Hating Americans and their Americanisms

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3283

by sabmayahai • 15 years ago

19 31 15 years ago

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu

I have never, in my life, seen a more trivial and annoying list than this one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

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.

Seriously? And are these Americans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9hbf-IRig

The whole list is like that.

JonnieCache3• 15 years ago

That those things are trivial is kind of the point.

Becoming disproportionately angry about arbitrary linguistic differences is a treasured national pastime in the UK. It's due to our very particularly neurotic class consciousness, and it's quite difficult to explain. UK english is a minefield of shibboleths which we use to pigeonhole each other with startling efficiency.

It's explained better than I ever could by comedian David Mitchell in this short video:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2010/jun/10/la...

And this one, which is more specifically about americanisms:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2010/may/20/la...

secretwhistle2• 15 years ago

Thanks for the background and links, which I wish I would have seen before posting my comment.

I still think there is a bit of, not necessarily resentment, but a bit of annoyance at the upstart US, which comes across to most other countries as "unrefined." I think the major difference between Americans and Brits is that the US doesn't have centuries of history behind it. It's still very much a "young" nation in the overall scheme of things and shows its age quite often. (See also: the other comment I made.)

shrikant• 15 years ago

UK english is a minefield of shibboleths which we use to pigeonhole each other with startling efficiency.

Classic example from my FB newsfeed: http://i.imgur.com/MWOjQ.png

Lewisham• 15 years ago

I think it's easier to explain than you think (and, for once, not at all due to the class system at all).

Britain has been under relentless cultural assault from the US for decades. It is no secret, and no surprise, that it was Friends that introduced "can I get a" to the UK. This trend has accelerated with the Internet, where all English speakers tend to move towards the ubiquitous American English.

Even something like programming acts as a vehicle for this. Try colouring something grey, for example.

Language is a very tangible, day-to-day way of asserting cultural independence. See how France used to sing Eurovision in French every year. Sadly, even they now sing songs in English.

This taps into a deep-seated concern in some of the British population that it will become a cultural 51st state. Certainly we identify more with the US than any of continental Europe. This is not necessarily unwarranted, but I think it unlikely. Even something as uniquely American as hip-hop was taken, adopted by young disadvantaged Londoners and transformed into grime instead. Britain's identity is formed by more than the media it consumes and it creates, but by the people who inhabit it.

FWIW, I really do hate "could care less" as it's literally the opposite of what meaning is trying to be conveyed. I've personally picked up "bathroom" over "toilet". I think it's a great euphemism, which is, in itself, a traditionally British thing to do.

secretwhistle2• 15 years ago

A list like this coming from that source just seems like latent resentment to me. I'm sorry you didn't get to keep all that land directly south of Canada. Get over it.

BTW: Your youtube link is kill.

joshuaheard• 15 years ago

Most of the items were slang or examples of common bad grammar usage, hardly limited to Americans.

portmanteaufu• 15 years ago

A fair number of these aren't even "American," they're just "incorrect." Claiming that mistakes like "I could care less" are American is like saying that the United States invented the failure to distinguish between "your" and "you're."

I don't think I've ever heard the phrase "That'll learn you" said in any seriousness outside of a Western movie.

roel_v• 15 years ago

Sound like something a Dutchman speaking English would say.

raldi2• 15 years ago

Wait, British people don't say "train station"?

JonnieCache3• 15 years ago

We do. All the time. It's written on the signs and everything.

It is a well-worn running joke in the UK that the people who write in to the BBC are all eye-rollingly insane. I wouldn't take the list too seriously.

hoopadoop• 15 years ago

This is still pretty depressing coming from the BBC, even when you ignore the comments.

raldi2• 15 years ago

Whew. I was afraid the proper term was something like "locomotive concordry" and I'd been out of the loop all this time.

ehutch792• 15 years ago

how does this make people mad?

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

i mean, it's a station, for trains, hence train station. i don't get why this makes him angry.

forinti• 15 years ago

You're supposed ter say Michael Caine station.

ehutch792• 15 years ago

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

if that ruins your day, welcome to #firstworldproblems.

forgotAgain2• 15 years ago

It's a bitch being a former world power. Cheers!

mdda2• 15 years ago

Please look forward to discovering what it feels like : These things come and go in phases. China & India will most likely have their time in the sun within the next 500 years.

Vivtek• 15 years ago

Yeah, and Indians always write "you" as "u" in non-SMS contexts. Drives me bleedin' batty, it does.

forgotAgain2• 15 years ago

True, the deck is about to be reshuffled again but I have my doubts about India and China, at least in their current contexts. Too many people, not enough water and other resources.

foobarbazetc• 15 years ago

500? China in 10-20 years.

codeup• 15 years ago

Someone has to say it: This Language Log post is taking the BBC article and itself way too seriously.

protomyth• 15 years ago

If those phrases truly bother a person, then I would caution that person not to travel or go into a profession with its own lingo. People have different phrases and even words in different places. Yes, looking under the bonnet has a totally different meaning here.

I grew up on a reservation in the US and some of the phrases that stuck with me have their origin in the local language.

cellis• 15 years ago

Actually, I do say "for cheap", as well as "for free".

pfarrell• 15 years ago

two words: your guy's

as in, "see you at your guy's house".

Or is that just an Indiana thing?

zwieback• 15 years ago

That's what I like about America - not only do we not have this type of discussion, it doesn't even make sense here. (If you're tempted to reply "the US isn't America" you're proving my point!)

One area, though, where we have a similar rift is between "African American Vernacular English" and standard usage. There's unfortunately a large percentage, maybe a majority, that think there's something fundamentally wrong with AAVE.

geebee• 15 years ago

Interesting observation about the French depiction of Americans in film. I've spent a lot of time in France and the UK, and I'm amazed (and depressed) with how pervasive the notion of French anti-americanism has become in the US. While there is certainly plenty of political tension, the personal hostility to Americans attributed to the French has been (just my experience) wildly overblown.

tdfx• 15 years ago

I like the person who had the problem with the use of the word "biweekly". "Thou shall receiveth thy cheque fortnightly!" rolls off the tongue so much easier. I be diggin' that.

Hating Americans and their Americanisms

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