Americanisms creeping in

Evie64

gmarie ???

Was just amused, reading a book set in WW2 (the latest Maisie Dobbs if there are other fans out there!) in which Maisie explains that 'taxi' is used by Americans, and British people say 'cabs'.
The author (Jacqueline Winspear) is usually spot on with her research - indeed her own older relatives are one of her sources, so I'm sure it is accurate.
I do say 'cab' occasionally - usually in London when I think about it - but I'm sure that 'taxi' was in common use in my 50s childhood. Was there a difference between London and the rest of GB?

I say taxi and everyone I know also says taxi I must admit I thought that was general use in the UK although of course we do talk about the black cabs in London ?

Really don't like "you go girl!" or "hey girlfriend" just sounds phoney..............and "do the math"nooooooooooooooooo it's maths here please.

Having said that my children their girlfriends and other young grown up members of our family are of the "hi guys", "I'm good" variety, and if we are out it's a "can I get" all round , still waiting for a "I dunno" response. As for us the old fogies we try to set an example with our "please may I have" weirdos that we are

We're all of our time I guess

Just to cheer everyone up that the traffic is not all one way, some Americans are disconcerted by Anglocreep.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19929249

www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/are-you-anglocreep/322654/

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/britishisms-in-american-english_n_5b69a9ede4b0b15abaa73cff

?

Meh!

There's an American professor at Sussex University who does a great blog on this. As it happens many Americanisms went across the Atlantic with Brits long long ago and as language evolves (no-one writes 'shew' instead of 'show' these days, although my granny did) we tend to think of these old UK usages as horrid new-fangled Yankee abominations.

Link to the Prof's blog separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com

I don't have a problem with Americanisms as such, but I do find myself getting annoyed at American spelling, color for colour etc.

Perhaps more a problem for me, is the use of grammar. I spend ages teaching the difference, for instance, of 'well' and 'good' - and then my students hear 'how are you'' 'oh I'm good thank you'.

Londongranny- thanks for that. Great.

jura2 she's on twitter too as Lynneguist

I've always liked American spellings. Generally, they seem simpler and more logical than their English counterparts.

The American spellings came in after Independence because (I think) Noah Webster wanted a distinct form that was different from British English. It might have been another American dictionary chap though, my memory is a bit hazy these days.

Thought of this thread listening to Miriam Margoyles reading Bleak House. Dickens talks about 'foot passengers'. Pedestrian was used to mean dull. I don't know when pedestrian in its current usage became more common in BrE usage or whether it was AmE usage but I bet loads of people hated the loss of 'foot passenger' and shook their cross little fists at an imagined Americanism.

I read somewhere that the popularity of Peppa Pig has led to English accents creeping into American kindergardens.
I think that's really sweet!

Its a family joke in our house - I am often hear saying "Never underestimate the power of Peppa Pig"!!

I NEVER buy anything that says Only or Just,! That is for me to decide not the people selling the stuff

caregiver...hate it!

What about 'way more' instead of much more? Hate it.

I was seated on an aircraft awaiting departure on one occasion in the 1970s when the PA system announced that we would "...be taking off momentarily". On arrival the passengers were advised to "...prepare to deplane...". These messages were delivered in an American accent despite the airline being Japan Airlines! The infection spreads worlwide...

Gosh and gee willakers! I don't wonder you're all stressed out if little things like this throws you into a conniptions fit

And I suspect every one of you repeats, without even being aware of it "you know" when you're in conversation.

I once recorded a friend of mine who absolutely insisted she never said "you know" and even bet money on it = 10 cents for every "you know".

I made $2 in 30 mins

Actually, there are lots of catch phrases going the rounds that are not actually Americanisms - someone already mentioned "no worries" - typical Australian English.

Happily, a lot of these annoying expressions go out of fashion again. Does anyone still say that something is "dead nice"? I remember being told off for using that one when I was six.

My father's generation "dropped a clanger" if they were ex-RAF, my grandmother having won an argument had "put her neighbour's gas on a peep" and I am sure these expressions annoyed others in their day.

Yes, no one talked of cabs in Glasgow in the 1950s. We took taxis.

I just wish my new laptop would stop reverting to an American Spell Checker every time it does an update.