To hate Americanisms...?

I think it's entirely possible to understand 'global English', and use it when appropriate (eg meetings with a multinational team) whilst retaining your own dialect and accent for using in your local area, and appreciating other regional variations too when you travel or see films etc from other regions.

Completely agree with this, and it's one of the reasons I hate the criticism of language and in particular regionalisms on here. Most of us code switch to some extent and it's a rare person who speaks in the same way with their best friend as they do with an important client.

A jumper is a pinafore here (I had the opposite problem to you when I moved here Culturalnomad - wondering why someone was described as wearing just a sweater with a turtleneck under it!). Woolly isn't really used. A wool sweater would be what people say near me.

Was it Oscar Wilde who said of USA and UK "two countries divided by a common language"

I think Shaw... obviously the Irish are the authority on such matters.

I loved it when my american children started using words I had only read as a child in books like Little Women or What Katy Did.

Was it Oscar Wilde who said of USA and UK "two countries divided by a common language"

@CulturalNomad - ah, I knew 'sweater' is the usual term in the US but I'd no idea 'jumper' might be unknown. What about 'woolly'?

I’m not sure if you are being deliberately rude…..starting a post like this won’t elicit a response.

I've heard both versions. I couldn't tell you specifically what Scottish Vs English people said though.

I live in the central belt, and I definitely hear it more here than the Highlands and islands where I was before.

And nowadays if there's an unfamiliar word we can look it up so easily!

I love that we can do this so easily now!

I started reading British crime fiction/police procedurals in the early 1980's and had to rely on context when running across an unfamiliar word. Most of the time that was easy enough to do, but occasionally it wasn't so obvious. The word "jumper" always conjured up visions of a female character in a pinafore-style dress which could be quite comical in certain situations.😂

I’d also add a third for Americans learning British words and that’s through school. English in primary and secondary schools involve reading books by British authors.

And of course that works both ways round (literature in general not just school). I could easily work out what 'recess' meant from its usage when reading Little Women as a child, for instance. And nowadays if there's an unfamiliar word we can look it up so easily!

From a strictly linguistic perspective there is a homogenisation process going on and yes it's sad to see distinctive usages and accents fading and disappearing.

It's not all going in that direction. There are far more regional accents to be heard on the BBC now than there used to be.

I think it's entirely possible to understand 'global English', and use it when appropriate (eg meetings with a multinational team) whilst retaining your own dialect and accent for using in your local area, and appreciating other regional variations too when you travel or see films etc from other regions. It's a hell of a lot easier than what those outwith the Anglosphere have to do, learning (global) English as a second language!

Is it really a loss of British words or British words that were more common centuries ago here being brought back?

Every time this whole “hate” for Americanism comes up, there is an argument from posters from other countries within the UK about how they grew up with so-called Americanism for years and have heard older family members use them.

Even the first two examples in OP’s post of what they consider British are both used in the States.

Many Americans know British words and phrases, the same way Brits have learned some American phrases through tv and social media. I’d also add a third for Americans learning British words and that’s through school. English in primary and secondary schools involve reading books by British authors.

From a strictly linguistic perspective there is a homogenisation process going on and yes it's sad to see distinctive usages and accents fading and disappearing. It happens within America as well, thanks in part to mass media. If you see clips from the 1990s or even a bit later, regional accents are so much stronger than now. Go back to the 1970s or before and you'll be shocked. But it does get somewhat irritating that it always comes back to the USA. Of course there's going to be influence; it's the largest single country with English as the primary language. But sometimes it feels rather reflexive like hating on historical usages that the US preserved.

I do believe there's some Scottish influence in Western Pennsylvania as Appalachia in general is heavily Scots-Irish and I think the "needs washed" construction exists in other parts of northern Appalachia. Pittsburgh and surrounds is a fascinating mix due to immigration and being cut off from the major cities of the East Coast. I'm from London and can't remember if I've heard the construction from Scottish people before.

Oh yes @CagneyAndLazy I agree that outwith is a great word. It wasn't until I taught in England that I realised it was particularly Scottish.

Are British words being used in the US to the same extent- I doubt it

No, but American English is heavily influenced by other cultures which is why you see such a difference in regional phrases and pronunciation. For instance -in Texas and Arizona you'll hear a lot of blended Spanish-American pronunciation and grammar.

I think it's futile to resist what I'd call the globalization of the English language in today's media-influenced society, but I do understand the desire to preserve traditional regional language as well.

Thanks @RaraRachael

(By the way, my absolute favourite Scottish word is 'outwith' and there will be hell to pay if anyone messes around with that! 😁)

I agree. I don't see anyone being discriminated against. People are just stating what @CagneyAndLazy says about the loss of British and, in my case, Scottish words.

Are British words being used in the US to the same extent- I doubt it.

Thinly veiled discrimination.

@Whydoeseveryonewanttoargue

I'm not sure whether you're being deliberately dim but what I'm talking about is British, non-Americans, starting to pick up and use the American pronunciations and spellings.

Who exactly is being discriminated against? Or are we not allowed to dislike the creeping uptake of American pronunciations and words by Brits?

I don't think I've ever heard anyone other than an American say it.

There’s a TV ad for Trivago, evidently originally aimed at the US and dubbed into Brit speak.

Someone says, ‘How was your vacation, sir?’
🤬. Drives me mad! No Brit says ‘vacation’ - (except in the context of university sessions). We have holidays!

Trunk and Ore-Ge-No give me the absolute RAGE 😂

It is possible to make your point without resorting to xenophobia.

Yes. All of that.

Do people in Canada complain about Australianisms though?😂

Yes, I know. It's not just Anglo Saxon either. Plenty of other influences from Roman, Viking, Greek, French, Sanskrit, and no doubt others too. But the version of English as spoken in England was developed over centuries in England. That's why it's called English (other words and dialects in the British Isles are also available).

It has gone all over the world, and now it's coming back different. Arguing the toss about Americanisms isn't exactly a hill I'm prepared to die on anyway.

'uni' has been around for ages, surely? Pretty certain i called it that almost 30 years ago. Probably because I was too lazy to say the whole word 😀

Funnily enough DD2 went to a 'school' for her Masters.

Goddammit?
Is that an Americanism?