Why do some Americanisms irritate people?

[Loki]

Why do some Americanisms irritate people? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/14130942)

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54048000/jpg/_54048011_mont_getty_464.jpg

British people are used to the stream of Americanisms entering the language. But some are worse than others, argues Matthew Engel.

I have had a lengthy career in journalism. I hope that's because editors have found me reliable. I have worked with many talented colleagues. Sometimes I get invited to parties and meet influential people. Overall, I've had a tremendous time.

Lengthy. Reliable. Talented. Influential. Tremendous.

All of these words we use without a second thought were never part of the English language until the establishment of the United States.

The Americans imported English wholesale, forged it to meet their own needs, then exported their own words back across the Atlantic to be incorporated in the way we speak over here. Those seemingly innocuous words caused fury at the time.

The poet Coleridge denounced "talented" as a barbarous word in 1832, though a few years later it was being used by William Gladstone. A letter-writer to the Times, in 1857, described "reliable" as vile.

My grandfather came to London on the outbreak of World War I and never lost his mid-European accent. His descendants have blended into the landscape. That's what happens with immigration. It's the same with vocabulary migration.

The French have always hated this process with a very Gallic passion, and their most august body L'Academie Francaise issues regular rulings on the avoidance of imported words. English isn't like that. It is a far more flexible language. Anarchic even.

That's part of the secret of its success. It has triumphed where Latin, French and the artificial language of Esperanto all ultimately failed, and become the natural medium of global communication. This is the version of English sometimes known as "Globish".

To use it requires only a rudimentary knowledge of grammar and, so it is said, a vocabulary of a mere 1,500 words.

But what the world is speaking - even on levels more sophisticated than basic Globish - is not necessarily our English. According to the Oxford Guide to World English, "American English has a global role at the beginning of the 21st Century comparable to that of British English at the start of the 20th".

The alarming part is that this is starting to show in the language we speak in Britain. American usages no longer swim to our shores as single spies, as "reliable" and "talented" did. They come in battalions.

In the 1930s, the talkies took hold and represented the first overwhelming manifestation of American cultural power. This was reinforced in the 1940s by the presence of large numbers of US servicemen in Britain and the 1950s marked the heyday of the western.

There may have been a brief pushback after that, in the era of Swinging London, as Bill Haley and Elvis faded, and the Beatles and Stones conquered the world, along with words like "fab" and "groovy". In the years since, however, the movement seems to have become overwhelming, unstoppable and almost wholly one way, with the exception of Harry Potter.

American culture is ubiquitous in Britain on TV and the web. As our computers talk to us in American, I keep having to agree to a license spelt with an s. I am invited to print something in color without the u. I am told "you ghat mail". It is, of course, always e-mail - never our own more natural usage, e-post.

As an ex-American resident, I remain a big fan of baseball. But I sit over here and listen to people who know nothing of the games talk about ideas coming out of "left field". They speak about "three strikes and you're out" or stepping up to the plate" without the foggiest idea what these phrases mean. I think the country has started to lose its own sense of itself.

In many respects, English and American are not coming together. When it comes to new technology, we often go our separate ways. They have cellphones - we have mobiles. We go to cash points or cash machines - they use ATMs. We have still never linked hands on motoring terminology - petrol, the boot, the bonnet, known in the US as gas, the trunk, the hood.

Yet in the course of my own lifetime, countless routine British usages have either been superseded or are being challenged by their American equivalents. 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.

Ugly and pointless new usages appear in the media and drift into everyday conversation:

Faze, as in "it doesn't faze me"

Hospitalize, which really is a vile word

Wrench for spanner

Elevator for lift

Rookies for newcomers, who seem to have flown here via the sports pages.

Guy, less and less the centrepiece of the ancient British festival of 5 November - or, as it will soon be known, 11/5. Now someone of either gender.

And, starting to creep in, such horrors as ouster, the process of firing someone, and outage, meaning a power cut. I always read that as outrage. And it is just that.

I am all for a living, breathing language that evolves with the times. I accept that estate agents prefer to sell apartments rather than flats - they sound more enticing. I accept that we now have freight trains rather than goods trains - that's more accurate.

I accept that sometimes American phrases have a vigour and vivacity. A relative of mine told me recently he went to a business meeting chaired by a Californian woman who wanted everyone to speak frankly. It was "open kimono". How's that for a vivid expression?

But what I hate is the sloppy loss of our own distinctive phraseology through sheer idleness, lack of self-awareness and our attitude of cultural cringe. We encourage the diversity offered by Welsh and Gaelic - even Cornish is making a comeback. But we are letting British English wither.

Britain is a very distinct country from the US. Not better, not worse, different. And long live that difference. That means maintaining the integrity of our own gloriously nuanced, subtle and supple version - the original version - of the English language.

A selection of your most disliked Americanisms will be published soon.

[Grumpy Cat]

The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag. I don't know why, it just does.

And when a Canadian announcer used it on TV ("the murder suspect was driving a red truck with New Brunswick tags"), I burst into an irrational fit of rage and threw an apple at my TV.

Then there are some I just don't understand and have to get the person to repeat. But I am kind of a linguistic nerd so learning new idioms is interesting. Yes, even Americanisms.

When I was in the US for a long time a few years ago it took me a while to figure out what "fixing to" meant.

[Joe McCarthy]

What personally perplexes and amuses me is that oftentimes the same people complaining about 'cultural imperialism' and the like use ebonics slang - something I make an effort to avoid using.

[Beorn]

When Americans can learn to speak English and stop saying, FOR EXAMPLE: "Adver-tize-ments" instead of "advertis-ments" then we'll talk civilly.

[BeerBaron]

The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag. I don't know why, it just does.

And when a Canadian announcer used it on TV ("the murder suspect was driving a red truck with New Brunswick tags"), I burst into an irrational fit of rage and threw an apple at my TV.

Then there are some I just don't understand and have to get the person to repeat. But I am kind of a linguistic nerd so learning new idioms is interesting. Yes, even Americanisms.

When I was in the US for a long time a few years ago it took me a while to figure out what "fixing to" meant.

I lived in the US for 4 years while at university and I never heard anyone use tags instead of license plate, but I think the "fixing to" is a southern thing:confused:

[Birka]

When Americans can learn to speak English and stop saying, FOR EXAMPLE: "Adver-tize-ments" instead of "advertis-ments" then we'll talk civilly.

OK, we'll shed-ulize some time for that.

[Phil75231]

When I was in the US for a long time a few years ago it took me a while to figure out what "fixing to" meant.

I think BeerBaron's right - "fixing to" is more of a Southernism than Standard American English. It means "about to"...as in "I'm fixin' to get ready to go on my trip. Then I gotta get some gas for my car and load the trunk with the luggage." (don't know of "luggage" is an Americanism or not, though).

I also hear "license plate" more than "tag".

[Grumpy Cat]

Maybe "tag" is a black thing. I've heard many blacks (though some whites, but more blacks) say "tag". Also heard George Carlin say it but I think he grew up around black people if I'm not mistaken. Maybe it is.

It just bugs me for some reason. I hear "tag" and I expect to see some kind of tag hanging off a car.

[Austin]

Europe should just not import American media.


America has no problem not importing near-anything of European media. (This is because Jewish/Capitalist interest would prefer Europe remain in Americans minds as the land of soccer, welfare, and vacation trips).


Europe should do the same. I agree, American media is catastrophic for a land that doesn't have the same storyline and culture.

[Grumpy Cat]

I have to say, my favourite American expression is "Slick as eagle shit". Means someone who is cunning, I guess. The person who said it, I think was from the Deep South if I remember correctly, and he was white.

When I first heard it, I burst out laughing. I love it.

[Phil75231]

Haha, Acadian. Never heard that one. Sounds to me like it's just an individual who either made that one up himself, or heard it from a similarly creative individual.

One imaginative one I read about, but never heard, was "They think they shit rose petals and piss perfume". That sounds more like a Hollywoodism than an actual Texan saying (though small-towns here are reputed to have plenty of colorful expressions. I can't say for sure as I live in the heart of the state's largest metropolitan area - and not a native Texan besides).

[BeerBaron]

I have to say, my favourite American expression is "Slick as eagle shit". Means someone who is cunning, I guess. The person who said it, I think was from the Deep South if I remember correctly, and he was white.

When I first heard it, I burst out laughing. I love it.

are you sure these are americanisms or are they canadians making fun of americans by saying something they think americans would say, :confused: I've never heard of any of these before you mentioned them, and I lived in the US.

Or maybe they are really old sayings, like from ww2. I think I heard slicker than goose shit in a ww2 movie.

[SaxonCeorl]

That's a tremendous article, Loki; very lengthy, yet seemingly reliable. I'm sure the author is a very influental and talented individual.

Whew, I'm tired, I've been watching chicks play soccer for half the day while getting hit up on my cell phone. I'm going to go drink some pop to re-energize myself.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Some of these are regional or minority usages.


"open kimono".

Never heard that one.


The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag.

Rarely hear that, usually license plates. The exception is the paper temporary placards are called 'tags'.


When Americans can learn to speak English and stop saying, FOR EXAMPLE: "Adver-tize-ments" instead of "advertis-ments" then we'll talk civilly.

My dad says "advertis-ments", though that is very rare.


"Slick as eagle shit".

Never heard that one either.

Like others said, "fixin' to" is a deep south regional thing. The midwestern version is "going to go ahead and..."

[Boudica]

Because they are fucking annoying and have the cocky we are the best mentality, it is great to have pride in your country but annoying cockiness is not great..

[Grumpy Cat]

Haha, Acadian. Never heard that one. Sounds to me like it's just an individual who either made that one up himself, or heard it from a similarly creative individual.

He said it was a saying. Anyways, there are some American expressions I find interesting. There are some idioms that people from England have used on here that I find quite funny and interesting as well.

As for "tags", must be a black thing now that I think about it. I have heard whites say it as well, but not as often as blacks. But speaking of black American terms, I usually don't understand them but one I found quite amusing is "the itis". It's basically that really gross tired and just want to pass out on the couch feeling you get after you've eaten something too rich. I don't think there is a term in Canadian French or English for that, or if white Americans have a term for it, either.

[Sikeliot]

I've never heard anyone in the US call a license plate a tag :lol:

[SwordoftheVistula]

speaking of black American terms, I usually don't understand them but one I found quite amusing is "the itis". It's basically that really gross tired and just want to pass out on the couch feeling you get after you've eaten something too rich. I don't think there is a term in Canadian French or English for that, or if white Americans have a term for it, either.

Nope, never heard that word before. Not really a word for it in white culture. Maybe it's something that happens to blacks more. I guess I will have to start listening to rap again to learn all these new words.

[Edmond_Dantes]

He said it was a saying. Anyways, there are some American expressions I find interesting. There are some idioms that people from England have used on here that I find quite funny and interesting as well.

As for "tags", must be a black thing now that I think about it. I have heard whites say it as well, but not as often as blacks. But speaking of black American terms, I usually don't understand them but one I found quite amusing is "the itis". It's basically that really gross tired and just want to pass out on the couch feeling you get after you've eaten something too rich. I don't think there is a term in Canadian French or English for that, or if white Americans have a term for it, either.

Yeah, I've never heard anyone refer to a license plate as a "tag" at all - nor anyone saying "open kimono" or "slick as eagle shit." The only time I've ever heard of "the itis" is on The Boondocks.

"Fixin' to," as everyone else has said, is mainly a Southern thing - I heard a Yank from Boston say it once, but he was obsessed with Westerns and the like, which is where I assume he got it from. The only other people I know who said it were my ex-girlfriend and her family, who came from Texas originally. Where I'm from, we say "going to" or "getting ready to."

[Ouistreham]

The French have always hated this process with a very Gallic passion, and their most august body L'Academie Francaise issues regular rulings on the avoidance of imported words.

OMG. This urban legend will never die...

[Bridie]

Why do some Americanisms irritate people?

Because they're not ours. Just a constant reminder that our cultures are under threat from US cultural imperialism.

[rhiannon]

Why do some Americanisms irritate people? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/14130942)

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54048000/jpg/_54048011_mont_getty_464.jpg

British people are used to the stream of Americanisms entering the language. But some are worse than others, argues Matthew Engel.

I have had a lengthy career in journalism. I hope that's because editors have found me reliable. I have worked with many talented colleagues. Sometimes I get invited to parties and meet influential people. Overall, I've had a tremendous time.

Lengthy. Reliable. Talented. Influential. Tremendous.

All of these words we use without a second thought were never part of the English language until the establishment of the United States.

The Americans imported English wholesale, forged it to meet their own needs, then exported their own words back across the Atlantic to be incorporated in the way we speak over here. Those seemingly innocuous words caused fury at the time.

The poet Coleridge denounced "talented" as a barbarous word in 1832, though a few years later it was being used by William Gladstone. A letter-writer to the Times, in 1857, described "reliable" as vile.

My grandfather came to London on the outbreak of World War I and never lost his mid-European accent. His descendants have blended into the landscape. That's what happens with immigration. It's the same with vocabulary migration.

The French have always hated this process with a very Gallic passion, and their most august body L'Academie Francaise issues regular rulings on the avoidance of imported words. English isn't like that. It is a far more flexible language. Anarchic even.

That's part of the secret of its success. It has triumphed where Latin, French and the artificial language of Esperanto all ultimately failed, and become the natural medium of global communication. This is the version of English sometimes known as "Globish".

To use it requires only a rudimentary knowledge of grammar and, so it is said, a vocabulary of a mere 1,500 words.

But what the world is speaking - even on levels more sophisticated than basic Globish - is not necessarily our English. According to the Oxford Guide to World English, "American English has a global role at the beginning of the 21st Century comparable to that of British English at the start of the 20th".

The alarming part is that this is starting to show in the language we speak in Britain. American usages no longer swim to our shores as single spies, as "reliable" and "talented" did. They come in battalions.

In the 1930s, the talkies took hold and represented the first overwhelming manifestation of American cultural power. This was reinforced in the 1940s by the presence of large numbers of US servicemen in Britain and the 1950s marked the heyday of the western.

There may have been a brief pushback after that, in the era of Swinging London, as Bill Haley and Elvis faded, and the Beatles and Stones conquered the world, along with words like "fab" and "groovy". In the years since, however, the movement seems to have become overwhelming, unstoppable and almost wholly one way, with the exception of Harry Potter.

American culture is ubiquitous in Britain on TV and the web. As our computers talk to us in American, I keep having to agree to a license spelt with an s. I am invited to print something in color without the u. I am told "you ghat mail". It is, of course, always e-mail - never our own more natural usage, e-post.

As an ex-American resident, I remain a big fan of baseball. But I sit over here and listen to people who know nothing of the games talk about ideas coming out of "left field". They speak about "three strikes and you're out" or stepping up to the plate" without the foggiest idea what these phrases mean. I think the country has started to lose its own sense of itself.

In many respects, English and American are not coming together. When it comes to new technology, we often go our separate ways. They have cellphones - we have mobiles. We go to cash points or cash machines - they use ATMs. We have still never linked hands on motoring terminology - petrol, the boot, the bonnet, known in the US as gas, the trunk, the hood.

Yet in the course of my own lifetime, countless routine British usages have either been superseded or are being challenged by their American equivalents. 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.

Ugly and pointless new usages appear in the media and drift into everyday conversation:

Faze, as in "it doesn't faze me"

Hospitalize, which really is a vile word

Wrench for spanner

Elevator for lift

Rookies for newcomers, who seem to have flown here via the sports pages.

Guy, less and less the centrepiece of the ancient British festival of 5 November - or, as it will soon be known, 11/5. Now someone of either gender.

And, starting to creep in, such horrors as ouster, the process of firing someone, and outage, meaning a power cut. I always read that as outrage. And it is just that.

I am all for a living, breathing language that evolves with the times. I accept that estate agents prefer to sell apartments rather than flats - they sound more enticing. I accept that we now have freight trains rather than goods trains - that's more accurate.

I accept that sometimes American phrases have a vigour and vivacity. A relative of mine told me recently he went to a business meeting chaired by a Californian woman who wanted everyone to speak frankly. It was "open kimono". How's that for a vivid expression?

But what I hate is the sloppy loss of our own distinctive phraseology through sheer idleness, lack of self-awareness and our attitude of cultural cringe. We encourage the diversity offered by Welsh and Gaelic - even Cornish is making a comeback. But we are letting British English wither.

Britain is a very distinct country from the US. Not better, not worse, different. And long live that difference. That means maintaining the integrity of our own gloriously nuanced, subtle and supple version - the original version - of the English language.

A selection of your most disliked Americanisms will be published soon.

This American is getting a kick out out of this post already! :lol:

[rhiannon]

Because they're not ours. Just a constant reminder that our cultures are under threat from US cultural imperialism.

American culture really ain't all that it's cracked up to be. Much of it is a study in empty values.

Blech.

[rhiannon]

The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag. I don't know why, it just does.

And when a Canadian announcer used it on TV ("the murder suspect was driving a red truck with New Brunswick tags"), I burst into an irrational fit of rage and threw an apple at my TV.

Then there are some I just don't understand and have to get the person to repeat. But I am kind of a linguistic nerd so learning new idioms is interesting. Yes, even Americanisms.

When I was in the US for a long time a few years ago it took me a while to figure out what "fixing to" meant.

Actually, we don't call the plates themselves, tags. We are referring to the little sticker on the plate that shows the month and year of registration expiration. To renew our tags means to renew the registration of our cars so we don't get busted by a traffic cop.

[rhiannon]

I lived in the US for 4 years while at university and I never heard anyone use tags instead of license plate, but I think the "fixing to" is a southern thing:confused:

Yes, it is. We west coasties don't use that phraseology.

But I DO say "adver-TIZE-ments.

:hiding::fear:

[Bridie]

American culture really ain't all that it's cracked up to be. Much of it is a study in empty values.

Blech.I'm not passing judgement on American culture(s) or cultural values as far as they apply to Americans... I just think that cultural imperialism (of any description or origin) is a negative thing... leads to cultural death in all countries outside of the country of origin.

[rhiannon]

I'm not passing judgement on American culture(s) or cultural values as far as they apply to Americans... I just think that cultural imperialism (of any description or origin) is a negative thing... leads to cultural death in all countries outside of the country of origin.

I know what you mean. :)

[Peasant]

It's news to me that it is meant to be pronounced 'advertis-ments'.

[The Ripper]

What personally perplexes and amuses me is that oftentimes the same people complaining about 'cultural imperialism' and the like use ebonics slang - something I make an effort to avoid using.

nigga plz.

om7O0MFkmpw

[Graham]

People here, including myself, use Americanism's without realizing it. To much MTV, comedy central etc.. It sounds weird the way youse pronounce Iran and Iraq also.

[Bridie]

What personally perplexes and amuses me is that oftentimes the same people complaining about 'cultural imperialism' and the like use ebonics slang - something I make an effort to avoid using.
The sort of people who would seriously use black American slang would not even know what the term "cultural imperialism" means.

Too many syllables. ;) :D

[Allenson]

The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag. I don't know why, it just does.


That one kind of bugs me too--we don't say 'tags' here either. If someone around here uses 'tags', it's a dead give away that they're from somewhere else.

It's more of a mid-western thing from what I understand and it actually means the registration sticker applied to the plate and not the plate itself.

[MagnaLaurentia]

Oh Old Europe... I don't know if I should support the Americans on this thread (because I don't know English very well) but I know that the French have the same kind of reaction on the Québécois French langage.

[Grumpy Cat]

Actually, we don't call the plates themselves, tags. We are referring to the little sticker on the plate that shows the month and year of registration expiration. To renew our tags means to renew the registration of our cars so we don't get busted by a traffic cop.

Oh, so they're the registration stickers. :p

[Grumpy Cat]

I use American spellings online mainly because most computer programming languages use them in their syntax. When I first started programming, I couldn't figure out why my code never worked, it was because of that. My handwriting is Canadian standard English which is different and actually closer to British, although Canadians do use a lot of American idioms, especially those who live close to the border. I'm thinking near border dwelling Americans have picked up Canadian sayings as well.

In Canada we spell it "COLOUR" and "ADVERTISEMENT" and "CHEQUE".

But also, the spell check on my browser puts that annoying red squiggly line under the words spelled that way, it prefers the American spelling.

[Moustache]

Are the English inherently un-patriotic, owing to the large amount of Romance loanwords from a language they've had a historical rivalry with, on top of it all? Of course not.

Since intellectual discourse with its concepts is biased towards Latin-derived words, are intellectuals actually chain dogs of Romance imperialism who should be stood up against the wall to statuate an example make shit clear? No!

This goes completely above the head of how the actual science, linguistics, deals with the development of a language. It is descriptive and non-evaluative. And if "LOL" gets its own entry in the Oxford dictionary, what then? Determining whether it made the cut were the same criteria that apply to other words, specifically, the number of references. Taking cartography as a comparison, the question is what the threshhold in size should be set to, above which all rivers are included. That people will say something along the lines of "Bitch, the spread of alluvial plains around my river is vastly greater than yours!" has naught to do with cartography and all to do with "I rule, you suck".

Hungarian has incorporated words from the Anglosphere as well, even in a phonetically transcribed form as opposed to other languages that keep the original English orthography. A few examples:

fájl = file (IT)

taccsra tesz (fig.) = to sideline so., originally football-realted from "putting the ball into touch"

fícsör = feature (in business, tech - related jargon)

There's some drama about Americanisation going on in the media, but especially in the last example cited (feature), the ironic context of the word is apparent, there being a multitude of more frequently used lexemes to express the thought. There is an underlying critique of the materialistic attitude of the nouveau riche here; the wisdom that while somebody in a suit might feel all flashy using Americanisms, earn big money and drive luxurious cars, he remains unconscious to the fact that he will never be a man of culture.

So British English and its varieties have weathered a lot more through history than some terms seeping into it from IT, mass-communication, social-network related contexts. You can express anything in a language with just a limited set of vocabulary at your disposal, hell, you can become a muhfugging lyrical wordsmith yo. Language is a free and wild beast, let it roam and leave it the hell alone.

[Bridie]

I use American spellings online mainly because most computer programming languages use them in their syntax. When I first started programming, I couldn't figure out why my code never worked, it was because of that. My handwriting is Canadian standard English which is different and actually closer to British, although Canadians do use a lot of American idioms, especially those who live close to the border. I'm thinking near border dwelling Americans have picked up Canadian sayings as well.

In Canada we spell it "COLOUR" and "ADVERTISEMENT" and "CHEQUE".

But also, the spell check on my browser puts that annoying red squiggly line under the words spelled that way, it prefers the American spelling.
Canadian English, in regards to spelling only, is a blending of British English and American English... certainly not closer to British English than American though. In all other respects, Canadian English is indistinguishable from American English.

[rhiannon]

Oh, so they're the registration stickers. :p

Yes.

[Grumpy Cat]

Canadian English, in regards to spelling only, is a blending of British English and American English... certainly not closer to British English than American though. In all other respects, Canadian English is indistinguishable from American English.

Spoken, yes (well except for Newfoundland English that's a whole other beast on its own :D) but Canadian English written is closer to the British standard. My word processor is set to Canadian English and it doesn't like Americanisms at all. Likewise, my browser is set to American English and it doesn't like Canadianisms.

If I copied a post from a British member and an American member into my word processor and did a grammar check, it would spit out more errors in the American's post.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Oh, so they're the registration stickers. :p

No, it's sometimes used in the way you first said, "a blue Ford with North Carolina tags" as in "a Liberian flagged freighter". It's just a minority/regional use. Maybe some regions use it to refer to the registration stickers, idk, but some use it to refer to the plates.

[Don]

Some people have accused me of using an americanism when I use the word Honor. Nothing more wrong. That nest of jews is a desert of honor, the antithesis of such a sacred virtue.

When I write "honor" and not "honour" is because of this:


honor.
(Del lat. honor, -ōris).
1. m. Cualidad moral que lleva al cumplimiento de los propios deberes respecto del prójimo y de uno mismo.
2. m. Gloria o buena reputación que sigue a la virtud, al mérito o a las acciones heroicas, la cual trasciende a las familias, personas y acciones mismas de quien se la granjea.
3. m. Honestidad y recato en las mujeres, y buena opinión que se granjean con estas virtudes.
4. m. Obsequio, aplauso o agasajo que se tributa a alguien.
5. m. Acto por el que alguien se siente enaltecido. Su visita fue un honor para mí.
6. m. dignidad (‖ cargo o empleo). U. m. en pl. Aspirar a los honores de la República, de la Magistratura.
7. m. pl. Concesión que se hace en favor de alguien para que use el título y preeminencias de un cargo o empleo como si realmente lo tuviera, aunque le falte el ejercicio y no goce gajes algunos. Al ministro se le rindieron honores de Jefe de Estado.
8. m. pl. Ceremonial con que se celebra a alguien por su cargo o dignidad.
9. f. ant. Heredad, patrimonio.
10. f. ant. Usufructo de las rentas de alguna villa o castillo realengos, concedido por el rey a un caballero.
con ~es de.
1. loc. prepos. U. para dar a entender que algo se aproxima a otra cosa tenida por superior o más importante. Una casa con honores de palacio.
hacer ~ a algo.
1. loc. verb. Demostrar ser digno de algo. Hace honor a su nombre.
hacer los ~es.
1. loc. verb. Dicho de un anfitrión: Atender a sus invitados.
2. loc. verb. Dicho de un invitado: Manifestar aprecio de la comida tomando bastante de ella.

[Grumpy Cat]

wYmrg3owTRE

6ogM0aDe2Pc

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Odoacer]

Maybe "tag" is a black thing. I've heard many blacks (though some whites, but more blacks) say "tag". Also heard George Carlin say it but I think he grew up around black people if I'm not mistaken. Maybe it is.


As for "tags", must be a black thing now that I think about it. I have heard whites say it as well, but not as often as blacks.


No, it's sometimes used in the way you first said, "a blue Ford with North Carolina tags" as in "a Liberian flagged freighter". It's just a minority/regional use. Maybe some regions use it to refer to the registration stickers, idk, but some use it to refer to the plates.

I've honestly never heard "tags" used to refer to the registration stickers. In my experience it is largely a Southernism (hence probably why AD has heard more blacks than whites use it) & always refers to the license plates. In California, no one ever called anything on a car a "tag."


It's more of a mid-western thing from what I understand and it actually means the registration sticker applied to the plate and not the plate itself.


Actually, we don't call the plates themselves, tags. We are referring to the little sticker on the plate that shows the month and year of registration expiration. To renew our tags means to renew the registration of our cars so we don't get busted by a traffic cop.

This is a very strange explanation & strikes me as some kind of ex post facto reasoning. After all, license plates are not valid without the stickers; when you're renewing your registration, you're renewing the usage of the plates which indicate a valid registration.


I think BeerBaron's right - "fixing to" is more of a Southernism than Standard American English. It means "about to"...as in "I'm fixin' to get ready to go on my trip. Then I gotta get some gas for my car and load the trunk with the luggage." (don't know of "luggage" is an Americanism or not, though).

"Fixing to" is a definite Southernism. In general it means "planning to" or "about to," as you say. I don't think I've ever heard anything like "I'm fixin' to get ready to" - that's redundant, like saying "I'm fixin' to fix" or "I'm gettin' ready to get ready." But I guess it's not impossible. :P


People here, including myself, use Americanism's without realizing it. To much MTV, comedy central etc.. It sounds weird the way youse pronounce Iran and Iraq also.

Which way do we pronounce Iran & Iraq? I can think of at least three different American pronunciations for each. :eek:


In Canada we spell it "COLOUR" and "ADVERTISEMENT" and "CHEQUE".

Last I checked, "advertisement" is the only legitimate spelling of that word in any version of English. ;)

[Logan]

The standard should be, for all English speaking peoples, 'The Queen's English'.

The reality has been, and shall always be less. Mr. Webster helped see to that here in the States. Australia is another important sourse of dispairity. It's largely a matter of time and location from the source. The greatest disparity within English is within the Isles. Ever been to Glasgow?

[SwordoftheVistula]

Last I checked, "advertisement" is the only legitimate spelling of that word in any version of English. ;)

I think he's saying they pronounce if different. My dad says "advertiss-ment" instead of "ad-ver-tise-ment" Maybe British people pronounce it like my dad does.

[Odoacer]

I think he's saying they pronounce if different. My dad says "advertiss-ment" instead of "ad-ver-tise-ment" Maybe British people pronounce it like my dad does.

Nah, she said:


In Canada we spell it "COLOUR" and "ADVERTISEMENT" and "CHEQUE".

Note that "colour" & "cheque" aren't really pronounced differently by Canadians than are "color" & "check" by Americans. I've never heard a Canadian say "ad VER tis munt" - although I can't think of any occasion when I heard a Canadian say the word, anyway.

[Kadu]

wYmrg3owTRE

I think I've heard chin wag before in America, in the east coast I think.

[Great Dane]

The only Americanism that really bothers me is calling a license plate a tag. I don't know why, it just does.

And when a Canadian announcer used it on TV ("the murder suspect was driving a red truck with New Brunswick tags"), I burst into an irrational fit of rage and threw an apple at my TV.

Then there are some I just don't understand and have to get the person to repeat. But I am kind of a linguistic nerd so learning new idioms is interesting. Yes, even Americanisms.

When I was in the US for a long time a few years ago it took me a while to figure out what "fixing to" meant.

We use 'license plate' around here, 'tags' refers to the stickers that go on the corners of the plate to show the annual registration has been paid.

[SwordoftheVistula]

I think I've heard chin wag before in America, in the east coast I think.

Never heard that one, throughout living up & down the east coast over the past decade.


We use 'license plate' around here, 'tags' refers to the stickers that go on the corners of the plate to show the annual registration has been paid.

Maybe we need some sort of map for this lol. So far, it appears to be used in the west and upper midwest, but nowhere east of the Mississippi, except maybe in the deep south.

[Kadu]

Never heard that one, throughout living up & down the east coast over the past decade.

As I said I'm not sure...
But now that you mention it, I found several entries on google with American websites containing the word "chin wag".

[El Cazador]

It should be remembered that the Americans left England speaking the language of the time so many 'Americanisms' actually aren't. 'Fall' comes from Old English and the expression "fall of the leaf", and "diaper" comes from Middle English too, for example.

[Edelmann]

I've heard people say tags for license plates, usually from police or in a police context.