Posted on 09/27/2012 5:23:43 AM PDT by the scotsman
'There is little that irks British defenders of the English language more than Americanisms, which they see creeping insidiously into newspaper columns and everyday conversation.
But bit by bit British English is invading America too.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Yes! I forgot About everything being a "duck"!
I’ve owned several Limey bikes. Does that count?
As long as you Chivvy along and don't fannying around!
Top Gear is a great source of British insults.
My Cousin used to get all chuffed about that show.
My husband’s mother was British, and he also spent part of his childhood in England. One word he says that drives me crazy is ‘drawings’, referring to his artwork, but he pronounces it: drawERings.
Oh That is nothing, when my Grandfather came to the U.S. from England, one of the first things he did was go to a MACdonalds to get a MACrib! (the difference between Scottish and Irish Mc and Mac!) It was very funny.
And if you ever go carpet shopping in the UK don’t go into the store and say “I’m looking for a shag”
Don’t be cheeky...
Good food is either nice, quite nice, or beautiful. I learned not to apply such attributes to inanimate objects.
I have definitely noticed this phenomenon with my son-in-law, who is from England. We once watched as he talked his way out of $450.00 in excess baggage fees at an airline counter known for it's mean and unyielding clerks. It was amazing.
Gormless = clueless.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gormless
Don't think the young British lads don't know it, either! It is considered one of the highlights of a visit to America. This was hilariously spoofed in the movie "Love Actually."
Best of all, they can slay the American girls just as well with an atrocious northern or Cockney accent as they can with a posh public school accent.
What is up with...”he was taken to hospital”?
For that matter, how do they feel about le djihad, la taqiyya, and la fatwa?
Kind of an interesting site here:
And Gordon Ramsey says pasta (short a) instead pahsta.
Actually, the British speak a minority dialect of english. The snowball that is english rolled over them, and left them behind. About half our state names are American Indian words or names. Tuscaloosa? Mississippi? Kansas? Dakota? Tennessee? Ever eat squash? Like Hickory trees? All indian.
Almost every word for food in “english” came from France. The list is hundreds of common words for cuisine. Broil, braise, omlette, sautee, simmer, beef, etc etc. Eat a taco, with salsa? Throw a Lariat at the Rodeo? Spanish. Who is the honcho where you work? Japanese. etc etc,,,
It’s the height of error for someone to think that because they are called “England” that it follows they own, created, and are the final arbitors of the language called “english”. It’s like federal express deciding they are actually the government.
In the middle of it’s history, english rolled over england. Mashed in at least 3 other languages, then left them for greener pastures. England had the honor of naming their country after the people who brought the roots of english TO them. The Angles.
English started near the German/Danish borders, rolled over England. Then after successive French and Norse invasions changed drastically. About 400 years ago, that snowball rolled on from england, taking what it liked, dumping the rest, and absorbing words from the new world and spanish.
Whether they like it or not, proper english IS now the American english. This is true when viewed historically, and also in raw numbers of speakers. Sorry the snowball left the British behind, but que’ sera sera.
The southern drawl mostly came from black dialects from the slavery era. That would drive some speakers of it nuts, but it’s true.
But how have you used it? I use it for very bright light and for very intelligent, but not in the Brit way of using it for anything good.
I’m all ‘sixes and sevens’ after reading this.
No worries. Though a lot of what people are posting here as Britishisms I heard from my New York-born parents (father: Manhattan; mother: Bronx), both of Irish descent but thoroughly American:
ticked off
told off
pricey (or dear)
dodgy (as in "that's a dodgy neighborhood")
Not to mention "wee" as in "I'll have a wee bit more."
I’m trying desperately NOT to cuss. One my girls has already picked up “Oh, crap!” from me.
In the British theatrical circles that I run in, there is an even worse word (female genitalia) which they use as an insult for a “jerk”. When they come to NY and use it in conversation, they are in the shock for their life. American women get furious!
My grandfather came from Ireland but, according to my mother (who knew him as a man in his 80s), he spoke with a Cockney accent! She thinks he must have been in the army with a bunch of Londoners. He served under Kitchener.
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