One woman's quest to save British English

If I didn't already run so many twitter accounts, I'd open @AmericanismsWatch.

Really, really, I have nothing against Americans (with a few notable exceptions - Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, I'm looking at you), but since we linguists are always banging on about the death of languages I just wanted to be part of documenting the Death of British English, which can be witnessed through a cursory glance at the Facebook statuses of Brits.

They reveal the use of words and phrases like: I'm on it, I'm psyched for, Awww.

Yes, "awww". When an American says it, it sounds like Ahhhh. If you want to say Ahhhh, you need to spell it Ahhhh, because since when do we say "awe" when we are presented with a picture of a kitten?

So periodically I'll be having a little rant about Brits who can't seem to stop themselves from sounding American (and yes, that does include me), and asking for satisfactory translations, which are a lot harder to come by than they might sound. "Pretty" is not exactly the same as "quite" or "rather" or "very". "Smart" is not exactly "clever". But a onesie is a babygrow, we are not "psyched for" but "excited about".

Save British English! Who's with me?

Those pesky Americanisms...

Views expressed in this post are not intended to cause offence! I'm not saying Americans should change the way they speak...


I used to have no fear that my English would be, well, corrupted. I lived in England; read British novels; watched so few films that there was no way American would creep into my speech, much less my spelling - perish the thought.

These days, I spend a lot of time communicating online with Americans and click through to links on US websites. I read American novels. I listen to seemingly endless podcasts about American politics. My internet browser is stuck on "US English" spellcheck. I'm writing a book with two dishy Americans in it. (Take that, Safari spellcheck. Dishy is more or less what you guys would call hot.) I even hang out, face to face, with a few real life Americans. And then, of course, there is the West Wing.


This morning, I was thinking about the month of January (who knows why - this was in the not-quite-awake stage of my day) and I suddenly realised: why am I pronouncing it JanuAry? What has happened in my brain? Eek. This invasion must be halted.


And then a friend of mine sent me a link to this fab, if somewhat grumpy, piece by a newspaper editor, and for the first and hopefully last time ever I found myself nodding vigorously when reading a Daily Telegraph article. (I hope you will not judge me.)


"Some Americanisms keep slipping in, usually when we are given agency copy to re-write and do an inadequate job on it. There is no such verb as “impacted”, and other American-style usages of nouns as verbs should be avoided (authored, gifted etc). Maneuver is not spelt that way in Britain. We do not have lawmakers: we might just about have legislators, but better still we have parliament. People do not live in their hometown; they live in their home town, or even better the place where they were born."


Here's the thing: we all know about words like pants. (Even though in the episode when Josh asks Donna is she's wearing the same pants as yesterday, my first instinct is always to wince in disgust.) But there are other, way more insidious phrases and grammar differences that creep in. There was one, right there: way more. And another: right there. I'm not sure I would have written either of those before my West Wing obsession.


So I'm starting a little blogpost, to be updated as I go along, probably more for my own benefit than anyone else's, so that in ten years' time when I'm married to Bradley Whitford and living in California I will remember how I used to speak.


I guess - I suppose
A couple people - a couple OF people
I just saw him - no, no, no! I spend hours bashing my students over the head with the difference between the past simple and the present perfect. By definition, if you've just seen him, then you've just seen him. Present prefect.
Way to... - okay, I love that expression, and I don't think we have an equivalent, do we, unless it's "what a great way to..."
movie - film, people! If you're British, it's a film!
I could care less - I think, surely, you mean "I couldn't care less"? If you could care less, then surely you care a little bit to start with, which is the opposite of what you're trying to say, isn't it? And yet if even Aaron Sorkin makes this mistake, it can't be a mistake at all. It must be an Americanism.

come see - come and see

stay-at-home mom - didn't we used to have our own phrase for this? I can't for the life of me me remember what it was, though - can you?
Gotten - you'd have thought I would never, ever say that. And yet, I heard myself, loud and clear.

Psyched for... - two for the price of one here. What you really mean is "excited about". Although my public-school teacher friend justifies it thus: It's my favourite Americanism: it combines excitement and nervous energy with confidence and a generally positive mental attitude, and I don't think that any other single English word conveys exactly the same meaning. :) And I think that's a pretty good argument. Erm, sorry, I mean quite a good argument. How do you translate "pretty" into British anyway?

Awww - shame on me for this one. I didn't even realise I was doing it - which is precisely my point on these cheeky Americanisms. The British spelling is Ahhhh.

Ugh. I always, always used to say, yuk. I'm not saying I don't prefer ugh. But, still.