Americanisms...is it just me that finds them irritating?

ValHaller

Annoying Americanism is 'attendee' instead of 'attender'. This started about 35 years ago - and I am sure someone will pop up and say 'attendee' is correct.

Pont

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Are 'gonna' and 'wanna' Americanisms?

Nope, South Shropshire/Radnorshire 'isms'.

Binna, canna, gonna, wanna!

BritAbroad

There are some Americanisms that bug me - 'adorable' being one. Anything that's remotely sweet, or funny or just plain endearing, is 'adorable'. However, since I live in the US, I have to let them wash over me.

A phrase that did catch me out is 'visit with', e.g. 'come visit with me and I'll be your cashier'. It means 'come and see me and I'll take your payment'. It just strikes me every time as a very odd way to use the word 'visit'.

I think people are a little less insular in the state where I live because there is a lot of defence-based employment which means people get moved around a lot. In saying that, I still encounter a great many people who've never been out of the US, and a fair few who have never been outside of the state. My accent is an endless source of fascination, and I've probably heard the phrase 'I love your accent' more often than anything else! Someone thought I sounded like Lady Mary from Downton Abbey recently, which amused me greatly!

I find I modify my speech just to be understood at times, though it certainly doesn't come naturally. One thing I cannot do is change how I discuss time - I always say half past ten, two o'clock etc, rather than 10.30 or 2p.m. It's so ingrained I don't think i'll ever be able to change that!

geminilady

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Biscuits and gravy. Where the gravy is actually a white sauce with crumbled sausage meat in it. Blech! But not nearly as blech as grits. That stuff should be banned, especially when it has melted butter in it.

Strangely enough they also have normal gravy made from meat juices but that's never eaten with American biscuits, which are really scones to us.

Another strangeness was chopped, mixed vegetables in lemon jelly (Jello) served as an accompaniment to a main course. Wherever that came from needs to go straight back there.

I always wondered what biscuits and gravy was,does not sound nice,what exactly are grits?

lostinrates

geminilady wrote: »

I always wondered what biscuits and gravy was,does not sound nice,what exactly are grits?

Grits are ground corn 'porridge' a little like polenta when its eaten in its porridgey state rather than its solid one grilled. You can have them plain, or with gravy, sausage, cheese or .....shrimp. Shrimp is one of the words I'm never very sure of. I know shrimp is shrimp and grits but when I think about it too long I get confused about shrimp versus prawn in UK and other english.

jackieblack

geminilady wrote: »

what exactly are grits?

Disgusting! That's exactly what grits are!

claire16c

BritAbroad wrote: »

There are some Americanisms that bug me - 'adorable' being one. Anything that's remotely sweet, or funny or just plain endearing, is 'adorable'. However, since I live in the US, I have to let them wash over me.

A phrase that did catch me out is 'visit with', e.g. 'come visit with me and I'll be your cashier'. It means 'come and see me and I'll take your payment'. It just strikes me every time as a very odd way to use the word 'visit'.

I think people are a little less insular in the state where I live because there is a lot of defence-based employment which means people get moved around a lot. In saying that, I still encounter a great many people who've never been out of the US, and a fair few who have never been outside of the state. My accent is an endless source of fascination, and I've probably heard the phrase 'I love your accent' more often than anything else! Someone thought I sounded like Lady Mary from Downton Abbey recently, which amused me greatly!

I find I modify my speech just to be understood at times, though it certainly doesn't come naturally. One thing I cannot do is change how I discuss time - I always say half past ten, two o'clock etc, rather than 10.30 or 2p.m. It's so ingrained I don't think i'll ever be able to change that!

Or 'quarter after' !

Frith

Pont wrote: »

Nope, South Shropshire/Radnorshire 'isms'.

Binna, canna, gonna, wanna!

Not in this house, they're not!

adouglasmhor

jackieblack wrote: »

I thought a push up was a kind of brassiere

No pic?

adouglasmhor

GlynD wrote: »

As much as I hate Americanisms there's nothing I can do about them going into general speech and I even find myself using them from time to time. Not half as bad as British people trying to speak like Jamaicans though - now that really grinds my gears! :mad:

Ah raas mahn don't be blaad claat.

Seriously at my stepson's school in London was a genuine white Jamaican teacher and he used to rip into kids who did that. He knew some colourful terms and all the parents loved him. He had taught some of them too.