America’s Slippery Slope Into Britishisms

[jsr]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/fashion/americans-are-barmy-over-britishisms.html

Americans Are Barmy Over Britishisms
By ALEX WILLIAMS

...Crikey, Britishisms are everywhere. Call it Anglocreep. Call it annoying. Snippets of British vernacular — “cheers” as a thank you, “brilliant” as an affirmative, “loo” as a bathroom — that were until recently as rare as steak and kidney pie on these shores are cropping up in the daily speech of Americans (particularly, New Yorkers) of the taste-making set who often have no more direct tie to Britain than an affinity for “Downton Abbey.”

The next time an American “mate” asks you to “ring” her on her “mobile” about renting your “flat” during your “holiday,” it’s fair to ask, have we all become Madonna?

This star-spangled burst of Anglophonia has “established itself as this linguistic phenomenon that shows no sign of abating,” said Ben Yagoda, a professor of English at the University of Delaware, who last year started “Not One-Off Britishisms,” a repository of such verbal nonnative species, like those above, culled from the American media. “The 21st-century ‘chattering classes’ — which is itself a Britishism — are the most significant perpetrators of this trend,” he added...

Some phrases that were rarely heard 5 or 10 years ago suddenly seem ubiquitous. The absolving term “no worries” (a keystone of the Australian patois, but apparently British in origin, according to Mr. Yagoda) has all but replaced “no problem” for smart-set Americans under 40. This is the same bunch who has started saying “queue” instead of “line” and describing malfunctioning electronic devices (as opposed to health care debates on Capitol Hill) as “wonky.” ...

[flamingdem]

1. Well one reason for this is that many Europeans live in urban areas

and it seems natural that there should be some cross pollination. Other countries, even Caribbean countries, use some of those terms. Mobile is used in Cuba for instance.

On the other hand it's very affected. I grew up with a British parent who fortunately didn't use these kinds of Britishisms. Maybe due to a concern about not fitting in. "Ring" someone on the phone sounds normal to me so maybe I picked that one up.

Martin Bashir uses "America" for the U.S. and my favorite of his "Top Lines" for Headlines.

[enlightenment]

2. Why is affected if Americans use

British colloquialisms, but it's not affected if the British use American colloquialisms?

Honestly, why is it 'affected' at all? They are simply words (and I found your comment that your British parent "fortunately" didn't use British terms fascinating - as if it would have been bad if they had?)

Sometimes I think Webster did us a disservice by working to create an 'American' language.

[flamingdem]

3. I don't particularly like the terms: brilliant, loo, cheers

I know people who use those terms and they usually are very self conscious about their status. It's similar to those who sprinkle their language with French to sound like they're sophisticated. To me works as humor but not as daily speech.

[enlightenment]

4. Matter of opinion, I suppose.

There are people who use 'foreign' words in order to sound more urbane or intelligent - generally they stand out like a sore thumb (as Madonna did in her abortive attempt to become the quintessential Lady of the Manse after she married Guy Ritchie).

For the most part, I've found that people who are more traveled - or sometimes simply better read - tend to adopt words more readily. It isn't an affectation any more than using "pop" versus "soda" versus "cola" to describe a sweet, carbonated beverage. It's just something that they pick up.

John Nicolls (presumably) said this about the English language - and I wholeheartedly agree: “The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”

English is about the most 'borrowed' language in the world; if we're going to start worrying about using British colloquialisms, we should probably back up and start worrying about the rest of the language, as well.

[flamingdem]

5. I wish that I could pull off a real British accent

instead of an American twang with some Britishisms. I've learned that a real British accent will net you instant respect in America, is considered sexy and gets the best table with a dinner reservation.

I've been on the inside of that scam so that's why the Britishisms seem obnoxious/lame. Brilliant is the worst, sorry but that isn't sexy, that won't net you a table by the window. Said by a Brit it is somehow..

[enlightenment]

6. Affecting an accent is pretty ridiculous.

When my son moved to the UK, I told him to be careful about that - if he's there long enough, his accent will morph to a degree, but it is doubtful that he will ever have a real British accent. He has been there 2 years and does have a pronounced change in his speech cadence, which is interesting because he is completely unaware of it. When I pointed it out he looked at me like I'd grown another head and rolled his eyes . . .

Yes, his vocabulary has shifted - as would anyone who moved to another country - but not the accent.

My use of Britishisms is directly related to the recency of a visit. I'm much more likely to use them in the month or so after a visit than four or five months later. Some things stick; like mobile instead of cell. Others are hit and miss (like loo - though I admit that I like the honesty of 'toilet' instead of the Victorian prudishness of 'restroom'). Some are retained only in conversation with my UK friends (like brill/bless/shattered/pull/etc).

Spelling is a bugbear for me, though. I edited a couple of books for UK publication and got very comfortable with British spellings; additionally, my area of historical study is 18th century Britain, so I am constantly exposed to the spelling there, as well. I have to consciously spell-check to Americanize (note that 'z' !) and often, if I'm not paying attention, wind up with a strange combination. *sigh*

[flamingdem]

7. My sibling went to school there

and developed an accent like that, that got grief from the real Brit in the family because of the particular accent and the zone of England it represented. Near London, not sure where, maybe Suffolk. This was beyond me but I learned what accents grate on the ears to someone from a certain geographical viewpoint (Cornish).

On another theme I wonder if you know about Americans in the 1800s and their version of English. I'm reading some speeches about Lincoln and they sound so flowery. I don't know how to research this further because I'm not even sure of the linguistic term for flowery or for that era of English in the New York area circa 1860. Any ideas on this are much appreciated though I realize it's not your area!

[enlightenment]

10. I think what you're looking for is

a history of speech language.

Elocution and rhetoric were very popular (and necessary) topics in the 19th century. The ability to speak clearly and logically was part of what made the "well made" man (leaving women out of it for now; though they also practiced these skills, they were not terribly welcome in the public sphere). I believe that people of this period had better vocabularies, over all - they did not have the varieties of visual entertainment that we do today, so the written word - be it newspapers or prose or poetry or plays - was more important.

I dug around to find you some books and discovered this website: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~duchan/new_history/hist19c/elocution.html

This link goes to the 19th century page, which gives a good overview, but the rest of the site is really informative as well. I didn't realize that speech therapy came out of this period, though it makes sense when you think about it.

You might find this book useful (a review of it here): http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/book_review_john_mcwhorters_doing_our_own_thing/

I haven't read it, but I think I shall - it looks very interesting!

[flamingdem]

11. Thanks these great links

This is exactly what I need to learn about to understand what I've been reading. On my mom's side I'm researching a relative who was a orator, lawyer, statesman. It's fascinating to be able to connect with him via texts from his speeches in the New York Times and texts he wrote. If I find some more interesting links I will let you know!

[enlightenment]

13. Thanks - I appreciate that !

I'm always keen to know more about this stuff - and my education on the matter is definitely in need of improvement. Your relative sounds like a fascinating character - almost all of my ancestors were farmers, so I doubt there was an orator in the bunch. I'd imagine they probably could discourse at length about their area of expertise . . . but crop rotation has never held my interest . . .

[alarimer]

22. Every time I move, I pick up the accents of the locals.

I lived in Texas for 15 years so my accent now is mostly Texan, but now I live in North Carolina so I can hear myself morphing into a more southern accent.

I love the British. I love the words they use; I use some myself.

[MizzM]

9. Agree about better read people and Britishisms

I have read many books by British authors over the years, and it is indeed easy to pick up a sampling of words common to the British. Although I can't say I use those words in my everyday conversations, I surely have used them in Scrabble games just to hear everyone yell, "That's not a word." As I remember, the last one I used was wog. They are in the dictionary, though, and defined as British slang. Ha, I win.

[Igel]

21. Soial judgment and usage.

Once used language that was a bit too colloquial in a formal paper and had it handed back to me. It was a linguistics paper, and the "errors" were marked by a linguist who knew that colloquial English word choice and syntax was every bit as "grammatical" as formal English. However, he pointed out, it's still a fact that you will be judged on how you speak and that this judgment is both widespread and important. So I fixed the paper. He was right.

Mu personal judgment was that it didn't matter. My personal judgment, in the grand scheme of things, counts for so little as to be best described as "utterly unimportant."

What's considered affected and not is a purely social matter and depends on a lot of factors such as age and geography. If you're a 25-year-old Whovian you're probably going to pick up some Britishisms and its not necessarily affected any more than having an East Ender pick up Americanisms from US tv shows or a Parisian using English words would be. If you're a 40-something professional who wants to show how urbane you are by saying "brilliant," or like my aunt who insisted on using certain low-frequency words because they were trendy several social levels above her, then (in my humble judgment) they're affected.

Then again, among the 40-something's social set such words may be simply "de rigueur" and not affected because, well, everybody's "normal" in their own judgment. It's always others that are somehow high-falutin' or slumming.

Of course, it depends on the word. Some can be considered affected. Some can't be.

I've had to repeatedly catch myself before I say something's a "cock up" in my classroom simply because I've watched so much Red Dwarf and have occasional Red Dwarf marathons. (My son, never out of the US and who has never lived in an area without rhotic vowels, lacks rhotic vowels entirely. Too much British TV in our household.)

[Skarbrowe]

8. "No worries" was the first non-American English I noticed.

That was several years ago, and I was really surprised. I watched a lot of Australian movies and it, to me, was Americans picking up Australian wordings. I never heard "no problem" again. Then I started hearing "one off", "full stop" and I do remember hearing "brilliant", but it always seem to fit. I must have really had that one sink into my speech patterns. I consider myself an Anglophile and I can do a passable English accent. Where I live now, they speak about twenty different languages and though I haven't picked up the words so much, I will affect a Latino all the way through to a Russian accent depending on how much time I spend with a person. I absolutely love accents and I do them all the time around a close friend. I don't want people to think I am being disrespectful. Scottish is my best, Irish, eh..German is very easy for me and so is Russian for some reason. They are "hard" sounding accents, like English and it's child, American.

Oops, went off topic there a bit. Oh, that's another British word usage I have picked up - using the word "bit" instead of lots or parts. For some reason, I never use "loo". Where is it that they say "water closet". Ha! I still say the prudish restroom or washroom. I won't even use the word "bathroom" because I find that too personal. Oh god. Yeah, I just love all languages and the more we drop in words to the American way of speaking the closer we get to understanding other languages that we will never know completely. Nipping at the Tower of Babel.

[alarimer]

23. I use "no worries" a lot

I never thought much about it.

[rug]

12. Blimey!

Bloody hell, we'll all be munching fish and chips.

[enlightenment]

14. "Tucking into", rug !

Munch is so American!

[rug]

15. Now I feel like an arse.

[enlightenment]

17. Bless!

[DavidDvorkin]

20. An ass, not an arse

The animal, not the body part.

Both words are used in British English.

Unless you do feel like the body part, of course.

[SEMOVoter]

16. I've noticed dropped definite articles

Exclusion of "the" as in "go to hospital" instead of "go to the hospital".

[Socal31]

18. Highly sensational.

That is all.

[Odin2005]

19. The only one I use is "Brilliant!!!".

Then again, I'm a hick from the sticks.

[alarimer]

24. I think the popularity of British TV shows is at the root here

We get a lot of those on PBS and now BBC America. And they get ours. I hear a lot of what I thought was American slang on some contemporary British dramas.

I don't think it's that big a deal. Language changes. Accents become homogenized with the advent of television and radio everywhere. And now the internet makes it that much easier to sound alike.