Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm an American and have lived in London for five years. I've never said "rubbish", "loo", "core blimey", "guvnor", "innit", "tosser", "bloody" (as slang), "Bob's your uncle", "easy peasey", "chav" or other British slang. It's forced and sounds completely absurd for non-British people to say these things. "Moreso for non-British people", I should say. Also broader but non-American terms like "over the pond" and "the States". Why not just "the US" or "America" as Americans in America call the place?
I also don't use distinctly American terms because it's rude. This gets difficult for things like "waste" as in "something one wishes to dispose of". "Rubbish" is a British term so I won't say that and "garbage" or "trash" are American terms. So I say "refuse" which is a bit ridiculous but given the circumstances it's the best option. It's a neutral term used in both countries.
In cases where there is no neutral option, I go for the British term. "Mobile" for "cellular phone" is the only one I can think of here. Can just say "phone" I guess but that would include landlines. I don't use the British pronunciation, though. I don't know if they use a different pronunciation for the phone versus the "traveling" definition or if everything is just "Moe" as in the Stooge and "bile" as in the yellow stuff in one's liver.
So why do so many Americans use British slang? Do they think it's cute or amusing or complimentary to their host nation and its people? Do they think they sound sophisticated? Is the goal to sound English? Are they unaware of how ridiculous it sounds? Am I alone in being annoyed by this?
I'm an American and have lived in London for five years. I've never said "rubbish", "loo", "core blimey", "guvnor", "innit", "tosser", "bloody" (as slang), "Bob's your uncle", "easy peasey", "chav" or other British slang. It's forced and sounds completely absurd for non-British people to say these things. "Moreso for non-British people", I should say. Also broader but non-American terms like "over the pond" and "the States". Why not just "the US" or "America" as Americans in America call the place?
I also don't use distinctly American terms because it's rude. This gets difficult for things like "waste" as in "something one wishes to dispose of". "Rubbish" is a British term so I won't say that and "garbage" or "trash" are American terms. So I say "refuse" which is a bit ridiculous but given the circumstances it's the best option. It's a neutral term used in both countries.
In cases where there is no neutral option, I go for the British term. "Mobile" for "cellular phone" is the only one I can think of here. Can just say "phone" I guess but that would include landlines. I don't use the British pronunciation, though. I don't know if they use a different pronunciation for the phone versus the "traveling" definition or if everything is just "Moe" as in the Stooge and "bile" as in the yellow stuff in one's liver.
So why do so many Americans use British slang? Do they think it's cute or amusing or complimentary to their host nation and its people? Do they think they sound sophisticated? Is the goal to sound English? Are they unaware of how ridiculous it sounds? Am I alone in being annoyed by this?
As an American living in Britain, let me sound out my annoyance about our countrymen who affect an accent after 6 months of living here. They never realize they don't get the accent quite right so they just sound, well, stupid.
That said, Legin, you've been here long enough to have been corrected how many times for saying "Aluminum" instead of "Aluminium" or "gaRAge" instead of "GArage". Maybe some of those Americans you hear using Brit slang are putting us on, but some may be doing it because they hate having to explain themselves every time they say "Z" instead of "Zed".
Just a thought. Anyway, gotta go take out the garbage.
Well I'm english but I've never said cor blimey or guvnor either. I wouldn't call some of those terms (rubbish for example) slang either.
If you think your countrymen and women sound like idiots when they use some of these terms, then that's your prerogative. I can't help feeling you must sound a trifle odd trying to avoid terms like "rubbish".
In the final analysis, it really doesn't matter: if you are happy as you are, let others be happy as they are and stop being judgmental if you yourself don't want to be thought a pillock.
Well I'm english but I've never said cor blimey or guvnor either. I wouldn't call some of those terms (rubbish for example) slang either.
If you think your countrymen and women sound like idiots when they use some of these terms, then that's your prerogative. I can't help feeling you must sound a trifle odd trying to avoid terms like "rubbish".
In the final analysis, it really doesn't matter: if you are happy as you are, let others be happy as they are and stop being judgmental if you yourself don't want to be thought a pillock.
Are you talking about using Brit slang in the UK or here in the states?
I never considered "the states" as a Brit slang. I've heard it pretty much since I was a child and I've never even been to the UK (although I would like to visit Scotland). I've always referred to the US as "the states".
As for "rubbish", yeah I don't think that's exclusive to the UK either. I've heard it being used often too, usually by older people. I just assumed it was one of those words that the older folks used and it gets picked up by their grandkids. The same with "easy peasey."
"Over the pond" isn't really exclusive to the UK either. It's another phrase that I grew up hearing, usually in history and government classes.
I've heard "loo" and "bloody" being used, those I would consider Brit slang. I don't think people mean it to be offensive, it's just one of those things where you hear it enough it starts to work its way into your vocabulary. I went to school with a girl who went to high school in London and she used "bloody" a lot. She sounded American, and if she hadn't told me she went high school there I wouldn't have known. We shared a lot of classes together so eventually that word worked itself into my vocabulary.
As for "loo", my friends who have traveled to the UK used it because they were trying to blend in.
Well I'm english but I've never said cor blimey or guvnor either
Those were exaggerated terms and London-specific. But it's not actually relevant if you say it or not.
Quote:
I wouldn't call some of those terms (rubbish for example) slang either.
No, I also used the word "terms". British terms.
Quote:
Are you talking about using Brit slang in the UK or here in the states?
Well, in the UK. But anybody using British terms in "the States" must be off-the-charts obnoxious.
If you don't think "loo", "bloody", etc are British terms then I don't know what else I can tell you. The English in Texas must be drastically different from the English I grew up with in Chicago. And not just in the usual ways one would think of.
Quote:
So what? I use some American slang and my fiance uses Scottish slang for fun.
No need to be defensive. I'm looking for the rationale. You do it for the lolz. Fine. In the privacy of one's own home I don't care what people say. But in public it sounds god awful and I wonder why people do it. I guess that your comedy reason could be part of the answer.
Anyway, it's a difficult balancing act I realise (by the way, I finally started using the British spellings about a year ago after I got a job that involves a lot of writing). On the one hand, it's good to try to fit in. These loud Americans you see yelling about how American they are and all the crazy American stuff they got up to in America are obnoxious as well. But on the other hand, I don't think using British terms is aiding in assimilation. You just sound like an oaf.
OccamsChainsaw concurs at least.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
