To ask if do (or will) miss British English?

[daimbarsatemydogsbone]

License plate - Number plate
Driver's license - Driving licence
Windshield - Windscreen
Envision - Envisage
Bring (instead of take)

So much British English is being replaced with the US versions.

UK courtroom dramas now feature lawyers shouting "objection!" and judges saying "sustained" - something that never actually happens in UK courts but the writers have all grown up watching US dramas and films.

I know it's inevitable but I celebrated the little differences - they seem to become fewer and fewer each year.

Op, Netflix is my pet theory too - this is obviously my perception only, but the use of many everyday words from North America has noticeably ramped up in the last few years whereas I hadn’t observed this much previously. A lot of the US v British terms people used to point out had come into common usage here since I could remember (I’m in my 40s) - now I find myself constantly noticing new examples of US words being said here. Would be very interesting to see some studies on it.

It's the Queen's English.

It must be a minefield for English learners to know which is British English and which is American!

It's my business to edit these kinds of thing, though it is annoying when there's a mixture of spellings used which a spell check would have sorted out

@Mamamia7962

It's the Queen's English.

Not in Ireland it’s not 😂😂

I have no idea if the horrible "gifting" or "impacting" have come from the US but will blame them anyway

When I first saw people saying they were excited for the weekend, I assumed they weren't native speakers. Until everyone started saying it but I don't know if that's a US import or if we'll export it to them!

I rarely watch TV or films, so don't really hear up to date US usage.

I have no idea if the horrible "gifting" or "impacting" have come from the US but will blame them anyway

It doesn't

OED records its use in Britain from before the US even existed

I’ll tell you one that winds me up so much. When English people say or write “ass”. This is absolute bullshit. WE SAY ARSE! I don’t know why people have started using it. Oh and an American word that English people can’t say without sounding like a twat is “awesome”. I’m sorry but it just sounds ridiculous

(Sorry, that was re: gifting. Off to look up impact as a verb)

@AlmostAlwyn - I guess it depends whether they’re learning it formally or informally. Most textbooks pick a flavour of the language (so US or British English) and stick with it. Same with other languages. I started learning Spanish in the US, where they teach Mexican Spanish in schools. Here, if you’re doing GCSE or A’ level you’re probably going to be exposed to Spanish from Spain primarily. You tend to learn about the common words that differ from country to country as you go along.

Depending on which shade of meaning of "impact" as a verb, it was first recorded in use in 1601

When I speak to people outside of my area, I'm reminded that I barely speak British English, certainly not American English.

A blessing of the Black Country accent is no sod knows what I'm saying, and those who do can't hack the sound of it

@ComtesseDeSpair

Nah. DP is from the US so we speak American English in our house. Spackle, cookies and trash all the way.

Language evolves and we with it. It’s why Chaucer wouldn’t have a clue what any of us are saying here, and why we don’t yearn wistfully for his prose.

What is a 'spackle' please?

I used to mind a lot and now I don;t mind at all. Language always has been and should be flexible. It is a reflection of culture not an arbiter of it. We watch loads of US shows so it's natural that we adopt that terminology. and some US language (gotten instead of got - which DC absolutely insist on saying) is actually old English come full circle.

Well unfortunately kids are growing up with their computers constantly telling them that they are spelling words wrong when they are not. That bloody red line makes me question things even when I know they are correct!

@BadgeronaMoped - 'Addicting' for addictive is the really irritating one which sprang to mind when I opened this thread, I can't bear it!

The other one I don't like is 'flavourful' (or should that be flavorful?) for 'flavoursome' (and I watch a lot of cooking shows). I have just had a google to find out about the differences, and came across this:

"Flavorful predominates in US English, and is quite common. Flavoursome is about twice as common as flavourful in British English, but they're both rare." From the Stack Exchange English Language and Usage website.

There us one thing that will never change OP.

British people are so polite they will end a telephone conversation with 'bye/see you soon'

On US tv shows they just put the phone down

So like "outside of"? Interesting, I'd never heard of it before.

It tends to be used in formal contexts, e.g. do not park outwith the markings. This topic is outwith the remit of this committee. You wouldn't say 'Rhuaridh's ootwith the hoose'. Actually you always say 'outwith' whereas in any other context you'd say 'oot'. It was used in English but has fallen out of use but needs reviving, I use it at work regularly and there's enough Scots that the English have started using it as well. Result!

@RobinRedbreasts

Well unfortunately kids are growing up with their computers constantly telling them that they are spelling words wrong when they are not. That bloody red line makes me question things even when I know they are correct!

You can change it. It asks when you set it up.

@EmmaWoodhousestreehouse

Americans don’t seem to like saying please or thank you. It’s very rude.

I don't know where you get that impression. If anything, in my experience Americans tend to be more polite.

I happen to think you are very rude.

@daimbarsatemydogsbone, can you share an example of bring instead of take? I'm not sure I understand that one. (I'm a Brit living in the US.)

I hate:
'Can I get' in a restaurant, just hate it. It is so rude.
Also 'ass' and 'butt' instead of 'arse' and 'bum'.
Also 'booty' instead of..... I don't know what it's instead of but I hate it; 'booty call'.
Also 'axe' instead of 'ask' and 'babydaddy' or 'babymama' instead of 'my son/daughter's dad or mum'

Do you miss 1920s English op?

Speaking of ‘without’, I remember learning the correct meaning when quite small and going to church regularly with my grandma. I was a bit confused by ‘there is a green hill far away, without a city wall’ and wondered why this was even a thing. Surely hardly any hills have city walls. Grandma put me straight.

'movies' instead of 'pictures' or 'cinema'. In thenorth-east we say 'We're going to the pictures tonight'. I can accept 'cinema' but not 'movies' . And I prefer 'to see a film' rather than 'to see a movie'.

[quote Anonymous48]@daimbarsatemydogsbone, can you share an example of bring instead of take? I'm not sure I understand that one. (I'm a Brit living in the US.)[/quote]
I think this is regional variation in both the US and the UK: for example, a man might say to a woman, “May I take you home”. Meaning “may I escort you to your house”, not “would you like to come back to my place?”. This would be common in many parts of the UK and the US; whereas definitely in (parts of) the Mid West (from the Midwesterners I know) as well as in parts of Scotland and Ireland, “May I bring you home?” would be used interchangeably.