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Noticed more than ever on last weekend's trip to Blighty that you lot have joined us in Americanaland in that you now do your shopping in a 'store' rather than a 'shop'. Now I was always thought that the store was the dingy room at the back of the shop where they actually, y'know, stored stuff. Or, more precisely, the room where the lad went for a smoke while pretending to check whether they had any spare bogroll. This pretence at looking is annoying, by the way, but it is infinitely better than you asking if they have any spare stock and him, without listening, giving you the lazy-assed automaton reply 'everything we have is on the shelves', which makes you ask him why the fugg they built the huge fugging room out back so with the price of real estate.
What reminded me of all this is that I'm in a doctor's waiting room (knee injury - nothing serious) and as every person comes to the desk and does the 'morning, how are you?' routine their standard answer is 'I'm good'. What?
Are you? Are you 'good'? Are you well-behaved? Morally sound? A beacon of goodness in this bad, bad world? Well, nice to know, I'm sure. But are you well? That, after all, is more pertinent info and would be an appropriate answer to the question while we're at it.
Good! Californian Disney Ar$e-scutter! Away with you!
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Least Favourite Americanisms on 11:50 - Nov 12 by BrianMcCarthy
'Speak to' is hair-tearing. I listen to a lot of baseball podcasts and commentaries and that's a huge favourite of theirs. 'Does the lack of power hitting speak to current coaching trends?' It might, if it was a person and 'current coaching trends' was also a person. Otherwise, they just collections of word and no more likely to speak to each other than two empty cars are likely to drive towards each other.
But are you clutch Brian, are you clutch?
A magnificent football club, the love of our lives, finding a way to finally have its day in the sun.
What a fcuking disturbing thread. I was talking on the match thread last weekend about starting a thread to point out every time somebody on here used an Americanism. There are a fcukload of them about, definitely.
Sadly it looks like the situation is far more serious than I thought. I know about the ones like 'my bad' and 'step up to the plate', but are people really saying "math"? and in the name of sweet Jesus are they saying "could care less"?!?! When I finally get round to unemigrating, if somebody in any part of Western Europe says "I could care less" to me I'm going to beat them to death with a pocket thesaurus. I'll have to for continuity sake, I've been campaigning against that illogical phrase ever since I arrived here.
Anyway, the only general point I'd add is you have to differentiate between how Americans speak and how 'American Speak' is infiltrating British and Irish everyday language. The former isn't the problem - that's just up to them and there's nothing you can do about it. No point, in my opinion, complaining about their 'z's and their other many issues because they're not going to change them and to be honest why should they?
It's the American Speak that needs to be guarded against - not because language isn't a veritable smorgasbord as Antti suggests. For the opposite reason - the adoption of all those Americanisms is actually reducing the variety of words available, turning the veritable smorgasbord into one big plate of ham. Or hotdogs - yeah hotdogs.
[Post edited 12 Nov 2015 17:03]
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:06 - Nov 12 with 2468 views
I've lived in Los Angeles for 8 years now and still get misunderstood all the time for saying things in English. I refuse to assimilate. Queue instead of line gets yanks everytime. Is this the queue? Always draws a blank expression. What gets me the most is business talk out here. Makes me want to puke in meetings. 'Let's park that" meaning we'll talk about it later. 'Going forward" arrrrgh shut up! 'Laser focussed" please no more i cant stand it! There are plenty more but i'm getting too wound up just typing them.
Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:13 - Nov 12 by itsbiga
I've lived in Los Angeles for 8 years now and still get misunderstood all the time for saying things in English. I refuse to assimilate. Queue instead of line gets yanks everytime. Is this the queue? Always draws a blank expression. What gets me the most is business talk out here. Makes me want to puke in meetings. 'Let's park that" meaning we'll talk about it later. 'Going forward" arrrrgh shut up! 'Laser focussed" please no more i cant stand it! There are plenty more but i'm getting too wound up just typing them.
"We'll circle back to that..." Is one I get a lot in US interviews.
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:16 - Nov 12 with 2451 views
Least Favourite Americanisms on 16:07 - Nov 12 by BrianMcCarthy
I'm not sure where the designer/real estate phrase 'what a great space' came from but I'm blaming the Sherman's.
It's not a space, you weapon, it's a room.
Being the massive Fulham ponce, I am, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of decades hanging out at private viewings getting high on free booze and nibbles, and I think the term “space” has been used in the Art world for ages, when talking about a Gallery space/room. And I’ not militantly against its use in that context. I think it’s a relatively recent development that you now get idiots referring to their front room as a great space for watching Holby City. I suspect it came from Estate agents flogging warehouse conversions with their big empty spaces - probably to poncey Art/Media types - and seeing as the Yanks are the pioneering dons of warehouse/loft conversions, we can almost certainly lay the blame at their door. Phew.
Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:25 - Nov 12 with 2435 views
Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:20 - Nov 12 by Konk
Being the massive Fulham ponce, I am, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of decades hanging out at private viewings getting high on free booze and nibbles, and I think the term “space” has been used in the Art world for ages, when talking about a Gallery space/room. And I’ not militantly against its use in that context. I think it’s a relatively recent development that you now get idiots referring to their front room as a great space for watching Holby City. I suspect it came from Estate agents flogging warehouse conversions with their big empty spaces - probably to poncey Art/Media types - and seeing as the Yanks are the pioneering dons of warehouse/loft conversions, we can almost certainly lay the blame at their door. Phew.
They havent started calling the front room/lounge a 'family room' have they? Or worse still the spare room 'a den'
I may have missed it but HUMAN RESOURCES really makes me mad.
I am a person that is employed by a company to carry out work for them. I am not a resource that can be chucked away on a whim (at least not without a fight).
I'm sure it was the transfer from the Personnel Department to HR that changed their work from supportive to distructive!
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:33 - Nov 12 with 2326 views
Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:29 - Nov 12 by terryb
I may have missed it but HUMAN RESOURCES really makes me mad.
I am a person that is employed by a company to carry out work for them. I am not a resource that can be chucked away on a whim (at least not without a fight).
I'm sure it was the transfer from the Personnel Department to HR that changed their work from supportive to distructive!
It's only a matter of time before they drop the Human.
Strong and stable my arse.
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:36 - Nov 12 with 2315 views
At least it would appear that with everybodys replies on this thread so far our hate of Americanisms would suggest that we're all singing from the same hymn sheet.
If that one's already been mentioned then, my bad.
Least Favourite Americanisms on 17:20 - Nov 12 by Konk
Being the massive Fulham ponce, I am, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of decades hanging out at private viewings getting high on free booze and nibbles, and I think the term “space” has been used in the Art world for ages, when talking about a Gallery space/room. And I’ not militantly against its use in that context. I think it’s a relatively recent development that you now get idiots referring to their front room as a great space for watching Holby City. I suspect it came from Estate agents flogging warehouse conversions with their big empty spaces - probably to poncey Art/Media types - and seeing as the Yanks are the pioneering dons of warehouse/loft conversions, we can almost certainly lay the blame at their door. Phew.
"I think it’s a relatively recent development that you now get idiots referring to their front room as a great space for watching Holby City."
I think its relatively certain that should these immortal words ever be uttered in earnest then the World is truly fcked.
My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:40 - Nov 12 with 2308 views
One other one which I may as well throw in is this, and I hear it all the fcuking time near me:
Instead of saying "I think that" about whatever they're discussing many youngish people will say: I KINDA WANNA SAYYYY...." or "I FEEL LIKE....". Thus expressing how deeply and comprehensively they, as thoughtful, tuned-in human beings, have wrestled with this concept.
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:45 - Nov 12 with 2297 views
Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:36 - Nov 12 by FredManRave
At least it would appear that with everybodys replies on this thread so far our hate of Americanisms would suggest that we're all singing from the same hymn sheet.
If that one's already been mentioned then, my bad.
Can we get back to the soccer now please...
I don't hate them, I have to say that. They have their good and bad points.
I do accept though that at least half of Americans have some of the most irritating ways of expressing themselves in the world. Even if spent the rest of my days doing an anthropological study of global communication I'm certain they'd make it into the top three no bother.
I've started to enjoy going to lonely parts of the South West in recent years, partly because the people you meet there don't talk like most of the Americans in big cities. Yes they might shoot you in the face in between mumbles but it's still better.
p.s. I can't stand plumy English accents either. They're usually fcuking loud as well and they're not afraid to mix a few Americanisms in with their 'yahs'..
[Post edited 12 Nov 2015 19:48]
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Least Favourite Americanisms on 19:51 - Nov 12 with 2278 views
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