To ask why some Mumsnetters find the use of American English suspicious?

What some British people don’t seem to realise is that a lot of ‘Americanisms’ are just older forms of English. Some of the expressions didn’t die out everywhere on this side of the Atlantic either. It’s really very annoying to be corrected on here for your use of a word like ‘gotten’, and to know that an assumption is being made that you picked it up from watching too much television! 🤯

Yes, we are also Midlands and it's been "mom" all my life.

I only know it’s a Midlands thing. Personally I say and write “mom” and most people I know from where I am do similar.

According to this it is just Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands. Nowhere else in the UK.

Here in the West Midlands we have a very distinct way of speaking. One of our peculiarities is the way we spell the abbreviation for mother. Most people tend to call her ‘mom’ - which is generally considered American - as opposed to ‘mum’ which is the most popular English term, according to analysis by Oxford University Press

OUP looked at short stories written by children across the country and found that ‘Mom’ was the top word used more in the West Midlands than any other area. This suggests that most other regions plump for calling their mothers ‘Mum’. But it’s popularity in the West Midlands shows it may be a regional pronunciation, maybe influenced by the Brummie accent

https://www.birminghamworld.uk/news/birmingham-accent-mom-mum-4193963

Sorry there was meant to be an emoji with that comment to show it was lighthearted, but it’s not showing!

Because most AI tools tend to default to US English which is why people will think it's fake.

Out of interest (as I never knew this) which parts of the UK say mom? And do they also spell it that way?

Also as a Midlander….I take offence to the suggestion that all Britons say “Mum”… 😝

But the internet is still international.

It doesn’t matter what the name of the site is. And some people may….wait for it….be on multiple sites! You will also have Britons who lived outside the UK and still use this site.

And much advice is not location specific. Some people are just incredibly small-minded.

Yeah but I expect most people on here are british - because it’s called mumsnet not momsnet (I wonder if there is a momsnet) and advertises British shops and products etc. if I was American, unless I wanted very general advice I’d probably choose an American parenting site cos it’d be more relevant to me

Some people don’t realise the internet is international.

I'd imagine if Mumsnet had existed in the 5th century the Franco-Normans would have been moaning about the Anglo-Saxons bastardising (bastardizing?) their language.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

YANBU. It's astonishing how insular MN can be in this respect, considering that it's an internet forum that anyone of any nationality from anywhere in the world can access.

As a Brit I am actually embarrassed by the snarky anti-Amercan attitude and 'is English not your first language?' attitude on here. It's ignorant, unworldly and a bit pathetic, frankly.

And you're right about the weirdly detective-like approach. It's as if they MUST find out whether a poster is American in order to judge whether the poster is allowed to use Americanisms (but will still look down on them for it, even if they are American!). Baffling.

If people type like a robot it stands out

I'm no student of languages but I think some of the American terms are actually the original English terms. Eg I think Fall was the original term rather than Autumn, Sidewalk rather than pavement. In some ways it's us here that have moved the goalposts with language.

Will all know it, not everyone will admit it for fear of sounding like a snob - but British people (myself included) HATE the use of American words or spelling! It’s so irritating - and yes probably because it’s so dominant in the media and most other spaces and we invented the language and they’re trashing it blah blah. Fine if the person’s actually American but British people using American words drives me mad! But I wouldn’t automatically assume the post was fake.

Because a lot of posts are asking for advice on what practical steps to take - with divorce, financially, leaving a relationship, etc.

So people naturally ask 'Are you in the UK' or even 'Are you in England' - because there is no point offering 'English' advice to someone who turns out to be a resident of Michigan, for example. Laws are very different. Similarly with Scotland - no point me offering advice on secondary education to someone in Glasgow, it's a different system.

Ha ha. In the UK we are generally quite relaxed about this, but I can see your point, and I feel the same sometimes! 😂

French Mumsnetters will able, I'm sure, to discuss the constant debates in France about language protection in law, etc.

I'm a non-native English speaker, but I'm over-protective of British English spelling 😂
My blood boils when I read "color" "monetize" etc... no idea why

The Roman Empire had a huge impact on Western Europe in terms of trade, building styles and many, many other aspects of culture ... until their empire collapsed, that is. One of the many reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire was the decline in civic virtue. A lesson for the USA there, I hope, whilst there's still time.

GEN Z and Gen A use a lot of americanisms. I've noticed it in the people I work with aged 18-25ish and my kids.

Apparently so do I and I didn't even realise. I'm currently completing a course and the tutor pointed out I have used American spellings in some areas. 😳

It's becoming the mainstream. America has a lot of influence over the world via the internet and social media.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat Have you listened to The Rest is Entertainment podcast about this?

I've also heard them talking about how some British terms are creeping over into American English and that's the thing, language is constantly evolving. Perhaps spelling will change as well, as future generations are more exposed to American English language.

I'm not someone who queries the honesty of anyone's post unless there's a massive contradiction within the particular thread.

I do get a bit fed up when people ask for advice on legal issues or anything else where location's important, but don't say where they're living e.g. someone who may appear to be in the UK but doesn't mention they live in Scotland where the law is different, or overseas, so it ends up with the majority of users giving totally irrelevant advice. But that's only because it's such a waste of everyone's time.

I think letting people know where you're located, if relevant, is important and also consistency and authenticity within posting. Then people are less likely to query the content.

When a post switches back and forth between the two it is more likely to raise suspicion than just the American terms/ spelling alone.
You have a legitimate reason for this, but that’s unusual enough.
A lot of the incel types that come over from Reddit use a mixture of both because either they are American trying to pose as women from the UK or because they spend so much time communicating with Americans online that is just how they write.
I had a boyfriend who used to text and sometimes talk like that twenty years ago because he spent too time in chat rooms with Americans and not enough talking to real people irl.

I can see both sides of this: I do think English people can be really petty and precious about this sometimes. But I do also get the thing about really enjoying a space for English English in the all encompassing sea of Americanisation.

I work for an American company now and all the spellcheckers change my spelling to US spelling by default. It sounds incredibly petty but I get a strange satisfaction out of changing "color" back to "colour", humor back to "humour" and "commercialization" back to "commercialisation".

Tiny little acts of rebellion against the hegemon. I know it's pathetic but let me have it :)