Americanisms

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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:23 pm

Ugh, mr bo's family does the "worsh" thing. They are from Ohio and Indiana.

Here's my guess at how Brits (well, Sybil Fawlty) would mispronounciate windypops's list:

Aluminum = Alumineeum
Debris = DAYbree
Presentation = Show
Tomato = ToMAHto
Herb = Herb
Oregano = Orgasm
Basil = Ba-zil
Math = Maths
Jaguar = Jagyoo-er
Lever = Leever
Moscow = Moss-coh

Am I close?

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Badgerbait wrote:

Hey, you want a coke?

Yeah I'll take a Sprite...

Name the regional dialect...

Anywhere within 200 miles of Atlanta.

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:44 am

@ParaNoid

Quote:

"I am going to graduate College next year. What happened to the "from

When I was in school (many decades ago) we were actually taught to say "He will graduate <insert name of school>" Our English teacher told us to never use the word "from" after the word "graduate".

Now if I could only dig up Mrs. Minney and tell her she was wrong, I would love to do that! Laughing

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:29 am

bohigal wrote:

Oregano = Orgasm

Am I close?

Near enough. Laughing

I never realised there was such ire over Americanisms creeping into common usage over here. They are doing a piece on radio about it right now.

Apparently, "Mom" is the worst offender. They are going to go to war on that. Then Apple pie. Wink

"We need to have a dialog on that," runs it a close second. No one I know has ever said that, or ever will. Most of this stuff doesn't bother me but if someone ever said they need to "process" something, I'd probably pull them up.

The truth is, it has more to do with old fashioned class war over here. Americanisms cross the pond via television and get picked up and used by certain sections of our society that watch too much tv. It's another handy stick to beat the underclass with. Eventually these phrases and pronunciations will move up the class ladder and become accepted.

Anyway, they've just pointed out more egregious offenses of US pronunciation on the radio. They're coming thick and fast now. It's even got a name. Linguistic recolonisation. Laughing

Two more: Research and harass

One that gets me, though it's not an Americanism, is "pronounciation" instead of pronunciation. I hear that all the time, and once got into a heated debate with an English teacher who was convinced either version could be used. Confused

You people. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:46 pm

Quote:

Presentation = Show

I guess Americans would pronounce this Preesentation as opposed to presentation with a harder e towards the beginning.

One that gets me is people in the UK pronouncing schedule as 'Sked-uwul'
Also, Radio presenter Scott Mills seems to be an advocate of using 'off of' instead of 'from' Evil or Very Mad

This will inevitably find its way into the masses

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 4:28 pm

I have actually heard people use in Maine for several years now, including Mrs. Bart Fargo (Bella Goth) "Bloody hell" and used it in normal speech, not trying to be funny. Unlike the UK she says "hell" instead of dropping the H.

I don't hear it a lot, but I do hear it.

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 8:09 pm

Re tomato sauce/ketchup, I've always called it ketchup - that's it's name, Heinz ketchup. Never realised it was seen as an americanism. Interestingly, I've just got a book from the library about the Mandarin Chinese dialect, which states that we get the word ketchup from Mandarin - along with tea, chopsticks, silk and Japan.

Language is a living, malleable thing. QI looked at this in one episode - the language we speak now would be unrecognisable to many of our ancestors. In a couple of 100 years time, we probably wouldn't understand our descendents either.

Bit of a bother for time travellers - they'd have to bone up on historical English before leaving. Unless by that time scientists have tracked down the babelfish. Surprised

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:51 am

@Crash, I love that story.

@Badger, Minisoota.

@Morgain, really? If someone could explain why that is correct (graduate), I would stand corrected. I could have written this article: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/graduated-from.aspxhttp://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/graduated-from.aspx

I remembered the other thing that bothers me. When a person's where abouts are not known it is now said that they "went missing". Whaaaaa??? He went for a wald and IS missing. He has not been seen for a week.

Not "He went missing last week." Okay, I removed the rolly eyes because I found that this phrase is a British idiom. Sorry if I offended anyone with the eye thing.
Source: http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/2005/08/went_missing.html

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

He went on to graduate school.
He has / had graduated from school.

case of verbs, nouns and adjectives Wink

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:47 am

Nailgunner wrote:

What you mean is "can I have some of your beer" Wink

My English teacher would have replied: "You may if you can reach the bottle."

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:26 pm

^^^ Your english teacher would reply using different verb than the one that was used in the question? Smile

(At least that's what our teacher taught us. That you always reply with the same verb that was used in question. "Can I?" "Yes you can.", "Do you?" "Yes, I do")

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:00 pm

^^^No, that was his way of telling us that when asking for permission you use "may I", not "can I". And on another forum I was corrected when I made that mistake.

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:34 pm

Ummm...Cougie, isn't it catsup?

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:14 pm

^^ Say what now?

*ahem* I mean "I beg your pardon?"

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:15 pm

^ @ Jeannette, that took me straight back to being 10 years old and my last year of primary school - my class teacher would always reply "I don't know, can you?" if any of the class asked can I instead of may I when wanting permission to do something.

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:36 am

Cougie,

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/catsup

This is a whole 'nother can o' worms.

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:51 am

There is worms in that product?

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:02 am

'Noid, example...hot dogs, weiners, franks (note regionally friendly). The things you learn when you're older(whats in them).

I don't think there's worms...but you can never be too trusting.... Laughing

Not quite a Newb Joined: 02 Jul 2011 Posts: 23

From the get go,

and;

Get those shoes off of the table now!

I find these two intensely annoying but strangely, not when spoken by North Americans.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 27 Dec 2010 Posts: 586

beating a dead horse -----> http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=206195