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"Americanisms" that Brits hate

Discussion in 'Humor & Satire' started by Sadistic-Savior, Jul 20, 2011.

?

Do the Brits have a point about these in general?

  1. Yes, and Americans need to pay attention

    30 vote(s)
    33.3%

  2. Maybe, but I dont care...Brits can suck it

    34 vote(s)
    37.8%

  3. No, America is the new reality when it comes to the English Language

    26 vote(s)
    28.9%
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  1. tomfoo13ry

    tomfoo13ry Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You off the meds again?
     
    tomfoo13ry, Jul 22, 2011
    #76
  2. Sadistic-Savior

    Sadistic-Savior Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Of course not, because everyone knows the correct term is "Englishes".
     
    Sadistic-Savior, Jul 22, 2011
    #77
  3. Joker

    Joker Banned at Members Request Past Donor

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    I think he's just taking a (*)(*)(*)(*).
     
    Joker, Jul 22, 2011
    #78
  4. Iolo

    Iolo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's another problem with the ass-lovers - all this prudery about saying *************! :)
     
    Iolo, Jul 22, 2011
    #79
  5. Clint Torres

    Clint Torres New Member

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    Americanisms are like British ebonics. Americanisms will be used around the globe, just like hip hop, crunk, and all the other pop culture stuff.
     
    Clint Torres, Jul 23, 2011
    #80
  6. three_lions

    three_lions New Member

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    I once attended a baseball match in the states. The two sports are related, yet quite different.
     
    three_lions, Jul 23, 2011
    #81
  7. mikezila

    mikezila New Member

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    we have more than just one. :nana:
     
    mikezila, Jul 23, 2011
    #82
  8. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    Most English speaking people around the world use the short form 'maths'. The science to which they refer is called mathematics (a plural noun,) hence the logical short form 'maths'.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #83
  9. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    Actually the most common, and logical, word for that process is 'disembark'.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #84
  10. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    Both are. It is only the power source which differs.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #85
  11. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    LOL, good point. I have also heard Americans refer to 'taking a dump', by which I understand them to mean defecate, but that process is much more akin to leaving something, rather than taking it, is it not? :confuse:
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #86
  12. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    Sorry, but before you can make fun of British colloquialisms, you need to learn them. :police:

    "I'm just taking a ****." means "I am urinating."

    "I'm just taking the ****." means "I am just joking with you."
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #87
  13. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    Actually a cultured Scots accent, such as one finds in Edinburgh, is one of the most pleasant sounding forms of spoken English.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #88
  14. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    LOL, allow me to quote a line or two from persons who were not totally unacquainted with the English language.

    King Henry VIII, Act V William Shakespeare

    King Richard II, Act III, Scene II William Shakespeare

    King John, Act V, Scene I William Shakespeare

    But let us not confine ourselves to The Bard -

    Honour's Martyr by Emily Bronte

    William Wordsworth, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, Sept. 3, 1802

    John Keats

    Percy Bysshe Shelley

    The letter 'U' does exist, and has legitimate use in the subtle colouration of pronunciation. The greats of art and literature knew this.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #89
  15. Iolo

    Iolo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    American spelling was deliberately simplified after independence (by Webster, as I recollect). British spelling takes account of history - often inaccurately a little more, but it's not anything worth getting workded up about.
     
    Iolo, Jul 23, 2011
    #90
  16. JSNY818

    JSNY818 Banned

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    A good number of these I agree with. "Same difference" and "could care less" bug me too, as well as others. But I really don't see the problem with ones like "Train station" and "24/7." And while "maths" makes sense.. It just sounds weird to me.
     
    JSNY818, Jul 23, 2011
    #91
  17. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    I pronounce evolution with the accent on the 'e' (as in evil) which is the way most Brits pronounce it. I guess it depends upon how you pronounce its root word 'evolve'. If you say ev-olve (to rhyme with revolve) then I guess the American pronunciation seems more natural. I think either is an acceptable pronunciation.

    And BTW, sorry to nit-pick, but the phrase is not 'knit-picking'. The usage refers to the sort of grooming technique in which monkeys indulge - picking out the nits (the eggs of lice) from each others' fur.
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #92
  18. Leo2

    Leo2 Well-Known Member

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    I largely agree with most of that, (although I would resolutely stick with 'maths' as the only logical short form of mathematics,) and while it is more correctly 'railway station', I don't have a problem with 'train station' - it is equally descriptive. Speaking of rail and air travel, I am irritated by the term 'terminal'. The building concerned is correctly a terminus - the noun 'terminal' refers to the electrodes on a storage battery (e.g: the positive and negative terminals).
     
    Leo2, Jul 23, 2011
    #93
  19. Iolo

    Iolo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Or a 'terminal illness' like *********y.
     
    Iolo, Jul 23, 2011
    #94
  20. tomfoo13ry

    tomfoo13ry Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Bah! All newcomers and upstarts. If you want to know the proper spelling you have to go to the classics.

    For instance if you consult Beowulf, I think you'll find that the word you spell "honour" is actually correctly spelled "árwurþung". I bet you don't pronounce it correctly either...:rolleyes:
     
    tomfoo13ry, Jul 23, 2011
    #95
  21. Cal

    Cal Banned

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    The fact that this comes from the brits instantly makes it a fail. They may have spoken English before us in the US, but they've butchered the language so badly that I can't even understand them when they talk. My GPS told me to make a roundabout on the road the other day, I mean come on, what the flip is a "round-a-bout"?? A U-TURN quite possibly???
     
    Cal, Jul 23, 2011
    #96
  22. magnum

    magnum Banned

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    You don't know what a roundabout is? lol. You call it a 'traffic circle'(or something like that).:?
     
    magnum, Jul 23, 2011
    #97
  23. Cal

    Cal Banned

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    No, I was in Philadelphia, and i missed the turn to get back on the highway (I was lost). It literally wanted me to make a u-turn lol
     
    Cal, Jul 23, 2011
    #98
  24. Colonel K

    Colonel K Well-Known Member

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    Roundabouts are difficult to make from scratch. Most satnavs will say "At the next roundabout, take the second exit."
     
    Colonel K, Jul 23, 2011
    #99
  25. ryanm34

    ryanm34 New Member

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    [​IMG]

    A roundabout.
     
    ryanm34, Jul 23, 2011
    #100
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