Americanisation (the) of our language

The one that grates on me most is REsearch, instead of reSEARCH.

And Brits - who ought to know better - saying ‘math’ ?

I’ve always been fascinated by regional differences in the Uk but since arriving in Australia I’ve been genuinely misled a couple of times. When I first arrived here I thought I’d found a chain of shops selling bedding called ‘Manchester’. Then asked an assistant in one shop about their other branches, only to be met with a blank stare - Manchester is Australian for bedding and I find it totally weird! If language wasn’t continually evolving, we’d still be calling each other ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ - but I do find some popular expressions irritating, and ‘passing’ is top of my list. I console myself with the thought that I’m probably irritating the life out of someone with some of my verbal tics - but they make life interesting

Likely instead of probably, as in “We’ll likely go to France this year.”

I agree about REsearch instead of reSEARCH. It makes
me cringe.

Yet another exhumed thread. It's been done to death - give it a rest!

Hear, hear!

It is like a xenophobic zombie. Just keeps coming back to life.

imaround

It is like a xenophobic zombie. Just keeps coming back to life.

Absolutely agree.

These threads always make me laugh. In the 1950s well-brought up children in Scotland "went to the bathroom" to avoid using either "toilet" or "lavatory" - basically both words demonstrated which "class" of society you belong to.

Like most Scottish children I was brought up to believe that "toilet" was acceptable middle-class usage and that only the
ill-mannered would dream of saying "lavatory". Apparently it is the other way around in the south of England.

Canadians are horrified by signs pointing the way to "Public toilets". In my Scottish childhood you spoke of a "public convenience." Indians and Pakistanis visit the "wash-room"

Bathroom as a term for the toilet is not American, but good Scots!

Gotten is a word that was taken to America by the Pilgrim Fathers. From England!

GrandtanteJE65 we were absolutely forbidden to use the word 'toilet' when we were young. Lavatory was the only acceptable word and even that was to be avoided if possible. My very posh grandmother would if it was absolutely unavoidable say that she was going to spend a penny but even then she thought that was extremely vulgar! That was in Scotland btw.

Same here. Not a fan of the word toilet. We said lavatory and I say loo now (possibly a bit twee)

Lucca

Same here. Not a fan of the word toilet. We said lavatory and I say loo now (possibly a bit twee)

Same here. Toilet was considered vulgar, and simply not said either at home or at school.

My mother (Scottish) always used the term 'bathroom' whether or not there was a bath in it. In a big US store, I was looking for the 'ladies room' but found the 'rest room' where I was rather disappointed not to find comfy chairs and sofas. You really can take euphemism too far!

Oh dear, I've just remembered that this is an exhumed thread and I have probably made that point up-thread.