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

[MonaLisaDoesntSmile]

Some while back I wrote a thread under another username, and was accused by a few members to have written a fake story because I used words that are much more commonly used in the US. For the record, I learned English as a second language and my secondary school teacher was from the US, I also spent my teens watching American shows and films. 15+ years in the UK and I still use flashlight, trashcan, gas, fall, intersection and a number of other words that got stuck in my head.
I have it happen since a few times to other people- today someone decided a thread posted by a user was done by chat GTP because it sounded 'American'.
Why are people so baffled by the fact that there may be American users on the site, or people educated in the US/international American schools, or just people who have learned English with the help of American media rather than BBC?

If I see behavior, color, etc. in a long post I suspect AI.
For me it is not at all about sounding American, it's just sounding like you could be from anywhere but using -or endings instead of -our.

I don't care at all where people are from or if English is their second language - I admire people who can post in a second language - but if someone is talking about, say, the Labour party and how shit their "behavior" is, I would scroll on.

I wouldn't worry about it, to be honest.

Spoken and written language is one marker of social class. Class distinctions in the UK are understood intuitively by native English speakers but are less well-understood in the wider Anglophone - just as native UK speakers may not pick up on class distinctions embedded within (say) US, Australian or South Asian English dialects.

One good example is schedule. US English would usually pronounce this as skej-ool. British English would be shed-yool. Obviously there are some regional variations but the general rule still applies. As such folks who are exposed to US English, usually via media consumption, are more likely to use US English dialect words and pronunciation.

It's more controversial when it comes to social class, at least from a UK perspective. People in the UK are very class aware, although many will deny this! - and so a person using US English if they are a native British English speaker may be considered to be of 'lower' class as it's seen as a marker of high TV/film consumption, typically of US origin - and high TV/film consumption is also a class marker in the UK.

As a non-native English speaker, you are exempt from all of this, but obviously it's harder for people to see/understand this online.

Of course its not a problem where people don't have English as a first language, its that some AI or people who are not genuine here write in a way that is similar
Only Dicks focus on peoples Grammar

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 :)

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.

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

Also wherever you listen to podcasts without the video.

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.

I dont, the post from today just reminded me how I felt it was very weird back then. Hardly a grudge.

Why do you consider I wouldnt like your MIL because of the way she speaks?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

If people type like a robot it stands out

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.

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.

Some people don’t realise the internet is international.

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

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.

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

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

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

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