American English vs British - where does one begin and the other end?!
A moment of navel-gazing on the subject of the minutiae of writing.
I'm British, or British-English to be more precise, and my words are full of all the extra 'u's and French-style spellings. I'm aware, however, that most of my audience are American, and this tends to lead to some grammatical paranoia on my part.
Here are some examples of words and phrases I've fussed over, in fear of criticism from readers in the US and at home...
"...wrapped his legs around her waist in a vice hold..."
Americans use "vise" to denote the tool, but Brits use "vice" for both the tool and the moral habit. I stuck with the British version on this one.
"gotten"
I've used this word a fair bit through the series, but it's really an Americanism. Brits would generally just use "got" in place of it, but I think I've watched so much American TV that it's part of my language now!
"if it was" rather than "if it were"
I've noticed that American English speakers are REALLY conscious of the subjunctive, but it's not used as much in British English, even amongst the most educated and high-profile speakers. As I understand it, both versions are equally correct in British English, and "if it was" has always sounded more natural to me. More recently, however, I have been trying to use the "were" version in my writings (mostly out of fear of grammatical reprisals!). Since I've been doing this, I've noticed that the Prime Minister, MPs, BBC presenters and even Sherlock all say, "if I was" when describing hypothetical situations. And the other day, whilst watching Game of Thrones, I heard Charles Dance say, "if I were". It sounded really, really odd to me!
"to person x and I" rather than "to person x and me"
I'm naughty and I sometimes employ what's known as the creative use of the grammatical case/object-pronoun agreement. It's also described as a hypercorrection or solecism, and this one generally only happens in Brit Eng. There's a Wiki article on it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solecism
Like "gotten", it sounds quite natural in my speech, but probably irks others.
"a hill" rather than "an hill"
I always used to use "an" to precede words beginning with 'h' in my writings, but decided that was too archaic. I really wish I had used that now, as I itch to write it that way every time!
"the army were..." rather than "the army was..."
The collective noun is followed by a plural verb in Brit Eng, but a singular verb in Am Eng. I tend to stick with the British version.
Oxford comma.
I have mixed feelings about this when it comes to lists of things, and my writing probably reflects that!
In sum, I've tried to write in my native tongue, but in spite of my RP accent, I'm not sure that it's entirely British, or that such a thing even exists. These are just the conflicts I'm aware of, though I'm sure many of you will have noticed other terms and phrases that sound foreign.
Feel free to comment below if you remember any of these oddities in particular!
I'm British, or British-English to be more precise, and my words are full of all the extra 'u's and French-style spellings. I'm aware, however, that most of my audience are American, and this tends to lead to some grammatical paranoia on my part.
Here are some examples of words and phrases I've fussed over, in fear of criticism from readers in the US and at home...
"...wrapped his legs around her waist in a vice hold..."
Americans use "vise" to denote the tool, but Brits use "vice" for both the tool and the moral habit. I stuck with the British version on this one.
"gotten"
I've used this word a fair bit through the series, but it's really an Americanism. Brits would generally just use "got" in place of it, but I think I've watched so much American TV that it's part of my language now!
"if it was" rather than "if it were"
I've noticed that American English speakers are REALLY conscious of the subjunctive, but it's not used as much in British English, even amongst the most educated and high-profile speakers. As I understand it, both versions are equally correct in British English, and "if it was" has always sounded more natural to me. More recently, however, I have been trying to use the "were" version in my writings (mostly out of fear of grammatical reprisals!). Since I've been doing this, I've noticed that the Prime Minister, MPs, BBC presenters and even Sherlock all say, "if I was" when describing hypothetical situations. And the other day, whilst watching Game of Thrones, I heard Charles Dance say, "if I were". It sounded really, really odd to me!
"to person x and I" rather than "to person x and me"
I'm naughty and I sometimes employ what's known as the creative use of the grammatical case/object-pronoun agreement. It's also described as a hypercorrection or solecism, and this one generally only happens in Brit Eng. There's a Wiki article on it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solecism
Like "gotten", it sounds quite natural in my speech, but probably irks others.
"a hill" rather than "an hill"
I always used to use "an" to precede words beginning with 'h' in my writings, but decided that was too archaic. I really wish I had used that now, as I itch to write it that way every time!
"the army were..." rather than "the army was..."
The collective noun is followed by a plural verb in Brit Eng, but a singular verb in Am Eng. I tend to stick with the British version.
Oxford comma.
I have mixed feelings about this when it comes to lists of things, and my writing probably reflects that!
In sum, I've tried to write in my native tongue, but in spite of my RP accent, I'm not sure that it's entirely British, or that such a thing even exists. These are just the conflicts I'm aware of, though I'm sure many of you will have noticed other terms and phrases that sound foreign.
Feel free to comment below if you remember any of these oddities in particular!
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Jonathan
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Jul 06, 2014 10:53AM
Well trust me, in America we have both uses of vice. There are vice squads in almost every police department and who could ever forget (no matter how hard we try) the show, "Miami Vice". FYI, this was not a tool related show unless you are referring to the actors. As for the other differences between British English and American English I like to think that we didn't so much ruin it as improve or update it. With the notable exceptions such as "let me axe you a question" And "howdy y'all".
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Hahah! I'd have loved to have seen a show about the best wood-stabilising machinery in Miami. If only.The 'axe a question' thing happens over here too. We also have people who talk about reading 'textsis' on their phones, which sounds worryingly like 'testes'.
As for improving/updating our shared language, I was given to understand that you guys speak something closer to old English, and that we have a version made fashionable by men in tight breeches in the C19th. Rather!
Yes that is a common misconception. We, the Americans, carefully arranged for insiders that were sympathetic to our need to upgrade the language to bring about changes so as to keep British English from falling too far behind our changes. We for instance save a lot of ink, paint, etc due to the elimination of the unnecessary silent "e" you British were so fond of, shoppe being only one example. As for the American seemingly apparent use of some things that have an old English feel, we try to not flaunt our superiority by not using our full abilities when "foreigners" are around. Unfortunately the reality is that on both sides of "the pond" our languages are being destroyed by culture or the lack thereof. Who needs grammar and/or spelling when conversations consist of "w8 4 m3 @ da skol an w3 cruz l8tr".
Now get back to work and write more things for me to escape from this mess with.
Your fan and wannabe friend
Jonathan
Excerpt from the new book:tem3: dat mrl is 1 evl b1tch.
mor: i no rite.
tem3: yeh.
mor: hey u look hot tonite.
tem3: aw fanx u wanna go sumwere wiv m3?
mor: k
mrl: hey i no u 2 bin talkn bout m3 u will dye
slr: i new u wer gonna say dat
mrl: i kil u 2 u al dye now
slr: nah.
TBC...
Awesome! I can finally read a book I'll understand.
