Americanisation (the) of our language

Speaking as a Celt ? guising has nothing to do with "tricks".

Well, Trick Or Treating originated with the Celts and then had a moment in medieval England. It was not until 1951, post WW2, that us Americans really embraced Trick or Treating.

I am rejecting the false claim that us Americans are to "blame" for Trick or Treating on Halloween.

www.history.com/news/halloween-trick-or-treating-origins

By the ninth century, Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older pagan rites. In 1000 A.D. the church designated November 2 as All Souls’ Day, a time for honoring the dead. Celebrations in England resembled Celtic commemorations of Samhain, complete with bonfires and masquerades.

Poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. Known as "souling," the practice was later taken up by children, who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale.

In Scotland and Ireland, young people took part in a tradition called guising, dressing up in costume and accepting offerings from various households. Rather than pledging to pray for the dead, they would sing a song, recite a poem, tell a joke or perform another sort of “trick” before collecting their treat, which typically consisted of fruit, nuts or coins.

Also 'gramps' isn't American - it is found in parts of the UK, alongside my favourite 'grampy'. I have heard many stories beginning 'when the old gramp/s/y......

Boogaloo - when I was young, we did have Halloween celebrations, and we also went round for Guy Fawkes, asking for 'a faggot' - wood for the bonfire, which had pretty much evolved into being given money. We said 'if you don't give us one, we'll take two, better for us, worse for you!'
I always assumed that evolved into trick-or-treating. Although I have to say we were always told that it was just a rhyme, we weren't to 'take' anything!

Ali08

Burglarised gets me. They actually do lengthen some words. Lol.
It's burgled, plain and simple, just burgled!!!

Well, lengthen, mmm

As an American friend once said to me "You call a semi an articulated lorry? Are there enough sylalbles in that?"

Burglarised gets me. They actually do lengthen some words. Lol.
It's burgled, plain and simple, just burgled!!!

Sago

“Gotten” is creeping in.
Journalists love it.

I've used that since I was a little kid. It is an English word.

Lucca

HillyN

Candy.

What about it ?

It's dandy.

But liquor is quicker.

Pammie1

Normalcy instead of normality and the tendency to leave the letter U out of words - labor instead of labour etc.

Shakespeare’s comedy was first published as Love’s Labor’s Lost. In England, obviously, not America.

That should say 'pretty much any language development in the US since the Mayflower landed . . .'

Pretty much anything since the Mayflower landed in 1620 has been 'American'. What is the logic that states that all the things that have been invented since then should take UK English terms, or that developments in the language on the part of UK speakers should have to be followed by the Americans?

US English is not the same as UK English, and there is no valid reason why it should be. It's not the case that UK English = right, and US English = wrong.

Alegrias, you are flogging a dead horse here! .

Its not a tendency.

Its how they spell them.

Its not like its a bad habit we need to correct them for. ( For which we need to correct them ?)

Normalcy instead of normality and the tendency to leave the letter U out of words - labor instead of labour etc.

Mom or Mommy has always been used in the West Midlands. My mother is a Midlander and even though I grew up in Norfolk, I called her Mommy until I went to school and changed to Mummy like the other children. Even now I occasionally say Mom.

HillyN

Candy.

What about it ?

??????
Succinctly put, Mamma

I am sometimes irritated when I am writing at work and the PC settings are accidentally on ‘American English’ and therefore ‘corrects’ my spelling. Otherwise, I actually enjoy the way our language evolves.

When I think of the way I speak (and this is probably true of most of us) my language is a mixture of Queen’s English with a hefty dollop of regional words. Personally I love the richness that this brings to language. I am from North Nottinghamshire, when at university my friends from the South were perplexed and highly amused at my use of the word ‘mardy’. Once they understood the beautiful precision of the word they started using it. It also became much more used when the song ‘Mardy Bum’ exploded into the charts in the 90s (?) Anyway, my point being that;

1. No-one speaks the Queen’s English.
2. Language constantly evolves and always has.
3. I apologise to our American cousins, we’re not all rude.
4. Vive la difference ?

Boogaloo

freedomfromthepast

Lucca

grannybuy

Mom and cops!

I’m absolutely certain we played cops and robbers as children ….in England.

There are parts of the UK where “mom” is used.

Mom is not used in the US though, so I was surprised that someone would find the term offensive as an American term when it is not, in fact, an American term.

'Mom' has been used all over the US for many decades NEVER mum. I am really surprised and disappointed the word mom has crept into the UK. My American son's, - the oldest being 47 knew better than to ever call me 'mom' here in the US. I'd tell them, "I'm not an American - call me mum". Then I discover some Brits think it's a British word!

Ok I get it now. I was trying to figure out how mom and cops went together. Now I am seeing that she is referring to the two different words separately.

Yes, we use mom and we use cops. But not together.

Candy.

Boogaloo

Doodledog

I think it might be Australian rather than American, but I cringe at Uni ?. It sounds even worse when older people use it, too.

I have lived in the US almost 50 years. Uni is not an American word at all. We usually refer to university as 'college' even when it is a university.

I think (but I'm not sure) that it started when 'Neighbours' was popular in the UK - the 80s?

It's not because it's an 'import' that I dislike it - it's that it reeks of trying to be 'cool' when said by older people, and feels sheep-like in younger ones (although it's probably been in common use since before they were born!).

These things don't have a logic to them, though. Another one I roll my eyes at, for no obvious reason, is 'purchase' instead of 'buy'. I can't explain why, other than that it sounds so pompous when used as a verb - it's fine as a noun. It's probably perfectly correct English, but as I say, logic doesn't come into it.

When I arrived in the US from England almost 50 years ago I heard a lot of terms that were only used in the black community. One of them was, "Bad mouthing" for when you speak badly of or to someone. I was watching a documentary about the British police and heard it being used there now.

There are many black American terms that are now being used in the UK - more so than in American white communities. I live in a rural western part of the US now.

Also, I notice that some American traditions are taking place in the UK now, which weren't when I emigrated in the early 70's. Baby showers, high school proms, trick or treating - all very American.

It can go the other way though. Here vaccines were either called vaccines or shots, now since the pandemic started the word 'jab' is being used.

Most young people say Uni here too. Not a big deal really ?

freedomfromthepast

Lucca

grannybuy

Mom and cops!

I’m absolutely certain we played cops and robbers as children ….in England.

There are parts of the UK where “mom” is used.

Mom is not used in the US though, so I was surprised that someone would find the term offensive as an American term when it is not, in fact, an American term.

'Mom' has been used all over the US for many decades NEVER mum. I am really surprised and disappointed the word mom has crept into the UK. My American son's, - the oldest being 47 knew better than to ever call me 'mom' here in the US. I'd tell them, "I'm not an American - call me mum". Then I discover some Brits think it's a British word!

Doodledog

I think it might be Australian rather than American, but I cringe at Uni ?. It sounds even worse when older people use it, too.

I have lived in the US almost 50 years. Uni is not an American word at all. We usually refer to university as 'college' even when it is a university.