DH using American words... AIBU?

[Sleeplesss]

I met my DH 10 years ago and we have a really good relationship. One thing, though, that has always bugged me a little is that he uses some American words. Think along the lines of calling a lift and elevator or calling a mobile phone a cell phone. I have never made an issue of this but normally correct him in a jokey way rather than make a fuss of it. Tonight he said cell phone and I did the jokingly correcting him thing and he has got really upset with me. Saying I'm making him feel stupid. Obviously that is not what I'm trying to do but at the same time, it really really grates in me. I explained to him, in the nicest possible way, that if it were me, I'd rather be corrected as it's a habit I'd want to break. He's been to America once and doesn't have any American friends/family so it obviously must come from watching American tv. When I suggested that to him, he said that I don't know that for certain. Yes I do, where else could it possibly come from?

So I'm just wondering, is it wrong of me to want him to break this habit? AIBU?

And your preposition argument goes the other way, too. In American English, you can say both 'Tuesday to Friday' and 'Tuesday through Friday', which I find nicely expresses the continuous nature of the event or process being talked about. Or (see my username!) 'quarter to two', or 'quarter of two', which gives us access to a different way of thinking about times. Are you going to argue British English is poorer for only having 'quarter to two' and 'Tuesday to Friday'?

YABU. It's a word here and there that actually does describe the object etc.

I'd hate to be corrected like I am in school and have done something wrong. He's not 5, leave him alone.

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo presumably they still have the two options in their passive vocabulary, but are choosing to limit themselves and so reduce the range of meaning they convey. Obviously everyone with a wide vocabulary adapts according to context and keeps academic or complex or profession specific words out of casual, informal conversation. There's no reason to limit the range of meaning you are able to convey by cutting [feel an emotion] "about" out of your active vocabulary after using it for 35 years though, except for the wish to sound like an American teenager...

Having read the whole thread there are some controlling and very anti American posts on here. Some of you seem to think we should close our borders and ban all US tv. Given that MN is largely 'remain' on Brexit I find that attitude to America very weird.

Language evolves, we're far more global now than we ever have been in the past and that's a good thing!

I'm afraid I think YABU. It reminded me of when I worked/lived abroad for 10 years on an island close to the US. I had to make myself say elevator, cell phone, flashlight etc - and the most difficult one for me, diaper. Otherwise people would laugh at me and correct me.

Weird if he has only picked this up from American television though. By the way I dislike people saying TV .....

You realise we are all showing our age, anyway, by calling them 'mobile phones' or 'mobiles'. To young people, they are simply phones. They know no other kind!

Oh god that would drive me mad!

YANBU, he is making himself sound silly, IMO you are being helpful by pointing out something so silly. The fact that you keep having to tell him is because he isn't listening, why would anyone not want to be made aware they sound like an idiot!

blueskies, do you really think people are consciously and actively doing this because they 'wish to sound like an American teenager'? They're hearing it in the media and from other speakers and picking it up. It will probably wane as their behaviour as regards media consumption and the circles they move in change.

Anyway, even if we were to agree that it is a bad thing, what are we to do about it? Any action would necessarily involve labelling the linguistic habits of another nation and culture as inferior (even if only implicitly), restricting the nature of media content by its national provenance, and/or shaming people for their use of language. None of which I, personally, am inclined to indulge in.

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo nobody British seems to adopt options which extend the range of meaning though, only ones which contract it!

I think it's actually similar to previously articulate people starting to use "like" and "y'know" instead of actually finishing their sentences.

It's a wish to appear young and casual, rather than a wish to appear American.

It's an affection, when adopted by people who've spent decades expressing themselves more clearly...

Sometimes the language enrichment argument holds, and in that case more power to those people. However in it doesn't often seem to be the genuine motivation at all - otherwise, as you say, different phrases would be adopted...

So what ifbpeoplebuse Americanisms. The world isnt a small place anymore.

We all watch TV from different countries. Especially America.

English people dont speak the way they did a 100 years ago. Or 500 years go. No one objects to that.

So many people get it sniffy people dont use two words you want. Its ridiculous.

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo there is nothing to be done about it, except ensure that my own children have a good passive vocabulary by reading to them from a range of books and modelling language. I'm conscious of modelling particularly because my children are growing up in a non English speaking country anyway.

When it comes to other adults I don't do anything about it except cull those people who were only acquaintances anyway from social media and feel mildly irritated and embarrassed for them when I see them socially.

DD did this a lot a few years ago —watching back to back a Friends I suspect— and I always corrected her. It is not a counter top, it is not a vayse [sic] or candy or a movie. At least not here in our one horse suburban town in West Yorkshire.

When it comes to other adults I don't do anything about it except cull those people who were only acquaintances anyway from social media and feel mildly irritated and embarrassed for them when I see them socially.

Wow you sound like a joy to be around.

So if hes always done it and you still married him then you are the unreasonable one here. Dont be nasty, I dont blame him.

I'd giggle if I heard a grown man using American words like cell and elevator and think they'd been watching too much American teenage TV.
If it were my DH doing it I'd cringe if he used Americanisms in public.
YANBU!

Well I don't live in the UK but I don't live in the USA either.

It's a cell phone.
And an elevator.
I also sms from my cell phone, however I would never ever text someone from my mobile phone.
We have robots and not traffic lights.
A flannel is a face cloth.

I really don't think its something to get all that worked up about to be honest.

Piggywaspushed there's nothing wrong with showing our age - age should be neutral or something to be proud of. The culture of youth is part of the problem. Why do people over 35 want to hide their age?

Children should still know the difference between a mobile phone and a landline. Landlines very much still exist, in the world of work if (for some people) nowhere else. Not having the vocabulary to differentiate is not a good thing.

every one should be able to speak freely as they see fit but i must admit i do eye roll when i hear people i know take on american expressions and sometimes with an accent. 'you sound like a complete tosser' comes to mind. blame it on too much american t.v ? sounds like my dm who has a VERY loud voice and blames ot on working with the elderly. that's fair enough but she stopped work 35 years ago

Plenty of people do now because they hear them all the time - just I get bugged by it a bit but we lived in the USA so he picked them up whilst I didn't as much. My DD's who cannot even remember living there have all kinds of Americanisms from tv.

'I'm conscious of modelling particularly because my children are growing up in a non English speaking country anyway.'

Mine too. And yes to lots of books (written in a range of Englishes) and modelling solid and sophisticated patterns of language - but not to rigidly reinforce one variant. We talk quite a lot about varieties (of English and other languages).

I have (highly educated - not that it matters) American friends where I am who would be very hurt indeed if I considered their variants undesirable and tried to stop my children adopting them.

I totally agree with you OP. Brits trying to sound American sound like absolute twats. And I say that as someone who LOVES America.

I had a slip the other day and referrered to A&E as “ER” at work. I was ridiculed for it and rightly so! I was so embarrassed. But in my defence I do spend a lot of time in America.

Just be blunt with him and tell him he sounds stupid! No more jokey corrections ... just be blunt:

“Oh god you’re trying to talk American again, how embarrassing”

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo a part of it is about losing range and a part of it is about pretending to be someone you are not.

I suspect that many of your highly educated American friends would be somewhat nonplussed if their children suddenly started talking in a home countries accent, having never lived in the UK, or adopted a British vocabulary.

Pemba just curious if you voted for Brexit?

In general, I don't really see the problem. Unless he fails the "schedule" test. If he says "shed-yool" then it's ok. If he says "skedzh-ool" then life imprisonment is warranted.

I say elevator and cell phone occasionally, I have never been to America and have never considered it to be incorrect, now I wonder if I am annoying people