Komeuppance Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples The Magazine's recent piece on Americanisms entering the language in the UK prompted thousands of you to e-mail examples. Some are useful, while some seem truly unnecessary, argued Matthew Engel in the 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 Are the British really that ignorant?? -Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Nothing wrong with a fanny pack, Chuck Norris wears one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAD Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Are the British really that ignorant?? -RobertWe already kicked their tails in WWII. Cheer-i-o, let's do it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOHO Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 We already kicked their tails in WWII. Cheer-i-o, let's do it again! What??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) We already kicked their tails in WWII. Cheer-i-o, let's do it again! I know that's a quote from something but I can't remember. Now I remember,... BEERFEST lol Edited July 21, 2011 by ucw458 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Beerfest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carguygibby Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) Are the British really that ignorant?? -RobertThat would be No Mr. Pantz!Toady, fanny is a v@gina in Britain, so what does that say about Chuck Norris? :-P Edited July 21, 2011 by carguygibby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilBoy Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 That would be No Mr. Pantz!Toady, fanny is a v@gina in Britain, so what does that say about Chuck Norris? :-PThat he takes a portable version with him where ever he goes incase of an emergency.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyWadd Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 It is what it is.#7. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carguygibby Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 It is what it is.#7. I agree.Let's not forget 'more funner' and 'funnest'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphoria Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Officially most of them are correct with there messages. American schools do not teach proper English which the Brtis speak, which our country was founded with, we are taught American English. It's like comparing our Imperial measuring system to there metric, they are two completely different things. Our education system is terrible compared to the UKs system. As for some of the other comments, sorry UK but we are American and we have our own swag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Officially most of them are correct with there messages. American schools do not teach proper English which the Brtis speak, which our country was founded with, we are taught American English. It's like comparing our Imperial measuring system to there metric, they are two completely different things. Our education system is terrible compared to the UKs system. As for some of the other comments, sorry UK but we are American and we have our own swag.Agreed. American Public schools are horrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilBoy Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Atleast we have better teeth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marso Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I hate the term "Take a (enter your own excrement)" Are you taking it to the store? Is it in your pocket? I always leave mine for those people to take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Dont Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 So when is the Uk gunna start bashing Austrailia or spain bash the south americas? Oh what a'boot france and those maple leafs up north! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric-man Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 "YOU SAY POTATOE I SAY POTATO YOU SAY TOMATOE I SAY TOMATO LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF!" WE DID IN 1776! WE SAYED THEIR ARESES IN 45 I DON'T KNOW WHY WE KEEP GOING BACK IT MUST BE THAT DAMN MUSIC!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatscot72 Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Like Gibby i grew up over there, maybe it's because i've been here for a while that some of these terms don't really bother me, and to be honest in can't really remember if they did. But using Gibby's example of 'fanny' , i can remember being extremely confused the first winter i lived here when i was told to warm my 'fanny' by the fire. WHAT i don't have one of those. I suppose there would be a few Brits dissapointed in me now, i do use some of those terms and saying's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Some of those terms really bother me as well. For exmaple "can I" isntead of "may I". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patra_is_here Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I recently took a linguistics class, and ultimately, there is no "wrong" use of language. The language is alive and it's constantly being modified through use. As long as the information is being communicated properly to it's intended recipient than you can consider the language successful. even things like ebonics and pigeon are 'incorrect' in analysis against proper english, but are successful as their own languages. they have rules, structure and grammar, and while different than english, the language can still succeed in communicating to others who speak the language. The article, at best, is just a chance for british english speakers to feel they are still 'correct', rant and complain, and have a laugh. but, really, their complaints are fairly empty from the standpoint of the nature of language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmtattat Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Eh, this is just some humour (see what I did?). We do the same thing in America just from the different colloquialisms that are prevalent in different regions. In Texas, we are always "fixin' to" do something. Seriously, almost every time I've gone out of state I've had people break their necks in confusion at the phrase because it sounds so out of place to them. Oh, and hey, I refer to it as a "feeder" whereas most people call it a "frontage road." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoolinturbo Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 the UK has always taken pride in their communication and "proper english" where as we americans take pride in making communication unique to each person and region. a new yorker taking a trip to the bayou in lousiana wont understand a damn thing lol. different strokes for different folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Sounds to me like a large group of sexually frustrated people. Although I do consider myself above average when it comes to grammatical and spelling-related stuff, you have to let some things go. Not everyone is a wordsmith and some would rather concern themselves with doing stuff rather than sounding like they know. Some of the smartest people I've met are ones that use poor grammar and struggle with spelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carguygibby Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 the UK has always taken pride in their communication and "proper english" where as we americans take pride in making communication unique to each person and region. a new yorker taking a trip to the bayou in lousiana wont understand a damn thing lol. different strokes for different folks! Sorry to use you as an example my friend but here is something else that drives me nuts here in the USA. When did you all stop using capital letters? The UK has always taken pride in their communication and "proper English" where as we Americans take pride in making communication unique to each person and region. A New Yorker taking a trip to the bayou in Lousiana won't understand a damn thing lol. Different strokes for different folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoolinturbo Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Sorry to use you as an example my friend but here is something else that drives me nuts here in the USA. When did you all stop using capital letters? The UK has always taken pride in their communication and "proper English" where as we Americans take pride in making communication unique to each person and region. A New Yorker taking a trip to the bayou in Lousiana won't understand a damn thing lol. Different strokes for different folks! i dont use capital letters unless im writing something in a formal format, i dont see a need to use them for any other reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carguygibby Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) i dont use capital letters unless im writing something in a formal format, i dont see a need to use them for any other reason. Hoo boy. Come on man, it takes nano seconds on the shift button to put in the appropriate capital letters formal or not.I don't use capital letters unless I'm writing something in a formal format, I don't see a need to use them for any other reason.Boom ! Done!Jus' sayin'! Edited July 22, 2011 by carguygibby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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