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 moving to the US with my Swiss husband later this year and I am expecting loads of funny looks after reading this thread !!
I am originally from Manchester so have loads of Northern sayings that I taught him - except he says them with a swiss accent.....
We also lived in London for 10 years so he picked loads of cockney slang up.
Because English is his 4th language all the 'new' words he tends to say with my accent - because that is how he learnt them.... but some he has a definite swiss accent....
Him regularly saying ' bloody hell', 'blimey', 'me jumper', ' s'alright' and more usually 'for f**k's sake' I am sure will be an endless source of amusement for his colleagues....
Maybe I shouldn't of spent all the time I did teaching him English Idioms.......
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 wonder how you feel about making Spanish a "national language" so that the poor Mexicans don't have to abandon their native tongue.
The point I am making is that when you LIVE someplace you endeavor to speak like the natives. Not for any of the reasons you cite, but rather so that you "fit in" and assimilate. It is a matter of respect, if you ask me.
In the past I have often spoken to British folks here in the US and said such things as "Give it a go", or "You might want to put on a jumper on" (meaning sweater, with talking about a cool theatre). I don't believe that they gave it a second thought. I have also rolled my eyes at a local white trash person and uttered the word "chav" which I like better than "redneck". LOL
I think you're making too much of this. Language is fluid and there are no hard and fast rules who may and may not use certain words. Surely, there must be more important things to worry about.
I tend to think about what I say when visiting family in the US or else they make a big joke out of me using terms like mobile, trousers, trainers, boot (of car), holiday instead of vacation, petrol, nappies, twenty instead of twunnie, etc etc etc. And I do have to remind myself not to use the word 'toilet' when asking where it is in a restaurant of store.
The American swear filter picked up on this almost exclusively English term - brilliant!
Apparently, there is an English guy with a California licence plate that reads "BOLLOX". You can spot the English 'cos they're the only ones who laugh when they see it!
Yeah, when I typed "bollox" (I'm sure you figured out what I actually wrote), and I saw all the asterisks. Dang! I was not amused because I figured some may have to make educated guesses as to what I really said.
I also love the way the Brits and the Scots say when I would read their posts on another discussion forum. Brilliant and well done.
I also have noticed another common short phrase--> shut it.
BritPop, the only problem is that I'm deaf and I don't think the vid itself is subtitled even if it shows "cc". I quickly recognized John Thaw who played Inspector Morse, the show that I love. I can't wait for September to come to watch his protege, Inspector Lewis with his sidekick, Hathway.
Thanks for the quick cinema history lesson that Regan was the one who would say "shut it". Many thanks.
By the way, would The Sweeney now be on DVD and should I check out the BBC America website to see if it sells The Sweeney DVDs with subtitles?
Well you can get them sent to the US via Amazon UK but you would need to make sure that you DVD player can play multi-region. Most can, particularly yhe cheap as chips Chinese players. Google is your friend on this.
They are published by Network DVD in the UK. You could ask whether they are Region encoded and come with subtitles.
From their website:
Why do a number of Network releases not have subtitles?
As you may be aware, Network DVD specialises in niche archive television titles (amongst other genres) and the sales of these titles can be very low when compared to releases of new movies and current television series. We very much wish, however, to reach as wide an audience as we can in the most convenient way to them and are looking into the inclusion of subtitles for some of our future releases. - Network DVD
I'm an American."innit" I have never heard an American say this.
For "isn't it" ???
Have you ever spent time in Baltimore?
"Its nice day to go downy oshun, innit?"
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.
And I do have to remind myself not to use the word 'toilet' when asking where it is in a restaurant of store. 
