pop up in all
aspects of work. And its meaning seems to have changed to "value added".
Gareth Wilkins, Leicester
13. Does nobody celebrate a birthday anymore, must we all "turn"
12 or 21 or 40? Even the Duke of Edinburgh was universally described as
"turning" 90 last month. When did this begin? I quite like the phrase
in itself, but it seems to have obliterated all other ways of speaking
about birthdays. Michael McAndrew, Swindon
14. I caught myself saying "shopping cart" instead of shopping trolley today and was thoroughly disgusted with myself. I've never lived nor been to the US either. Graham Nicholson, Glasgow
15. What kind of word is "gotten"? It makes me shudder. Julie Marrs, Warrington
16. "I'm good" for "I'm well". That'll do for a start. Mike, Bridgend, Wales
17. "Bangs" for a fringe of the hair. Philip Hall, Nottingham
18. Take-out rather than takeaway! Simon Ball, Worcester
19. I enjoy Americanisms. I suspect even some Americans use
them in a tongue-in-cheek manner? "That statement was the height of ridiculosity". Bob, Edinburgh
20. "A half hour" instead of "half an hour". EJB, Devon
21. A "heads up". For example, as in a business meeting. Lets do a "heads up" on this issue. I have never been sure of the meaning. R Haworth, Marlborough
22. Train station. My teeth are on edge every time I hear it. Who started it? Have they been punished? Chris Capewell, Queens Park, London
23. To put a list into alphabetical order is to "alphabetize it" - horrid! Chris Fackrell, York
24. People that say "my bad" after a mistake. I don't know how anything could be as annoying or lazy as that. Simon Williamson, Lymington, Hampshire
25. "Normalcy" instead of "normality" really irritates me. Tom Gabbutt, Huddersfield
26. As an expat living in New Orleans, it is a very long list but "burglarize" is currently the word that I most dislike. Simon, New Orleans
27. "Oftentimes" just makes me shiver with annoyance. Fortunately I've not noticed it over here yet. John, London
28. Eaterie. To use a prevalent phrase, oh my gaad! Alastair, Maidstone (now in Athens, Ohio)
29. I'm a Brit living in New York. The one that always gets me is the American need to use the word bi-weekly when fortnightly would suffice just fine. Ami Grewal, New York
30. I hate "alternate" for "alternative". I
don't like this as they are two distinct words, both have distinct
meanings and it's useful to have both. Using alternate for alternative
deprives us of a word. Catherine, London
31. "Hike" a price. Does that mean people who do that are hikers? No, hikers are ramblers! M Holloway, Accrington
32. Going forward? If I do I shall collide with my keyboard. Ric Allen, Matlock
33. I hate the word "deliverable". Used by management consultants for something that they will "deliver" instead of a report. Joseph Wall, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
34. The most annoying Americanism is "a million and a half" when it is clearly one and a half million! A million and a half is 1,000,000.5 where one and a half million is 1,500,000. Gordon Brown, Coventry
35. "Reach out to" when the correct word is
"ask". For example: "I will reach out to Kevin and let you know if that
timing is convenient". Reach out? Is Kevin stuck in quicksand? Is he
teetering on the edge of a cliff? Can't we just ask him? Nerina, London
36. Surely the most irritating is: "You do the Math." Math? It's MATHS. Michael Zealey, London
37. I hate the fact I now have to order a "regular Americano". What ever happened to a medium sized coffee? Marcus Edwards, Hurst Green
38. My worst horror is expiration, as in "expiration date". Whatever happened to expiry? Christina Vakomies, London
39. My favourite one was where Americans claimed their family were "Scotch-Irish".
This of course it totally inaccurate, as even if it were possible, it
would be "Scots" not "Scotch", which as I pointed out is a drink. James, Somerset
40.I am increasingly hearing the phrase "that'll learn you" - when the English (and more correct) version was always "that'll teach you". What a ridiculous phrase! Tabitha, London
41. I really hate the phrase: "Where's it at?" This is not more efficient or informative than "where is it?" It just sounds grotesque and is immensely irritating. Adam, London
42. Period instead of full stop. Stuart Oliver, Sunderland
43. My pet hate is "winningest", used in the
context "Michael Schumacher is the winningest driver of all time". I
can feel the rage rising even using it here. Gayle, Nottingham
44. My brother now uses the term "season" for a TV series. Hideous. D Henderson, Edinburgh
45. Having an "issue" instead of a "problem". John, Leicester
46. I hear more and more people pronouncing the letter Z as "zee". Not happy about it! Ross, London
47. To "medal" instead of to win a medal. Sets my teeth on edge with a vengeance. Helen, Martock, Somerset
48. "I got it for free" is a pet hate. You got it "free" not "for free". You don't get something cheap and say you got it "for cheap" do you? Mark Jones, Plymouth
49. "Turn that off already". Oh dear. Darren, Munich
50. "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less" has to be the worst. Opposite meaning of what they're trying to say. Jonathan, Birmingham
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