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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To hate Americanisms...?

768 replies

Groof · 05/01/2025 22:54

I think maybe because it feels like all English-speaking cultures are becoming boring and homogenous.

New ones I've noticed that people in the UK didn't routinely say five years ago but are now EVERYWHERE:

  • birth control (instead of 'contraception' or 'the pill')
  • wait list (instead of waiting list)
  • reach out

Which ones do you hate or AIBU?

OP posts:
SerafinasGoose · 06/01/2025 16:58

DdraigGoch · 06/01/2025 00:12

"Train station"

Definitely a Britishism. When I lived in the States it was commonly referred to as a railroad station.

I don't think I've ever heard of a reference to a 'chocolate chip biscuit' either. Cookie is the common parlance. In the US I knew them as tollhouse cookies.

As for 'gotten' - pure British and in use since the 4C (and in Shakespeare). A good few of our British anachronisms were transplanted over the Atlantic and subsequently lost here (e.g. 'turnpike', which is still in common use there but I never hear referred to in Blighty).

I find language and its evolution endlessly fascinating. As to the 'erosion' of British culture, that's impossible, as it's always been in constant flux (check out the number of our own lingustic borrowings from French, for example).

We've never been a monoculture.

Beautyfadesdumbisforever · 06/01/2025 16:55

GOTTEN. just awful it’s got or forgotten.

Lafee · 06/01/2025 16:55

Mall instead of shopping centre

Lafee · 06/01/2025 16:54

dreamingbohemian · 05/01/2025 23:18

Being annoyed by minor Americanisms seems a small price to pay for your language becoming the global language, being able to travel and work and consume most popular culture without ever having to learn another language

Americans have picked up loads of British lingo, it's not a one way thing

Cool, I'd love to hear from Americans who can say they use British isms.... or if they use British pronunciations...

ErrolTheDragon · 06/01/2025 16:52

It just sounds so WRONG ... like the speaker became lazy, and couldn't be bothered to pronounce the H.,,
Yet, we don't pronounce the H in Hour !!

I think it's more that it sounds like trying to pronounce it the French way, so it sounds pretentious cf saying 'an (h)otel' rather than 'a hotel'.

Lafee · 06/01/2025 16:52

Givemethreerings · 05/01/2025 23:15

Happy holidays instead of Christmas.

Isn't happy holidays now used because it's more inclusive of all beliefs?

ErrolTheDragon · 06/01/2025 16:49

@Treaclewell - and peppercorns.

Lafee · 06/01/2025 16:48

Tumblingthrough · 05/01/2025 23:06

(H)Erbs

Oooh... I know.
It just sounds so WRONG ... like the speaker became lazy, and couldn't be bothered to pronounce the H.,,
Yet, we don't pronounce the H in Hour !!

Annabella92 · 06/01/2025 16:41

AvidAunt · 06/01/2025 15:01

It's always interesting getting outside perspective; I'm American and from my viewpoint, America is so regionalized that I don't hear very many of the examples listed or if I do, they're stark signifiers of a specific area of the country from which the speaker hails. Ya'll and could care less (in lieu of couldn't) typically indicate that the speaker is from the Southern US and here in the Northeast, those phrases are like nails on a chalkboard.

These regional differences will be shrinking year on year

HamptonPlace · 06/01/2025 16:35

owlpineapple · 05/01/2025 23:33

Birth control annoys me too. I work in an area where contraception comes up periodically and find it’s increasingly referred to in this way. It sounds so crass. It’s not controlling birth, it’s controlling conception (or attempting to at least) so contraceptive is much more appropriate.

The range of day to day vocabulary in general is decreasing. Adjectives are often limited to good, great, disgusting, awesome, ok, fine, shit, rubbish, crap etc, or just an emoji. I think it’s a shame so many descriptive words have fallen out of favour, but I suppose many of them would make the speaker sound like a bit of a pompous twat these days.

The Americanism that make my ears bleed is the loss of the adverb… ‘it felt real good’ or ‘I eat healthy’.

"periodically" 😅

poetryandwine · 06/01/2025 16:28

Whydoeseveryonewanttoargue · 06/01/2025 15:18

It IS meant to be sarcastic.. I could care less but I don’t.

So ‘I could care less but I don’t’? Therefore I do care? That seems to be how it parses?

Treaclewell · 06/01/2025 15:41

One thing that irritates me is when an American criticises a British historical author for using the word corn incorrectly. The last one claimed that the word was not known over here until the 16th century. It was. of course, Old English, and was, and was used in my childhood still, for all grain crops, wheat, barley, oats and rye, and possibly emmer and spelt. I remember crouching in the little house made by a stook of sheaves during harvest. I was very puzzled that the corn in Oklahoma was as high as an elephant's eye, despite the film conveniently including a backdrop of maize.
It was also used of grains of salt and, I found recently in Dorothy Dunnett, gunpowder as grains. Hence corned beef - salted not exploded.

Annettecurtaintwitcher · 06/01/2025 15:32

I live it a country where they learn US English as standard. My DD has now started saying Oh my God like Janice from friends.

Pet hates are:
Parking lot (car park)
Fire truck (fire engine)
Trash (rubbish)
Pants (trousers)
Line (queue)
Gas (petrol)
Pacifier (dummy)
Candy (sweets)

I could go on…..

Treaclewell · 06/01/2025 15:26

HotCrossBunplease · 06/01/2025 08:14

Mac and cheese

I've been reading through waiting for that one. Drives me up the wall when shops apply it to British macaroni cheese, which is not the same, cooked macaroni in a roux based cheese sauce. The American one is worth looking up, more interesting, and out of the Soul Food style of cooking, but I stick to my mother's sort. In the history, it seems that the dish started my style, crossed the pond, and changed, like some of the vocabulary has. Recipes evolve, too.

CulturalNomad · 06/01/2025 15:25

I'm American and I hate this as well. I'm in a home decorating group on Facebook with many women from the Southern US and they use that often. I'm in the Northeast and we do not. Most commonly, I see the phrase "I am wanting" in lieu of I want. Example, I am wanting a new sofa. Wanting means a lack there of, not a desire! Words have meaning and it's annoying

This has become ubiquitous "influencer" lingo - "What I am loving right now", etc.

I am a New Englander currently in the South and, while I love regional phrases and dialects when spoken by the locals, I roll my eyes when a word like "ya'll" starts getting thrown around by "Northerners"😂

You used to be able to tell what part of the US a person hailed from by what they called a sandwich: hoagie, sub, grinder, etc. But even that's no longer a reliable indicator, is it? I really love regional phrases/slang!

MereDintofPandiculation · 06/01/2025 15:24

Adding extra bits to make nouns when a perfectly satisfactory noun already exists, eg expiration date.

LlynTegid · 06/01/2025 15:21

The third season of the year is autumn. The Fall refers to a post-punk band that were led by Mark E Smith and his granny on the bongos (or whoever was in the band that week).

MsBorealis · 06/01/2025 15:21

@WashingDryingForEver

Then I hope no one ever says "You done amazing " 🥴😂. Very popular where I live.

Whydoeseveryonewanttoargue · 06/01/2025 15:19

gotmyknickersinatwist · 06/01/2025 15:04

But that doesn't make sense.
I couldn't care less means I care so very little that it's not possible for me to care any less.

It’s a sarcastic saying. I didn’t make it up.

it’s like saying taking the oiss - literal usage of this saying is crazy.

Sayings aren’t always meant to be literal!

Whydoeseveryonewanttoargue · 06/01/2025 15:18

gotmyknickersinatwist · 06/01/2025 15:06

I think 'I could care less' would only really make sense if it was said in a sarcastic way, which I don't think it is. As in, 'yeah, like I could care less'.

It IS meant to be sarcastic.. I could care less but I don’t.

Whydoeseveryonewanttoargue · 06/01/2025 15:17

schnubbins · 06/01/2025 14:08

Lately on CNN discussing" See ree ya" instead of Syria .Drives me bonkers

It drives you honkers that someone uses their accent to say a country correctly?

As neither the UK nor USA speak natively a Syrian language this is just discriminatory.

WashingDryingForEver · 06/01/2025 15:12

CharlotteCChapel · 05/01/2025 23:28

Flavourful rather than flavoursome. Adjectives being used as adverbs, you do things properly not proper. It took months to get DGS to say sweets rather than candy.

I think a, lot of the problem is that bec a lot of Americans don't understand English words a lot of social media creators use the American version which we also understand leading to people think that American English is the correct version.

Adjectives being used as adverbs

My pet hate. ‘You did amazing’. I truly despise it.

AvidAunt · 06/01/2025 15:08

kronic · 05/01/2025 23:37

Another thing which happens a lot now, is someone will say , for example, " I am loving this " instead of " I love this".

I'm American and I hate this as well. I'm in a home decorating group on Facebook with many women from the Southern US and they use that often. I'm in the Northeast and we do not. Most commonly, I see the phrase "I am wanting" in lieu of I want. Example, I am wanting a new sofa. Wanting means a lack there of, not a desire! Words have meaning and it's annoying.

gotmyknickersinatwist · 06/01/2025 15:06

AvidAunt · 06/01/2025 15:01

It's always interesting getting outside perspective; I'm American and from my viewpoint, America is so regionalized that I don't hear very many of the examples listed or if I do, they're stark signifiers of a specific area of the country from which the speaker hails. Ya'll and could care less (in lieu of couldn't) typically indicate that the speaker is from the Southern US and here in the Northeast, those phrases are like nails on a chalkboard.

I think 'I could care less' would only really make sense if it was said in a sarcastic way, which I don't think it is. As in, 'yeah, like I could care less'.

imtoo · 06/01/2025 15:05

Kaleidoscopic101 · 05/01/2025 23:01

  • Privacy pounced Pr-eye-vacy instead of Privacy
  • Store instead of Shop
  • Cart instead of Basket or Trolley
  • Dump or Garbage truck instead of bin lorry or rubbish truck
  • Trash instead of rubbish
  • Patriotic pronounced Payte-riotic instead of Pat-riotic
  • Bangs instead of Fringe
Edited

You’re just listing American words. I’ve never heard anyone here say bangs instead of fringe.