14 of the most annoying ‘Americanisations’ of the English language
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Language, by its very nature, changes over time. It’s a dynamic and fluid thing, and that’s what makes it so fascinating.
Some of those changes are for the better. Many are relatively harmless. Some are a little frustrating, but you get used to them. And a few are, well, just plain wrong.
Video Credit: World Friends
On a popular UK forum called “Gransnet”, people lamented the impact of ‘Americanisation’ on the English language - that is, the influence of popular American media on English vocabularies... Here are a few of the most ‘annoying’ examples, according to members of the site.
1. 'Cell phone'
People found the term ‘cell phone’ annoying, having grown accustomed to ‘mobile’. How is it a cell and a phone at the same time? How did they even come up with the term?
2. 'Holiday'
As in ‘happy holidays’ instead of merry Christmas. Supposedly it’s popular among ‘woke’ types who don’t wish to offend anyone by mentioning a Christian Festival. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, calling holidays ‘vacations’!
3. 'Paycheck'
In America, a ‘paycheck’ is a cheque (in fact, these days it’s almost certainly just a direct deposit) that is given to an employee as payment for their work. In Australia and the UK, the word ‘salary’ or ‘wages’ is generally used.
4. 'My bad'
The modern equivalent of ‘mea culpa’, and possibly an excuse to avoid having to actually say sorry. This one just seems like an attention-seeking way of trying to be cool and different.
5. 'Closet'
This one was just confusing for some people as the term ‘closet’ is used to refer to a small room used for storage, whereas in America, a closet is just a cupboard. Although it might be a little funny to hear about someone finally ‘coming out of the cupboard’, the point still stands.
6. ‘Bathroom’
The mere term implies that a bathroom should be a room with a bath in it but the term is typically a euphemism for a toilet, as in ‘can I use your bathroom?’. Everyone was fine with calling them lavatories and toilets before, why do we need a change now? “Americans can be really crude but have this prissy use of euphemisms - it's almost Victorian’, said one user. Well, it’s still better than ‘restroom’!
7. ‘Pop’
In America, ‘pop’ or ‘soda’ is used to refer to carbonated drinks. This is different from the British and Aussie usages of the word, which is a shortening of the word ‘popular’ and typically refers to a genre of music. And here in Australia, we’ve always only ever known them as ‘soft drinks’!
8. 'Scent'
In America, ‘scent’ is used to refer to a perfume or cologne. In Britain & Australia, the word ‘scent’ is generally used to refer to a smell, regardless of whether it is pleasant or not. Chanel Number 5? That’s a scent. The smell of your backyard after your dog did his business? Yes, that is also a scent.
9. 'Reach out’
This phrase is used in America to mean ‘to contact someone.
10. 'My truth'
This phrase is used in America to mean ‘my opinion’. It is often used in discussion forums or comment sections. This one is a pet peeve of ours because it turns ‘truth’ into something subjective.
11. 'Lemme'
This is just a shortened version of the word ‘let me’, but it butchers the English language without actually saving you any syllables!
12. 'Ketchup’
Whoever heard of having ketchup on their meat pie or sausage roll? We’re not sure exactly why the term ‘ketchup’ took off in the US, but we’ll stick to tomato sauce, thanks!
Whoever termed 'Ketchup' needs to be fined... We're kidding! Image Credit: Shuttershock
13. 'Butt’
Granted, someone can be the ‘butt of a joke’, but aside from that, butts will always refer to the orange bit at the end of cigarettes as far as we’re concerned. Hearing the word ‘butt’ come out of a young person’s mouth can be, dare we say, a real pain in the bum.
14. ‘Cookie’
We think this one’s particularly egregious, particularly as the word ‘biscuit’ is so close to our hearts. Whoever heard of ‘tea & cookies’ or ‘ANZAC cookies’?
It's biscuits, NOT cookies. Image Credit: Shuttershock
So there you have it, the most annoying ‘Americanisations’ of the English language, according to the people of Gransnet. Even though Gransnet is a UK based site, we’ve definitely noticed similar changes creeping into the Australian vocabulary, particularly amongst younger Aussies.
Do you agree with the list? Are there any other ‘Americanisations’ of the English language that you find annoying? Let us know in the comments!
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