Britishisation of American English.

[MacLeod]

We Brits often bemoan the Americianisation of English. But I came across this article on the BBC website. WHere the opposite is true, so what do our American cousins thing of the reverse?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19929249

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19670686

 

[RoJoHen]

I have never heard most of those words, and the ones I have heard I wouldn't consider "British words."

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

You never heard of them?

The only one not in usage in Australia is Chav which is specifically British. We have our own word for that. Most are in every day usage, some like Numpty are uncommon but I did hear someone say that the other day. Mind you they were a bit of a wannabe Pom so that may not be accurate.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Autumn
Cheers
Pop over
Roundabout

These are pretty much the only such "British" words I remember anyone ever say in all my 41 years (and I think I'm the only one I know who's ever said "pop over"). I've seen "roundabout" used mostly (if not exclusively) in literature books.

Otherwise, I guess the alleged Britishisation of American English depends on which part of America you're in, who you're talking to, and how much PBS and/or BBC America they watch.

 

[DimesDan]

I have never heard most of those words, and the ones I have heard I wouldn't consider "British words."

Why am I not surprised by that statement.

 

[Deckerd]

Someone phoned our office the other day from the USA, looking for a speech synthesiser with a 'British accent'. "I have a British accent", said the responder
"No no, you're Scottish, I need a British accent."
"I have no idea what you mean", said the responder

This boils down to the near-phobia Americans have for saying 'English accent'. They're happy with Welsh, Scottish and Irish but not English.

 

[Jim Gamma]

^That reminds me of a riff they did in Dr Who (McCoy's Doctor), where they have an American agent visiting Wales. He reports to base: "This is Agent XYZ, in Wales, England."

 

[auntiehill]

Bloody
row
roundabout
pop over
Autumn
Proper
Sussed

I've heard and used these words most of my life. But I have never heard any American use the word "chav." They'll say "trailer trash" or "classless" or "trashy" but never "chav." Hell, until a few years ago, I didn't even know what chav meant.

 

[6079SmithW]

Personally, the only "Britishization" I've experienced is spelling gray as "grey" and I'm always the only one that spells it like that in whatever group I'm in.

 

[Deckerd]

Grey's Anatomy changed that forever. The TV series, not the book.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Someone phoned our office the other day from the USA, looking for a speech synthesiser with a 'British accent'. "I have a British accent", said the responder
"No no, you're Scottish, I need a British accent."
"I have no idea what you mean", said the responder

This boils down to the near-phobia Americans have for saying 'English accent'. They're happy with Welsh, Scottish and Irish but not English.

Come on, if they asked for an "English accent", you would have been the first to point out that there isn't one English accent, but actually many of them depending on the region, their favourite food, and the day of the week.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Many of the words mentioned I haven't heard of or just learned (such as "chav") but haven't heard anyone actually use. Some of them I have heard people use more often lately, such as ginger (though in my circle of friends I'd argue this has more to do with the South Park episode on them), bloody, Autumn, bum, cheers (especially to end email messages in the office), roundabout, shag, and twit. And then there are others listed in the two links that I have heard all my life, such as pop over, gobsmacked, and one-off. But are they really trying to claim the term "to go missing" is a Britishism? Seriously? That's a pretty basic and common phrase that I've always heard, I don't think it can be "claimed" by anybody.

And I know this wasn't meant to be a scientific study or anything, but I do question their methods in the article, such as using a Merriam-Webster dictionary to show which British words have been added. Anyone who browses through a dictionary knows that it includes tons of words that you would never hear on a daily basis, and possibly never hear in your lifetime. Not really a good judge of what's in popular usage. Also, some of the terms they mention are used in both places but are considered Britishisms because they date back over a hundred years...well if we're going back that far, really we should be considering everything a Britishism.

I do agree with the overall point of the article though - that more British terms are creeping over here. A few have become naturally integrated into our language, but I'd say that more often British terms are used to sound more pretentious or fancy, in a purposefully amusing or mocking way. Or, when I was a teenager, some of my friends started spelling words with added u's to sound smarter, such as colour, honour, etc. They thought this made them seem more sophisticated and "in the know" than their peers.

 

[gturner]

Someone phoned our office the other day from the USA, looking for a speech synthesiser with a 'British accent'. "I have a British accent", said the responder
"No no, you're Scottish, I need a British accent."
"I have no idea what you mean", said the responder

This boils down to the near-phobia Americans have for saying 'English accent'. They're happy with Welsh, Scottish and Irish but not English.

Come on, if they asked for an "English accent", you would have been the first to point out that there isn't one English accent, but actually many of them depending on the region, their favourite food, and the day of the week.

Yeah, "English" has an overall meaning and a regional one. "Spanish" has the same problem, and I'm sure nobody in Texas is refering to Madrid when they say someone has a Spanish accent. Meanwhile the Mexicans think the Texans speak Spanish with an English accent.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Someone phoned our office the other day from the USA, looking for a speech synthesiser with a 'British accent'. "I have a British accent", said the responder
"No no, you're Scottish, I need a British accent."
"I have no idea what you mean", said the responder

This boils down to the near-phobia Americans have for saying 'English accent'. They're happy with Welsh, Scottish and Irish but not English.

For some Americans not familiar with how Great Britain works (or rather, what comprises it), British accent=English accent. While it's taught in American grade schools that England isn't the only thing in Britain, it really isn't stressed outside of that for most folks, so it's easy for them to forget, IMO.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

I have heard most of those words or phrases my whole life though many of them are considered old fashioned. The only exclusively British entries, to my eyes and ears, are chav, loo, and flat. A couple of entries used to be used the way the British use them but the meaning changed. Bum became an insult and then almost exclusively a name for the homeless, but many Americans still know its British origin. It's falling away because of political correctness. Fancy used to be used in the British way, but for some reason it dropped off. In the late 1800s, wealthy patrons would go to the bad side of town and watch boxing matches. Because they were enthusiasts who were inappropriately well dressed, newspapers dubbed them 'fancies.' This is where we get the word 'fan.' (It doesn't come from fanatic.)

 

[Deckerd]

Come on, if they asked for an "English accent", you would have been the first to point out that there isn't one English accent, but actually many of them depending on the region, their favourite food, and the day of the week.

You shut it, you.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Shutting it now.

 

[MacLeod]

I think you'll find there is more than one Scottish/Welsh accent as well.

 

[RoJoHen]

You never heard of them?

Sorry, not what I meant. I've heard of most of them, but I've never heard them used by anyone in real life. Most of the "British words" I've only ever seen used here on the TrekBBS by British people...or on Doctor Who.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Hmm, funny. I thought "Chav" was just a category or type of gay porn.