I'm an international terminology alien, are you?

[Eyes]

yes, but several of them are correct. a million and a half is completely different to 1 and a half million, for example.

and if anyone ever said winningest to me, i really think i would punch them.

That's a rather angry response from someone who can't seem to master capitalization.

That second list comes off as being written by a bunch of bitter people with no understanding of how language evolves. So, you prefer to use British English. Fine, no one asked you not to. But why all the vitriol over it? They act like they own the damn language and any derivation from the established vocabulary is a personal affront.

I've used a couple of those in that article, it's nothing to get worked up about. Some of those I wouldn't have even thought of as Americanisms anyway. I mean, 'I'm good', 'A half hour'? That's simply shortening sentences.

I suspect that these are the sorts of people who will write to newspapers to correct spelling in articles or will complain to Ofcom over raunchy acts on TV. Every country has them.

 

[scotpens]

. . . and if anyone ever said winningest to me, i really think i would punch them.

There are different levels of usage. No, you wouldn't use "winningest" in a formal essay, but there's nothing wrong with using it in colloquial speech. Just like "badder" and "baddest."

 

[SonOfMogh]

The only thing in that list that annoyed me was "I could care less", but I'm pretty sure that'd annoy me if I was American.

"pretty sure"...... They're getting to me!

 

[Mr Silver]

The terminology in the UK can be really slang based. I've grown up with it and I'm used to it, however to the average person who has been raised outside of the UK, its extremely difficult for them to adapt.

Cockney rhyming slang is actually easier to master than some localised dialects, especially in Scotland.

 

[captcalhoun]

innit though?

 

[Mr Silver]

innit though?

Thats a perfect example, although its meant to mean "Ain't it?" its often used for a great many things to the point it becomes baffling. The worst part is when someone insists on using it after every statement Gah!!

 

[Capn Flukie]

Am I bovvered?

 

[Showdown]

Here's a somewhat funny story.

A few years ago, a hurricane was approaching Texas. A co-worker from Africa asked if she should do anything to be safe. We told her to buy a few supplies. The only item she didn't know was the flashlight. I knew she used a lot of british english back at her country, so I said it's a torch. She said that a torch is fire on a stick. When another co-worker showed her a picture of a flashlight, she said it's called a battery where she grew up. We took the batteries out of the flashlight and asked what would she called them. She replied they are also called batteries.

 

[M'Sharak]

yes, but several of them are correct. a million and a half is completely different to 1 and a half million, for example.

If you want a million and one-half (1,000,000.5) of a particular item, then all you have to do is say so, but "a million and a half" and "one-and-a-half million" mean the same thing.

 

[propita]

My Dad told the story that he had not had chocolate until he was 5 years old (that'd be 1938). His parents, from Europe, had always referred to dried fruit as "candy."

Maybe someone from Europe can tell me if I'm right, but I thought that, at least in Europe decades ago, many sweets might be called "candy." Candied fruit, sugar candy, chocolate candy, etc. So that my grandparents weren't lying to Dad (as Mom insists), but using European references.

 

[scotpens]

innit though?

Thats a perfect example, although its meant to mean "Ain't it?" its often used for a great many things to the point it becomes baffling. The worst part is when someone insists on using it after every statement Gah!!

Here in California, the equivalent phrase is “y’know?”

 

[RJDiogenes]

The British equivalent is "Eh, wot?"

 

[ITL]

The British equivalent is "Eh, wot?"

No it isn't.

 

[MacLeod]

yes, but several of them are correct. a million and a half is completely different to 1 and a half million, for example.

If you want a million and one-half (1,000,000.5) of a particular item, then all you have to do is say so, but "a million and a half" and "one-and-a-half million" mean the same thing.

I can see were the misunderstanding can come into that.

You could say one point five million or one and a half million, are the same thing. But in the case of one million and a half, you are saying the half after the million. So so people could thing you mean 1 000 000.5.

So just out of interest how would you say 1 000 000.5?

 

[Deckerd]

Most of this stuff is easy enough to decipher from context. Sometimes I find myself reflexively tapping my chest to activate the universal translator for certain UK poster's use of colorful lingo in TNZ (*cough* Deckerd *cough* ), but then I'll figure it out from context or by reading the other poster's responses.

Oi!

 

[Chaos Descending]

yes, but several of them are correct. a million and a half is completely different to 1 and a half million, for example.

If you want a million and one-half (1,000,000.5) of a particular item, then all you have to do is say so, but "a million and a half" and "one-and-a-half million" mean the same thing.

I can see were the misunderstanding can come into that.

You could say one point five million or one and a half million, are the same thing. But in the case of one million and a half, you are saying the half after the million. So so people could thing you mean 1 000 000.5.

So just out of interest how would you say 1 000 000.5?

"One million point five".

In regards to the previously mentioned article:

44. My brother now uses the term "season" for a TV series. Hideous. D Henderson, Edinburgh

That one is puzzling, since the British used to use "season" in the exact same context. For example, Doctor Who from 1963 to 1989 was composed of "seasons" and each individual story was called a "serial", but in the 2005 revival each year's block of episodes was now called a "series".

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

This one isn't even specifically an Americanism. It's just piss poor usage that many people throughout the English speaking world are guilty of. It's properly said "I couldn't care less" even in America.

 

[captcalhoun]

i have actually got into the habit of calling it 'season' for a TV show, due to exposure to the American use of it.

and i don't understand what's wrong with 'i'm good' or 'my bad' either...

 

[RJDiogenes]

The British equivalent is "Eh, wot?"

No it isn't.

Oh, no, not again.

 

[ITL]

The British equivalent is "Eh, wot?"

No it isn't.

Oh, no, not again.

Fair enough.

 

[RJDiogenes]