Americanisms

We have really everything
in common with America
nowadays, except, of
course, language.
Oscar Wilde,
The Canterville Ghost

One of the things which most exercises our listeners
and viewers is our use of words and constructions
which we are accused of slavishly copying from the
United States. American English is virtually
everywhere. It is the language of international
agencies such as the United Nations and the World
Bank; American films, music and television
programmes bring it into our homes; magazines and
wire services are dominated by it, as is the internet.
Is it any surprise, then, that journalists adopt new
usages, vocabulary and pronunciation?
It is not, but we are not broadcasting for ourselves.
Very many people dislike what they see as the
Americanisation of Britain, and they look to the
BBC to defend ‘Britishness’ in its broadest sense. In
particular, they demand standard English from us, and
we should acknowledge their concerns.At the very
least, we should be conscious of what we are doing
when we write our scripts.
We should thank North America for adding greatly
to our vocabulary. Some Americanisms are so
embedded in our language that their origin has long
been forgotten, for example editorial, peanut,
commuter, nervous, teenager, gatecrasher and babysitter.
But new words are constantly queuing at language
immigration control, hoping to be allowed in.
• Lambs can be euthanised, he says, but who would care
for damaged human children?
This sentence was written by a news correspondent
in Washington, and illustrates the American
enthusiasm for turning nouns into verbs. English is
not averse to the practice, but we should not risk
alienating our audience by rushing to adopt new
words before their general acceptance at large.
Euthanise is not a verb you will find in any dictionary
and it has no place in our output. (But who can say
what will happen in the future?)
Think about the words you use.Are you happy with
authored as in Tony Benn has authored a book? Or
guested as in Sir Michael Caine guested on the Michael
Parkinson Show? Would you welcome diarise (enter
into a diary), civilianise (replace military or police
staff), or casualise (replace permanent staff)? Standard
English has accepted verbs such as finalise, editorialise,
publicise and miniaturise, but will it be so receptive
to others? Our listeners and viewers must not be
offended or have their attention diverted by the
words we use.
American speech patterns on the BBC drive
some people to distraction.Adding unnecessary
prepositions to verbs is guaranteed to cause
apoplexy in some households. Problems which were
once faced are now faced up to. In North America,
people meet with other people. Everywhere else they
meet them. British people keep a promise rather than
deliver on it. Expressions such as deliver on, head up,
check out, free up, consult with, win out, check up on,
divide up and outside of are not yet standard English,
and they all take more time to say. Even so, these
extended forms seem to have great vitality and are
rapidly becoming the norm. We have to make a
judgement about their acceptability to our listeners
and viewers.
There are thousands of differences between British
English and American English, in spelling, grammar and
vocabulary. British people use car parks not parking
lots, having bought petrol rather than gasoline, and
worry about transport issues rather than
transportation.We throw stones, not rocks, because in
standard English a rock is too large to pick up. Our
lawyers appear in court; their attorneys appear in
courtrooms.We take bodies to a mortuary;American
dead are taken to a morgue. Our workers get pay
rises not hikes.
Many American words and expressions have impact
and vigour, but use them with discrimination or your
audience may become a tad irritated.