americanism and britishism

You’re an American and you don’t know it!

Football or soccer? Sweets or candy? Trainers or sneakers? Pants or trousers?

Is your life becoming Americanised? We commonly notice, as English people, the American language slowly creeping into our vocabulary, letter by letter, attempting to prove us wrong on whether colour is spelt color, without the U. it’s just wrong, so stop it!

The slight differences between British English and American English are very refreshing and should not be changed or try to overcome the other. Clearly English people are unfamiliar with leaving other countries words alone*cough* *cough. * The division between the both help distinguish who we are and what other people are most likely going to think of us. For example, how Americans think we sit in all day drinking tea with the queen, eating nothing other than scones and fish and chips (not fries,) yet on the contrary I believe if we did live up to those stereotypical standards, English people wouldn’t be all that bad. The stereotypes, however obscure they may seem, do keep that barrier between the both quite nicely and can be very handy when socializing with the other party.

Many think that English people are just extremely stubborn with their language and want absolutely no one, under any circumstances, that it has got to be life or death situation to change it.  That the odd letter changing here, the idea to switch up a few words, like crisps and chips, just for the fun of it, is wrong. Which in some ways can be agreeable, I mean it is called English, right? You don’t go into a classroom and be told to learn American, so why should the language change?

The real difficulties English people have with American language is how everything needs to be explained, that the English version is just not enough detail and there needs to be more input for them to fully understand what is being talked about. My prime example being: horseback riding…. Instead of horse riding. As if it’s so ridiculously difficult to understand where to sit on the horse there must be information for it that specifically states horse’back’ riding.

The differences can be quite entertaining, especially if an English person is surrounded by Americans. It’s as if were a new species landed on earth, the whole accent that we have, by properly pronouncing our T’s and being especially renowned for our love of grammar, is apparently so uncommon there that we become a new tourist attraction ; (although no one denies the attention for sure)many proper English people play along with the act of being upper class, only towards clueless judges of character of course, as if our noses touch the sky automatically. The accent enables us to put on a front that the only problem English people have is running out of chocolate digestive biscuits.

Despite all the controversy, Americanism and Briticism works exquisitely, giving them individual cultures, even if some are considered grammatically incorrect, hey ho ey! At least there hasn’t been any dispute between the two, and we’ve learnt to leave them alone (finally)

Glad that’s been cleared up then, jobs a good’n!

      By Millie Thorogood