Britishisms in Stories About Americans, and Vice-Versa

[LAHomedog]

I have always believed that we all have a "stage size" that we can live our lives on. Let me use musicians as an example:

Every musical artist has a room size that they can interest and hold through their talent, music, stage presence and charisma. It called "holding the room."

Some can hold a local dance, some a bar's dance floor. Some move to shows, concerts, and the size of their venue changes. I've seen bands who were great in a 1,000 seat venue and died in 3,000 seats. Then you have the folks who can hold a 50,000 seat stadium and blow them away.

I have seen Sting move from intimate venues to some of the largest in the world. In a 16,000 seat venue I watched him step out solo with just an acoustic guitar and hold the room. A pin wouldn't drop. The Stones blew the roof off of Dodger Stadium.

I believe our lives are the same. We all have a room/stage that our lives play out on. At first, our world is the house (or houses) where we are raised, and then our neighborhood. Then our schools, and activity sites like playgrounds and fields. Eventually some of us start to branch out to other places.

Who we are, our talents, our curiosity, our drives and needs, success and how people react, all factor in. Some never leave their neighborhood. Some have lives in their city. They can hold that room. Some are national, and increasingly people are becoming citizens of the world and the planet is their life's stage. Sports, show business, and now the business world let's folks expand their lives to the world stage.

I think that impacts what we know about language and how colloquialisms move from community to community/culture to culture.

Take "fuck" as an example. Shag, bang, lay, etc. In Japan there is no word for fuck as a sexual act. The word is "fuck" learned from GIs after WWII.

After the Beatles everything in my world was "fab" and girls were "birds" And then there is jargon. If you work i theater, the things you hang lights on are "pipes" in England they are "barrels." I nearly got hit on the head on a stage in England because someone shouted, "Look out for that barrel," and I was looking on the floor not to trip And that's a true story.

 

[Handley_Page]

Many Americans have never traveled outside of their hometown/borough/county. This is true in small, rural towns and as well as big metropolises. In New York City, for example, many people are born and raised in Washington Heights, never leave the ten block radius of the neighborhood in their lives, not even to take a subway, and only speak the area’s Spanglish dialect. America is very segregated this way; for many Americans, not only the rest of the world but simply “mainstream America” is a myth.

This raises an interesting point. TV programmes are set in what seems to be a 'bigger' place (Pettycoat Junction notwithstanding). If a community has not seen it necessary to venture outside the county (or even the State?) how come the programme seems to represent the USA, rather than one small part of it ?

 

[jaF0]

TV programmes are

the programme seems

HARK!! There goes one now!!!


Another:

UK: 'helping us with our inquiries'
US: 'interrogating/questioning a suspect'

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

Quite Why they are called 'bungalows' is a bit of a mystery.
My aged parents lived in single-story house which the builder had given that name
but it did not feature a verandah and over-hanging roof.

It's a corruption of 'Bengali'; the East India Company standardized housing for it's staff with the Bengali-pattern house, usually a large, single-story house with a wraparound verandah and with nailed canvas ceilings.

The Honourable East India Company initially established 4 trading 'Presidencies' in India from about the 1680's; the Madras Presidency, based in the city of Madras, the Bengal Presidency, with the capital in Calcutta, the Bombay Presidency with the capital in Bombay (Mumbai) in India, and Burma, which changed around and came and went depending on which HEIC trading alliances and efforts in the region were most profitable. The bungalow was the British version of the typical Bengali-type house most British officers and East India Company tradespeople lived in.

 

[Trionyx]

All of this discussion about American versus British terminology ignores Australia. I am constantly amazed at the interesting word play, humorous descriptions and bawdy terminology that I read in stories from Australia. I am so happy there are good writers from down under on this site.

 

[SimonDoom]

All of this discussion about American versus British terminology ignores Australia. I am constantly amazed at the interesting word play, humorous descriptions and bawdy terminology that I read in stories from Australia. I am so happy there are good writers from down under on this site.

Please note that in my OP I mentioned our brethren Down Under. I hadn't forgotten. We've had some interesting contributions in this thread about Australia-isms.

On the subject of Australia and Australia-isms, one of my favorite travel books is In A Sunburned Country, by British-American author Bill Bryson about Australia. It's got this great passage (among many, many others):


“Australians are very unfair in this way. They spend half of any conversation insisting that the country's dangers are vastly overrated and that there's nothing to worry about, and the other half telling you how six months ago their Uncle Bob was driving to Mudgee when a tiger snake slid out from under the dashboard and bit him on the groin, but that it's okay now because he's off the life support machine and they've discovered he can communicate with eye blinks.”

 

[ElectricBlue]

All of this discussion about American versus British terminology ignores Australia. I am constantly amazed at the interesting word play, humorous descriptions and bawdy terminology that I read in stories from Australia. I am so happy there are good writers from down under on this site.

God's place on Earth, Trionyx, God's place on Earth. That's why it's an island, to keep all you northerners out.

And right now, that is the truth of it - we just need the jokers in power to get their shit in a pile and get the vacc program rolling, and by then it will be summer and we can go to the beach and not freeze our tits off. Which is what's happening at the moment - I think every state is seeing "coldest day in fifty years" records being broken. Don't tell Greta .

 

[RetroFan]

I nearly made a major anachronism with British slang in a story I wrote last year, 'Banging Cousin Becky In Blackpool'.

The story is set in 1955, and the titular character Becky is a hot lass from Liverpool, with a very broad Scouse accent and a loud voice to match. I thought that it would be a great idea for her to refer to her vagina as her fanny, and it wasn't until I had nearly finished that I found out the slang expression fanny wasn't used for vagina back when the story was set.

I changed these references, and while younger readers and those not from the UK probably wouldn't have picked up on it, older readers from England probably would have done so.

 

[Rustyoznail]

God's place on Earth, Trionyx, God's place on Earth. That's why it's an island, to keep all you northerners out.

And right now, that is the truth of it - we just need the jokers in power to get their shit in a pile and get the vacc program rolling, and by then it will be summer and we can go to the beach and not freeze our tits off. Which is what's happening at the moment - I think every state is seeing "coldest day in fifty years" records being broken. Don't tell Greta .

Bloody oath. The bloody wankers in Canberra couldn't organise a pissup in a brewery.

Went down the street to grab some tucker for tea, and fuck me, it's colder here than a witch's tit. Tell you what though, it's the wind straight off the Antarctic that's freezing my nuts off.

Decided to give gardening a miss and I'm going flat out like a lizard drinking on my Summer story. Thinking about group sex in the middle of a bushfire should keep me warm.

Edit - Surprisingly, Indian writers seem to use "Mom" instead of "Mum". I'm trying to make sure I follow that - Madiha sighed and tapped her phone. "Mom. Trying to connect me with some loser again."

Russ laughed. "Yeah, I know. My mum's similar, but not quite as pushy."

 

[geronimo_appleby]

There was a film with a similar title.
I remember "Kings bloody Cross" being one confusion.

PS 'Bloomers' are named for Mrs Amelia Bloomer (a noted women's rights activist) who did not like the restrictive undergarments of the time (1851).

there is a film, yep. there are another couple of titles as sequels to the book. i remember them being a gentle read.

 

[ElectricBlue]

there is a film, yep. there are another couple of titles as sequels to the book. i remember them being a gentle read.

They're very dated now. Thinking they're representative of Oz culture nowadays would be the same as saying London is still all Carnaby Street and Minis (cars and dresses).

 

[geronimo_appleby]

They're very dated now. Thinking they're representative of Oz culture nowadays would be the same as saying London is still all Carnaby Street and Minis (cars and dresses).

i read 'em in Melbourne during the 70s. took a tram to high school. 9 or 11. those were the days!

the tallest building on the skyline was Nauru House, and the Westgate Bridge wasn't finished! In fact, there was a gap between spans from the collapse as I recall.

 

[ElectricBlue]

the tallest building on the skyline was Nauru House, and the Westgate Bridge wasn't finished! In fact, there was a gap between spans from the collapse as I recall.

Yes, fiftieth anniversary of the collapse, October last year.

I can remember it, then Granville.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The story is set in 1955, and the titular character Becky is a hot lass from Liverpool, with a very broad Scouse accent and a loud voice to match. I thought that it would be a great idea for her to refer to her vagina as her fanny, and it wasn't until I had nearly finished that I found out the slang expression fanny wasn't used for vagina back when the story was set.

I changed these references, and while younger readers and those not from the UK probably wouldn't have picked up on it, older readers from England probably would have done so.

That surprises me - fanny meaning the vulval area in the UK appeared in writing from the late 1800s and possibly earlier, and it's a word that generation were using soon after. Though like many English words it could be regional, or perhaps a word men used and women didn't?

Example of regionalism - I grew up in the south all nice and middle-class, and while I knew of the word cunt as being one of two not permitted on the BBC before 9pm and allegedly would lead to instant arrest if used before a policeman, I never heard it in the wild until I was 17 or so.

Later I lived with a Glaswegian lass - who would use it every few sentences.

I'll use it in sexual contexts but almost never otherwise. I think one of my characters has used it as an insult (a NI man thinking he's being assumed to be a paramilitary). But like someone said upthread, it's important to agree with your female sexual partner what to call her bits that will feel erotic and not a turn-off. Finding her opinion on words like 'slut' is similar.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

When I was young, it was possible to meet people in the UK who had never traveled more than a few miles from their birthplace.

Now, almost everyone has been on a foreign holiday or visited relations in Australia or wherever.

But some Americans still think the rest of the world is a myth...

Hell, some Americans still think the other states are a myth. There are people who have never even ventured off the block they grew up on.

Then there are assholes like me who have been all over the world and the states. Read my bio for more info on that.

 

[oggbashan]

there is a film, yep. there are another couple of titles as sequels to the book. i remember them being a gentle read.

Paul O' Grady aka Nino Culotta, wrote "They're a Wierd Mob", "Cop this Lot", "Aussie Etiket" et al.

 

[jaF0]

We have a TV, not a Telly.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

That surprises me - fanny meaning the vulval area in the UK appeared in writing from the late 1800s and possibly earlier, and it's a word that generation were using soon after. Though like many English words it could be regional, or perhaps a word men used and women didn't?

Example of regionalism - I grew up in the south all nice and middle-class, and while I knew of the word cunt as being one of two not permitted on the BBC before 9pm and allegedly would lead to instant arrest if used before a policeman, I never heard it in the wild until I was 17 or so.

Later I lived with a Glaswegian lass - who would use it every few sentences.

I'll use it in sexual contexts but almost never otherwise. I think one of my characters has used it as an insult (a NI man thinking he's being assumed to be a paramilitary). But like someone said upthread, it's important to agree with your female sexual partner what to call her bits that will feel erotic and not a turn-off. Finding her opinion on words like 'slut' is similar.

Nearly every major metropolitan area or county town in Medieval England had its own Gropec*nt Lane, usually in the middle of town, near the main markets, and were the local prostitutes' trysting grounds. where johns tried the goods before taking the deal. Some of them now survive as Grope Lane or Grope Passage, and there were Gropec*nt Lane's in London (at least 5), Bristol, York, Shrewsbury, Newcastle, Norwich, Hereford, Worcestor, and old market towns like Banbury and Glastonbury.

The old Grope Lane in York even has an 18c pub with a prostitute's price list still scratched into one of the window leaded lights, and Magpie Lane in Oxford has just recently been proposed to have a historic plaque referring to its old name of 'Grope Lane'; local reports don't say whether or not the plaque will explain exactly why it got the name 'Grope Lane'...

 

[oggbashan]

We have a TV, not a Telly.

If you were Welsh, you'd have a Telly-Welly.

 

[SamScribble]

I was thinking last night about the expressions we Brits use to express our happiness or satisfaction with an outcome: 'Over the moon'; 'Made up'; 'Well chuffed'; etc. And that's just for starters.

 

[PennameWombat]

Hell, some Americans still think the other states are a myth. There are people who have never even ventured off the block they grew up on.

Then there are assholes like me who have been all over the world and the states. Read my bio for more info on that.

I have two sisters who’ve never resided more than a couple of miles from the home in Utah our late parents owned and we all grew up in. Their husbands are only slightly more distant than that. Both of them and their husbands have travelled but only in the US except one sister went to Banff in Canada.

As my bio says, I now live in Australia, after having lived on both US coasts at one time or another. As to travelling, I’ve so far missed two continents, South America and Antarctica. Have set foot on all of the others.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I was thinking last night about the expressions we Brits use to express our happiness or satisfaction with an outcome: 'Over the moon'; 'Made up'; 'Well chuffed'; etc. And that's just for starters.

Fucking aces, sticking out, dead chuffed, thrilled to bits, played for and got...

One thing that seems to characterise British and Australian English is a willingness to play with the language and expect your audience to keep up, and for them to figure out what is meant even if they don't know exactly why. I suspect American English is more similar to say BSL culture where the default is to explain as much as necessary in order to ensure no-one is excluded, having evolved partly as a lingua franca across the continent. There's probably a PhD thesis in there somewhere.

I'm actually in the middle of two stories with American man characters, and could do with some assistance in improving their dialogue and thoughts - once I remove all the phrases that sound too English, they end up rather too generic and bland despite various American words including lots of 'sure' 'okay' and 'anyways'. Anyone want to help spark up their language or check it over, please PM me! One is from one of those bits of New England that sounds quite posh and almost English, the other guy is from anywhere where they don't consider themselves Yankees (so assuming not NE).

In Britain, all Americans are Yanks no matter where they're from. Septics or Seppos when they're being the loudmouth embarrassing variety. (rhyming slang: septic tank = Yank)

 

[PennameWombat]

But to be fair, the “World Series” was originally a fair description when it started - at that time, baseball was exclusively a North American sport, and the champions of the two premier leagues played for the title.

Now? Tradition. Even though there are professional leagues in many other countries.

The enduring myth has always been that the World Series was named after a newspaper, the New York World, that had been around since the Civil War era. But, there are no contemporary mentions of that.

But the use of “World” to describe the various ‘championships’ that were played amongst the various top-level baseball leagues was used all the way back in the 1880s. The modern World Series dates from 1903, once the National League (founded: 1876) and the upstart American League (founded: 1901) quit fighting long enough to agree to a championship series. Continued arguing did lead to the National League champions NY Giants (yeah, the team now in San Francisco) refusing to play Boston in 1904, but they got their acts together for 1905 and since (except 1994, players strike).

Simply referring to it as the “World Series” as opposed to the “baseball world championship” or similar actually took a few years but seemed well hardened within a decade.

Anyway. Bitch all ya want about it. No one in the US, especially baseball fans, gives two (or even one) flying fucks what ya’ll think on the subject

There have been discussions of various levels of seriousness (ranging from ‘not at all’ to ‘not really but let’s pretend’) about having the US MLB World Series winner play the Nippon Professional Baseball league’s Nippon Series winner from Japan. Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen unless you feel like dying.

P.S. Baseball has traditionally been called in the US the “national pastime.” Before anyone thinks that was some sort of mid-twentieth century coinage by some advertising person… no. It was first used by newspapers to describe baseball in the 1850s.

 

[Handley_Page]

I was thinking last night about the expressions we Brits use to express our happiness or satisfaction with an outcome: 'Over the moon'; 'Made up'; 'Well chuffed'; etc. And that's just for starters.

'Well chuffed' is an ex-military expression
(it was the 'chuff chart' (days done over days to do) origin, I believe.

 

[jaF0]

Is that anything like 'short time' ... when you only have a few months left in your enlistment period?