Brits irritated by Americanisms invading their country

Story from The Takeaway. Listen to audio above for full report.

English is English, right? Not so, according to Matthew Engel of The Guardian. Last week, he wrote an article for the BBC about the most offensive “Americanisms” — words or phrases that Americans have distorted over time. The list includes “faze,” “elevator,” and “rookies.” The Guardian then invited readers to send in their own most-hated Americanisms.

Engle’s beef is that these Americanisms are becoming more and more prevalent in the UK. “Countless routine British usages have either been superseded or are being challenged by their American equivalents,” he wrote. “We no longer watch a film, we go to the movies. We increasingly have trucks not lorries. A hike is now a wage or price rise not a walk in the country.”

It’s not about keeping British English pure, said Engle, his concern is about broader cultural implications. “What we’ve got is this completely mindless acceptance of everything American because people here don’t know any better, and that’s a problem,” he told The Takeaway.

Read Matthew Engel’s article for the BBC.

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