Posted on 09/28/2012 9:03:01 AM PDT by C19fan
British people have long bemoaned the gradual encroachment of Americanisms into everyday speech, via Hollywood films and sitcoms. Now, "Britishisms" are crossing the pond the other way, thanks to the growing online popularity of British media such as Harry Potter, Downton Abbey and The Daily Mail. For example, BBC News reports that "ginger" as a descriptor of a red-haired, freckly person has shot up in usage in the United States since 1998. That's the year the first Harry Potter book, with its Weasley family of gingers, hit store shelves. The trend shows up in Google ngram searches, which track the frequency of words and phrases appearing in print.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Have you seen the UK version of “Law & Order?”..sometimes I wish they had subtitles..
And don’t tell an English hairdresser that you’d like your “bangs” trimmed. I learned that one the hard way.
You may be right. A large population of insecure Americans automatically think someone with a British accent is speaking with authority or superior wit. I can only speculate why this should be, but I've seen it, and so too the media moguls must know all about it.
So this is why Hannity has recently started to adopt a pseudo-British accent at times.
One of the oddest Britishisms I’ve heard is “moggie”, which means cat.
My nephew is a “ginger” stationed in Afghanistan. His buddies are now calling him Prince Harry. LOL. Oh, and my fave Englishism is “wanker!”
“Poofter” is as ‘stralian as lamb chops on the barbie and a cold tin straight from the esky.
No! But I try to watch every episode of “Top Gear”.
No! But I try to watch every episode of “Top Gear”.
I was raised pretty much by my Scottish granny, now I am a terrible speller, eg. is it grey or gray. ive also used colloquilisms such as “no worries” and “grab a pint” before they were cool. It does worry my mates when i am a bit in the cups, when I say something like “och, Ah dinnae ken!”
Ah the age old question.....Ginger or Maryann........
At the end of the day.... it’s all English
I didn’t know they stood online. I thought they stood in queues.
A classic example of verbing a noun.
You don’t have to tell me about Britishisms. I married a woman who grew up in England. Silverware is cutlery, milk containers are jugs, objects are “thingies”, tomatoes are pronounced with the short a, and a number more I’ve grown used to unconsciously.
“She fell pregnant”
My Scottish colleague told me of an episode of an afternoon ladies’ variety show he saw on the Beeb.
Now, to understand this gaffe, you have to know that a certain Britishism means something slightly geographically different than the American equivalent.
Anyway, Nigel and Fanny were the hosts of the show. For their last segment, a doughnut chef came on and showed them how to make doughnuts in the deep fryer. Fanny had the knack of making them perfect; Nigel, not so much.
Nigel had the honors of closing the show when time was up, so he did so thus:
“Well folks, that’s all the time we have for today. Here’s wishing you a happy tomorrow....and may all your doughnuts come out looking like Fannie’s.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.