AIBU to find his Americanisms really annoying

[WonderLime]

My DP is British. He's lived in England his whole life. His father is Irish and mother English. They both speak like respectable Brits.

He doesn't have any American friends. He's only visited America once - with me two years ago.

Despite this, he has a really annoying habit of using odd Americanisms in everyday conversations. For example, we were just talking and using letters in our conversation ("If you do A and B, you'll get X"), and he replied with "or you'll get 'Z'", as in 'Zee'.

I asked him what he'd just said, assuming he'd correct himself, but no he just 'Zee'!

It happened a couple of days ago too. We're having our first baby and were looking at nappies. Throughout the whole shopping trip he kept referring to them as 'diapers'.

I don't have any other active examples at he moment, but I know there has been their incidents. I'm sure it's getting worse the older he gets as I don't remember this when our relationship began 10 years ago. I think it's because he watches a LOT of American TV. Anime with American voiceovers, American dramas, American comedies, American Youtube videos, etc (also annoying but a separate issue).

I Just find the constant use of Americanisms really annoying but he thinks it's fine. I don't want him teaching our son this. AIBU?

@MrsDustyBusty totally agree with you. why call an irish person a respectable brit?? even using all the 'light hearted ' and ' tongue in cheek ' emojis in the world, it's still both incorrect and disrepectful

and nobody in ireland says zee unless they're from north america..

Born and bred British here and when I was growing up we learnt A,B,C rhyme and finished it with Zee and not Zed cause it rhymed better, yet when I spell my name out (has a Z in it) I say it Zed

I think most kids learn to sing the ABCs in the way that Z is pronounced zee, so it rhymes with 'sing with me' at the end. But a friend of mine learned a version in primary school where the flow of it makes the M rhyme with Z (zed) and as weird as we thought it was when she sang it to us, it actually scans well and is way peppier than the better known version.

A B C D, EFG, H I J K L M,
NOPQ, RSTU, VW X Y Z

I'm Scottish and say a few of these, always have done since I was wee, didn't realise they were Americanisms.

Santa (Santa Claus is comin', he's comin' doon the lum, ye'd better put the fire oot incase he burns his bum!🎶)
Couch
Train station/train tracks
Skedule
Movies/films interchangeably
Dinner if we're going out for food in the evening around 7ish but tea if it's at home (and then at Christmas we have dinner at 3ish when it's not lunch time OR teatime just to make things more confusing)

ChipsCheeseAndGravy If your friend is trying to be American she should not be planning her own baby shower. In the US baby showers and bridal showers are organized by family friends, never by the mother or bride to be or a close relative. To organize your own is considered to be grabby and tacky.

It really annoys me when British people bang on about greedy Americans and their baby showers when they clearly don't understand the etiquette that lies behind them.

april I think a lot of Americanisms were originally said in Scottish but not English, and the English now assume they come from America, not Scotland.

I say 'can i get' and always have done, but people always complain on here that it's an Americanism.

seoul ahh interesting! "Can I get" is another one I use too actually.

I have a similar thing going on here. I live in the Deep South and cannot shake my British accent but am picking up the local colloquialisms.

So imagine
'I'm fixing to go to the Piggly Wiggly'
'Some jackass stole my buggy while I was waiting in line at the deli'
'Y'all need to not be doing that now, you hear?'

All in a home counties accent I sound ridiculous.

If I used British terms though it would just be confusing. Biscuits are not biscuits, ordering chips in McDonalds is not going to get your anywhere much, cross is something you crucify a person on, not angry, if you say someone 'looks smart' they wonder if you think they look dumb at other times, don't use the insult 'tosser' because having to explain it is embarrassing, definitely don't run through a room full of female account clerks yelling 'has anyone got a rubber because I need one really badly' as a young man of my acquaintance once did. That leads to much comment, speculation, and smothered laughter.

As an American, I think it's odd when people post about their kids "hitting out'" as in hit another child. What is the alternative to hitting out? Hitting in?

I think a lot of Americanisms were originally said in Scottish but not English, and the English now assume they come from America, not Scotland.

This is true. American English is actually heavily influenced by Scottish, as well as Irish English, especially in the Northeast and South.

I live in the Deep South and cannot shake my British accent but am picking up the local colloquialisms.

I would love to hear you! I had the reverse experience when I went to study in Scotland. I picked up lots of Scots words and expressions, uttered in a coastal Georgia drawl.

Someone asked about "cot." The American word for a baby cot is crib. A cot would be a roll-away or camp type bed.

If you wanted to avoid using the word band-aid because it is a brand, in the US, you would say "adhesive bandage" or just bandage, but usually everyone says band-aid.

YANBU
My youngest sister (10) speaks with a lot of Americanisms and it winds me up no end, I've out it down to all the Disney and Nickelodeon she watches.

The one that winds me up something rotten with majority of people though is Santa Claus, we're British and here we call him Father Christmas, yet most people I come across at Christmas call him Santa now. My DS (2) doesn't even know who I'm talking about when I call him Father Christmas thanks to his dad and nursery and Paw Patrol

I can't abide people on here saying "I was really pissed" when they mean pissed off! And "Invite" instead of invitation.

Both Americanisms.

My DD's cousin is 9 and has a friend of the same age who speaks in a permanent (fake) American accent.

It drives me MAD.

Not all British people say Father Christmas. Most Scottish people say Santa and have for a long time. Lots of Dutch influence on Scots language and Scottish English.

My DBro asked someone in America if he could "bum a fag". He got some fairly odd looks.

Imis see..."to bum" something IS an Americanism.

I'd say the reaction was to the use of the word fag, not bum.

Oh I know steff...just pointing out the irony....

YABU.

If I were your DP, I'd probably do it as a wind-up.

As a Brit in the US I have been trying to pick up a few American phrases to fit in better, including some "maine-isms":

evening meal- Suppah
Wikid- very

This has become my dictionary
webpages.charter.net/lorilady/glossary.html

I say a lot of these phrases and words. We do live in North America now though and we absorb more and more into our daily language especially now the oldest dc are at school. Tbh I struggle to remember what is "correct" where so I probably confuse people everywhere. Scotch tape not Sellotape, flashlight not torch, yard not garden (unless it's landscaped), Scotch not whiskey
I struggle more with the different pronunciations for words like garage, tomato etc. They sound wrong to me.

Your DP is looking to the future

I'm American and now living in Asia, most of the international schools are teaching North American English and the kids are all leaving with vaguely American/Canadian accents. Simply because there is more supply of teachers from these countries and also more universities in the US for those who want to study abroad.

My parents were born in a former British colony and these days the younger generation all use American English as well...times have changed, time to accept it LOL

YABU.

Chill out.

(Do you all really correct the speech of other adults?)

Yes, dudes, cool your jets. I would sound like a complete fool using British words so I make every effort not to. Except bellend, I love bellend.

Sorry, America is everywhere. Even my little neighbors in Vietnam were chanting that's awesome in English on their way home from school if you years ago. At least it was that's awesome and not the other, much worse vocabulary they have picked up from television.

'Zee' is so much more sensible than 'zed'.

YABU.