American words and spellings not corrected in UK schools

[Fifiplays]

I find that schools no longer correct pupils when they use American English words and spellings in schools. For example, 'Airplane' (Aeroplane), 'Regular' (ordinary), 'Cotton candy' (candy floss), 'Program (when not a computer) etc etc. Does anyone have a good experience of schools being viglilent to this?

Perhaps these "ize"-using teachers went to Oxford.

https://www.arr1.com/blog/?page_id=1431

Yes, use of ize/ise is stylistic rather than dialectal. Ize is the older British English form.

Well there is nothing wrong with using regular in place of ordinary, Airplane is an alternative international term, program is a traditional British spelling before we adopted the French. Cotton candy I grant you.

Language by nature evolves though..

Really. Is this what upsets you? Not the chronic under-funding of public sector institutions?

... a middle-aged man from the Home Counties saying something like ‘Say, everyone, I’ve stopped by to…’ This seems archaic by US standards, too - if I read a character starting a sentence with "say..." I'd assume the author wanted to set a scene roughly in the 1950s. American SF author Kage Baker's "The Company" series deals with a 24th century corporation that owns/uses time travelling cyborgs to make money from the past. The cyborgs speak a version of English called "Cinema Standard" that's based on the Golden Age of Hollywood - their operatives show up anywhere and any time saying things like "Say, couldya help a fella out here ..." and are roughly as easily understood or misunderstood by "contemps" in the USA or England or wherever.

But cotton candy is candy not floss. Floss is in the US - cleaning ones teeth.

I absolutely loathe the use of ‘ gotten ‘, sets my teeth on edge.

Well, I owe you thanks. Last week I had been trying to remember a cark little shop in the back streets of Folkestone that sold what was it called all year round. Couldn't recall cotton candy either.
It's been floss since I was 7, 70 years back.
But I really wrote because some years back I had to spend ages going through a book for the book corner. British author, British setting, British publisher, but not just spelling. Tires, trunk, hood, sidewalk. Tippex and a fine point pen. I believed in the children seeing right spellings. I was peeved.

... a middle-aged man from the Home Counties saying something like ‘Say, everyone, I’ve stopped by to…’ This seems archaic by US standards, too - if I read a character starting a sentence with "say..." I'd assume the author wanted to set a scene roughly in the 1950s.

That’s really interesting because this book is set in this century, which makes me even more confused!

But surely this is a great example. It would have been called according to what/how it was made, technology is changing that so technically the word should change too. I'm surprised people can't see that

Ditto. I usually stop reading after that if it has been used.

I wouldn't use the word cookie to describe all types of biscuit, but there is a specific sort of (not really branded) biscuit sub type which i would term a cookie.

I.e. Maryland cookies are called cookies but feel like a biscuit to me (as they are hard and essentially just a chocolate chip biscuit) - these being the types of biscuit "branded" a cookie.

But in addition to that there's the type which is quite different from a biscuit, except in shape, really. They are soft and chewy instead of hard and crumbly. If I was planning to buy or make those then saying I'm going to buy/make biscuits wouldn't have the same meaning.

I agree! And ladybug/ladybird.

And Mom instead of Mum.
Color/neighbor instead of colour/neighbour. Although those are more different spellings than different words altogether.

Why?

I've posted this before, it completely bewildered me the first time I read it and it continues to bewilder me every time it comes up. As someone from Ireland, it's like having a hatred of the word "the". A completely normal, unremarkable word.

I find this fascinating, because the use of got instead of gotten as a past participle is in itself and example of evolving language. Gotten is the traditionally correct one. Pretty much every verb that is irregular in the simple past also has an irregular past participle, im pretty sure "have" is the only exception.
I swam- I have swum
I forgot- I have forgotten
I saw - I have seen
I went - I have gone

So it's totally fine to use got as in "I have got used to it" instead of "I have gotten used to it" in parts of the UK where it has become common parlance, but to say that you "loathe" the use of gotten I find really odd. It's not some quirky Americanism, it's just that the evolution from gotten to got just hasn't happened everywhere! To my ear, saying "I have got used to it" sounds as off as saying "I have went to the shop" but I understand that language evolves differently in different regions. I still can't bring myself to actually use it though, even though I am aware plenty of people "loathe" it.

And as we're on the subject, the diminutive word for Mother in Irish is "mamaí" which is pronounced more or less like "mommy", which is why plenty of Irish people use "mom". About as far from an Americanism as you can get. It irritates me that these posts always argue over "American English" and "British English" as if they are the only two types of English in existence.

I really don't think people are using "movie" instead of "film" Because technology has changed!

A little bit, though! The word presumably comes from the large film reels that used to run, and now don’t.

For a long time after we had humax and not videos, I used to ask DH if he had taped something: I realise I have stopped saying that now and I use “recorded”

I think there's a difference between someone saying 'candy' for 'sweets' and spelling 'colour' as 'color.' I care more about the latter than the former.

Well if you think about it, it was probably called film because it was on a film. Now it's not made like that. Same with most words ... Most etymologists assume that "movies" is a shortened form of the 1896 usage "moving pictures."

I've noticed a lot of children say ladybug now instead of ladybird i always correct them that its ladybird in the uk. ive also seen centre spelt as center quite a lot. Maybe im old fashioned as i agree and I also much prefer British english.

Yes exactly this, I find this with words I use too and young people seem baffled 😆

I've noticed more people saying "gotten", a word that has always irrationally irritated me.

I still can't get over how "genuinely" became confused with "generally".

In my area senior schools arecalled high schools.

and imo French fries are those skinny little chips you get in McDonalds, not nice fat UK chips so am pleased to differentiate between them.

I'm am Aussie.
Our schools have principals, this is not a recent thing (50 years ago I was taught how to differentiate between principal and principle "the principal is your pal")
What the hell is candy floss? It's fairy floss! 😁
Program for all uses, has been forever and a day.
How about we talk about non-uk standard usage rather than Americanisms...?
For those playing at home barrack (the shouty word) has the opposite meaning here. You barrack for your footy team means you support your footy team.