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Considering the number of American shows, and films, we are exposed to over on this side of the pond I suppose it's only natural that many American terms have made their way into our language. Now it seems that some things may be going the other way.
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Britishisms coming to America.
And why not? America is Britain's daughter nation.
May Your Light Forever Shine
not surprising but...
It would be nice to see some british terms updated for example.
The trunk of a car ( meaning storage for spare tire, jack, and other stuff makes a lot more sense than the boot, I mean really think about it. You can store stuff in a trunk but in a boot? No way! However this more than anything makes less sense since the "trunk" is actually evolved from an actual steamer trunk that was first strapped in place to the back of early cars.
There is lots of other terms but that is the one that comes to mind the most.
The use of the word 'boot'
The use of the word 'boot' comes from when the coachmen used to sit on locker where they could store things, icluding their boots. So bootlocker got shortened to, simply, boot.Whilst checking my facts I found claims that it had been used in parts of America a long time ago. In one claim, north Georgia was mentioned.
S'truth.
Many parts of the early colonies used many of the words still in use on the other side of the pond. The wholesale rejection of those words didn't begin until old Webster wrote his "American" dictionary, in effect creating American as a separate entity from the mother language of English.
Today we are beginning to see the fragmented versions of English re-integrate as a natural consequence of the information age making communication across vast distances much much easier. Of course, those who are most educated are the ones in the most constant communication over said distances and therefore are going to be the forerunners of this re-integration. Just like those who were more educated caused the Americanism in the first place.
Originally, there was no "American".
Abigail Drew.
Originally there was no "British" either
All depends on how far back you want to go. You can only keep a language pure two ways: kill off all the native speakers (Latin, for example), or rigidly enforce bans on the introduction of foreign words and terms (Modern-day French). Neither way is wholly satisfactory. Languages will diverge if the speakers are vastly seperated and in different environments. Convergance will happen to a degree when they are brought back together in sufficient strength that neither can overwhelm the other. Adapt or lose out.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Found the quote, Abigail!
Tried to remember this earlier and couldn't, but it says it so well!
English is the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up Saxon barmaids and is no more legitimate than any of the other results.
Strangely, such a profound statement's origin is unknown! Puzzling, I know. Well, maybe the Doctor knows, but he seems a bit busy at the moment.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
*giggles*
So absolutely true too!
It's exactly as I ALWAYS say, English is the worlds greatest bastard child.
Abigail Drew.
Bloody British can't even
Bloody British can't even keep their own language on their own side of the pond. :P
Jolly good show, chaps. Spiffing, what?
As we've had to put up with so many invasive words into the good old lingo, what, I'm delighted that we've started exporting a few of our own.
Seriously, it's a rich language that we share, and one in which the strength comes from it's ability to absorb words from just about every other language that exists. I'm actually delighted, because I am a great admirer of other cultures and nations, (with a few exceptions) and try to set my stories in as many different places that I can. I also try to pick places that I have actually been to, but sometimes that's tricky.It took me years to work out what bangs were, and men will still put on jumpers when they get chilly without thinking twice. I am so grateful for those who have helped Americanize my dialogue.
Does this mean I won't have to any more?
Some hope!
The only nation to legislate against the use of words like, 'le sandwich', and 'le picnic' are the French, who have become rather anal about keeping their language pure. I say bollocks, as the richness comes from the ability to have enough words to actually say what you mean easily. That's why the French have no word for home that carries the same connotation as does the English word. They have ma Maison, meaning my house, and they have Chez moi, literally, at mine, but nothing for HOME, as where the heart is.
I recommend the Book MOTHER TONGUE by Bill Bryson, who for an American, says it beautifully (okay, he's married a Brit and now lives over here, but he's quite a bright fellow for all that!) .
We can all learn so much from each other.
Tanya
There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!
This is of course
The hidden agenda of Bike which has now been disclosed. Damn!
Angharad
I was wondering...
I was wondering how long it would be before people twigged onto that...
Annette
Radio London calling...
The punk rock scene of the late 70's/early 80's saw this huge influx of British expressions into the English used by a certain subset of kids in the Los Angeles area, these neologisms used in what to my ears was a very affected way. All of a sudden everything was "wanker"-this (GOD did they love that word!) and "dosser"-that, people "sussed things out", they got "aggro" when they got too "pissed" ...... it was all very OTT. Fun times in Hollywood though, I bear the memories and the scars (slam dancing was so much fun until I woke up the next morning) fondly.
~~hugs, Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
Blimey do tell.
Since being a kid I have done this and do not know where it comes from. It took years of being yelled at by teachers to stop. Now I have for some strange reason been doing it again, using many of the England English terms in my every day speech My children often joke about my mama talks in strange languages. Also I tend to drop into a mental dialect mode when I am working on one of my larger project like Stand And Deliver where a substantial amount of the story occurs in northern Scotland. I was writing at a local Star Bucks. when I got a refill, a new Baresta to that location asked me how long had I had been in this country, because she found my accent lovely. The older Baresta there and my children had a good laugh at both of our expense, before it was explained to her that I was a writer and would often times order things with slight accents from different parts of the world. And yes I do blame Bike for this, Yes Pinky she is trying to take over the world.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Ummm...
Ummm. Trying?
And the point is?
Languages evolve - as an Australian, the English here is a mix of British and American English, with a few 'home-grown' additions - and it has definitely changed in my lifetime. I think the best quote to describe the British-American dilemna with language is that of George Bernard Shaw: "England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
Koala
Koala
Inside every older person is a young person wondering what the heck happened.
and you gotta agree with that
a lot of the British stories go over my head because of phrases i dont understand.
Much like someone i was talking to online who once claimed to play football...
at one point he was talking about dribbling, so im like... wait i thought you played football not basketball?
of course he said that he *DID* play football, and i'm like well you dont dribble a football!
anyway the point was that neither of us understood each other for nearly 40 minutes, then at one point i discovered he was British then it clicked... "OH you mean you play SOCCER"
then of course i made the mistake of thinking i was really talking to a girl...
sorry, in my neck of the woods soccer is considered a 'girly' sport, real men play football. (not that i buy into that machoism)
afterwards though i thought it was funny how we spent almost an hour talking to each other in the same language and yet totally not understanding what we were saying to one another