Also British people use "petrol" as something that differentiates from "diesel" - as if Diesel fuel wasn't also made of petroleum. It makes no sense. (Just like claiming the only kind of paved material that exists in roads is over on the footpath on the side, when they use "pavement" to mean *just* that particular pavement rather than all of the pavement including the pavement in the road, in the parking lot, etc.)
One of my favorite Americanism is “uh-huh”. Most think it’s just lazy language, a grunt in the affirmative, but it is actually “Yes” from the Abanake, a Native American tribe, which early colonialists learned from cooperation with the tribe.
Really? That's honestly fascinating if that's true. I mean I looked it up and the Abenaki word for yes is "Oho", which is a totally believable leap to uh-huh, but I can't find anything online linking the two. I'd love to read into this if you happen to have a source. :)
Early in my time working with an interpreter - I asked him "Do you speak English?" - he replied... "You don't speak English - you speak American." He was schooled in "proper English" in the UK and when he made that distinction I felt it to be accurate. It's stuck with me to this day. When someone attempts to correct my "English" (only if done with an air of superiority) I simply respond with "the purpose of communication is that the receiver understood - and as you clearly understood what I meant - I'll call it a success". :-) Thanks for sharing the video. :-)
I had a similar experience several years ago. I am a teacher at an international school and during a parent teacher conference a parent of British heritage complained that since I am American I was incapable of speaking proper English, and in fact, what I spoke was a completely different language. One he inferred was inferior to his own. At the end of the conference, when all was said and done, I asked him if he understood all that I tried to share about the progress of his child. When he said yes, I ended our conference by saying, “ I’m happy you had no problems understanding me. I guess we share a mutually intelligible language after all.”
John Often people’s misuse of homonyms adds confusion to what I am reading. “Your” and “you’re”, to use the popular example, sound different in my head when reading because the meanings are so different. When someone misuses them, it adds additional steps to reading as I also have to replace words and then re-read it.
I don’t get why it’s such a big deal that “American English” is a little different than “British English.” Hell, “Mexican Spanish” is different from “Spain Spanish;” “Brazilian Portuguese” is different from “Portugal Portuguese;” and “Canadian French” is different from “France French!” It’s just not that big of a d e a l. EDIT: Aaaalsoooo, differences in a language are bound to happen when the lands are so far from each other for so long; and this also may happen when, wait for it, one revolts from their mother country.
RIGHT why is it such a big deal that BE and AE is different and people get so heated but a lot of people don't mention that Canadian French isn't the same as France French. Like too many people are too damn sensitive. There's no right or wrong English. It's also funny because Aussies speak english but I don't see them getting triggered about the differences. I have two aussie friends and they think it's interesting the words I say vs them.
What funny is at the beginning of the Republic, the English who visited the US often commented on how wonderfully proper our English compared how it was spoke back home.
@@robertcalhoun3123elvyn Bragg is quite often full of crap, his viewpoint is quite revisionist left wing as an arty farty elitist so I would not take any of his writings as fact, he is not a historian but a cultural commentator, the notion of proper English is also a load of bollocks as the language has evolved over the centuries with major variances in the perception of what is posh or not or even "Proper"
@@juansierralonche9864 there was a documentary about the American Revolution made in the 90s (sorry for the vagueness) where they frequently quoted the diary of a British man who had the misfortune of deciding to be a tourist in the colonies right as relations with the crown were turning south. He commented that most of the people in American including George Washington (who he met personally) spoke very good English, except for the people of New England. He thought they spoke too nasally.
English: We're "fixing" these words. Modern Utensil Origin French: Moderne Utensile Origine American English: Color Honor Labor English: "You can't do that"! Colour Honour Labour The very definition of DOUBLE STANDARD
In the case of the first trio, they all came from Latin, it was French that added the "-e", British English went back to the roots. Origin ultimately comes the Latin stem "origin-", modern from the adjective stem "modern-", and from the adjective stem "utensil-". However American English has kept with the original spellings for "color" and "labor".
@@ddemaine Not true, the removal of the u from words like colo(u)r and rearrangement of words like theatre (theater) are actually some of the only changes that were actually done by Americans, unlike how the Brits changed -ize to -ise.
Hearing you say "until the cows come home" made me realize that I would love it if you did a video on popular idioms and their origins. What do you think? 😊
"Busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest!" "Crooked as a barrel of fishhooks" (referring to dishonesty) "Crooked as a dog's hind leg" (referring to bent things) "Dry as a popcorn fart in a whirlwind" there are hundreds of these old Southern sayings.
Take up keeping chickens and you will learn where quite a few of them originate. America was agrarian. If Granny didn't have chickens, a neighbor did. People kept chickens on the roof in cities. Everybody knew how chickens behaved. Until the memories of that time died out, all the different phrases with the word "chicken" had meaning to everybody. It has been an interesting history lesson since we started small poultry.
Nobody really has any right to call any form of English "improper" or "corrupted", considering it's really a hodgepodge of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, French, Latin, German, Italian, and Spanish forced to fit a set of grammatical rules which nobody seems to really understand.
Bro, no. Just stop this shit. Every language has loan words. English has a particularly high amount of Latin and Roman words, largely from the Norman invasion, but in the end English is in its core the evolution of Old English.
discombobulated /ˌdiskəmˈbäbyəˌlādəd/ adjective HUMOROUS confused and disconcerted. "he is looking a little pained and discombobulated" From Oxford Feedback"
It's such a dumb thing to have a problem with, if you ask me. Yes, Americans changed English. So did the Brits, or else we'd all be speaking like Beowulf right now, or at least like Romeo and Juliet. Language obviously evolves, according to its environment, history, contact with other languages, etc. Americans and Brits have existed in separate linguistic communities for several hundred years now. It's actually kind of surprising that we can still communicate as flawlessly as we do. It was inevitable that change would happen over time, given a long enough time (which, for language, is not even all that long, to be honest.) I mean, just listen to old-timey recordings from like 1940 and then go outside to listen to people walking by. It's quite a bit different. How were Americans supposed to change in the exact same ways that Brits changed, despite being a whole ocean apart, for several centuries? That's an unreasonable expectation. New slang develops, old words fade from use, mistakes become normalized (basically linguistic mutation), accents change (basically linguistic drift), loanwords are introduced from neighboring languages (basically linguistic interbreeding), etc. As long as information can still be transferred and understood, we speak different dialects of the same language, just like as long as reproduction can still happen between two organisms, they are different subspecies of the same species.
This is all well and good, but I think it should be known that noone EVER really spoke like how Shakespeare wrote. Even for his own time, he was known for his oddly complex form of English, and is even the source of words never before heard. words such as "fashionable', 'addiction', or 'uncomfortable'
Actually it was The British who changed English alot more drastically. The English in the 1600's would be speaking like how Americans are speaking today.
Honestly, I agree that this discussion is nonsense. Each and every language on the planet evolves (or dies, but let's not focus on that part now) and if a language is spoken in multiple parts further away, they'll become different over time. Each language has their differences between different areas. My own mother tongue, Dutch, has a different vocabulary and spelling in Belgium, but it's all still the same language, no matter what. Saying that one of the forms is wrong, undermines the fact that the two develop differently, into their own thing.
You mention Martin Van Buren. Interestingly, he was the first President who was born an American, but English was not his first language. Being from Kinderhook, he learned Dutch as his first language.
DavidCAdams Also, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren are the only US Presidents whose last names have the same number of letters as their numbers in the list: seven and eight, respectively. And the second of two famous American twin sisters to go into the newspaper advice column trade used Abigail Van Buren as her pen name (Dear Abby for short). The other twin, who was filling a vacancy, kept her predecessor’s pen name, Ann Landers.
When I studied linguistics at university, I remember hearing some theories that around the time of the revolutionary war, the English spoken in America was very much "British", and that it has not changed all too much throughout the years after, and that it is in fact British English that has wildly evolved in pronunciation from what it used to be in the past, meaning that today, American English is more English than British English.
Many colonial dialects (and I mean colonial in the general sense, not specifically new world colonies) are actually quite conservative (as in slow to change). Comparing Icelandic to Norwegian or Danish shows a clear relationship, but comparing to Old Norse would lead to confusion over what differences were present at all. (for reference, differences do exist, largely in grammar, but it takes effort to find them, and a modern Icelander could probably speak just fine with one from 1000 years ago)
You are talking about pronunciation. Deliberately changing the actual language, as Noah Webster did, was massively unhelpful at best. Different pronunciation occurs across Britain, as it does across the US. This is NOT the same thing!
I literally call American English just "American" rather than "English" which I realise isn't necessarily correct, but I feel it encompasses the dialect nicely. There are enough differences to distinguish the two. Just the same, I call Mexican Spanish "Mexican" rather than "Spanish" for the same reasons. Anywho, I find your videos v informative and interesting. My mother is someone who speaks in crazy colloquialisms that never ceases to entertain me. Like "you're like a fart in a frying pan" or "I feel worn out and put away wet". Stuff like that. Good stuff.
I don't enjoy Joel and Leah at all. They say they're going to talk about things they "love" in America, then trash talk it instead. No thank you. Laurence, you do the research so I respect what you tell us. And cattywhumpus is one of my favorite words!
@@sebas.4524 Printers would charge by the letter. Business figured that people were smart enough to figure out what they meant without the U until it stuck.
I'm another Joel and Lis watcher who is a fan of Lost in the Pond. Those two are more about their reactions and ask for bits of American Culture to react to, and I am aware it is all in fun. However what sets this channel apart is that you show appreciation for America, its words, and its culture. All while teaching us a lot about things on both sides of the pond. And your presence in the midst of all the react videos is a much needed oasis.
Had a British guy I met in the states once claim the use of the word "Shotgun" was Americans using a British term, means you get the front seat of a car. He realized it was them using an American term when I explained it came from the wild west when stagecoaches used to have a driver up front and next to him a guy with a shotgun to help out if there was any trouble.
Many British RU-vidrs seem to ignore how the language has evolved in the UK. The "It's OUR language!" sentiment reflects this notion. The Adventure of English: The Biology of a Language by Melvyn Bragg is a nice reference. I'm absolutely going to start using, "Ahoy, let's meet for blunch."
English is the mother tongue of the United Kingdom and more specifically England, so yes it is our Language, the fact that Americans speak a version of English is fine just stop defining it as if it is the correct and original version of English, that's the ignorant aspect that we hate, as for Melvyn Bragg he is a cultural commentator not some linguistic expert, he specialises in the arts so I wouldn't be taking him for any kind of expert reference, finally "Blunch", wtf I have no idea what that means in any language.
@@RushfanUK Any American who would define American English as correct and original belong to that class of yokel who, even we from the South (where I grew up), who have glorious traditions of ignorance and buffoonery ("hey y'all, watch this"), make fun of. They are to be ignored. Melvyn Bragg could be the janitor at the local adult video store, and still make the same valid point, that languages evolve on a daily basis in varying ways, in varying mediums in the many places it's spoken. I once lived on Guam, where people whose mother tongue is English brilliantly add in words from the native Chamorro and Filipino Tagalog languages to express themselves. Your post itself displays the evolution of English. Your great grandparents would have no idea what you meant by "wtf". As Laurence (and Melvyn Bragg) points out, English even varies within the UK. Before radio and television, would anyone in London be able to understand Ozzy's Brumie gibberish (I stole that phrase)? Europeans frequently accuse Americans of parochialism. "It's OUR language" makes the assumption that as the language evolves in the United Kingdom, the rest of the world ought to carry a check list to keep up, and at the same time disregard the language as tool suitable for local purposes as well. The idea also ignores the evolution of English within the UK since the day before yesterday, much less over the nearly two and a half centuries since our countries split, and is an amazingly parochial sentiment. "Blunch" is just kind of silly.
@bbonner422 Since you bring it up, the French and the Germans both may have better claims at being the originators of "English" than the English themselves. I think some credit also goes to the Greeks and Romans. Very little of the Briton's Celtic remains a part of modern English.
@@australian1018 it's technically a term for head lice, but little kids use it to disparage other kids they find socially unacceptable and don't want around them, "Ewww - he has cooties"...
One nuance not mentioned is that it's usually a gendered children's term, like boys will say "girls have cooties" or vice versa. Might explain why we picked up the term but didn't apply it for it's original intent, instead using it as an insult for women...
A couple World Cups ago, I was watching a match with a Brit, and the "soccer" vs. "football" debate came up, naturally. I said, "Well you Brits, invented the word and brought it over here." Which he looked dumbfounded, and replied with absolute certainty, "NO WE DIDN'T! THAT'S YOUR WORD!" I replied, "Well why do they call it "soccer" in Canada, Australia, and even in Japan it's "socceru". lol One of my most proud moments was proving that self-centered Brit wrong.
And you weren't even a little bit self-centred? He had never encountered that word inside Britain! I get similar reactions from US people who insist that 'their' word must be correct!
The funniest English v American English issue was one I run across in college. I was writing a paper in WWII naval warfare. The sentance "due to problems with their pistols the Royal Navy had issues sinking the battleship." took me a bit to figure out they called their detonators in their torpedoes pistols.
I'm reminded of a college professor of mine, born and raised in Massachusetts, who used regularly used "fortnight" to indicate a two week period. I pointed out that most of the class doesn't know the meaning. He requested a show of hands and about 80% had no clue.
msr111 So how did they convert the speed of light to furlongs per fortnight? (That’s an old engineering joke about stupid managers who want results in unusual units of measurement; a furlong is 220 yards, or an eighth of a US statute mile.)
Catty-wampus! As a Southerner, one of my favorites! Thanks so much for this video. I'm also an English major, and find dialects and word history and usage fascinating. Your analysis is spot-on!
Interesting thing about "OK" (or "Okay", as it is frequently rendered): it's not only been adopted by English-speakers the world over, it's also become a "loanword" in many, many disparate languages all over the planet. I watched a video, years ago, that was in Brazilian Portuguese (with subtitles, of course) and I was struck by how many times I heard the interjection "okay". I've heard Japanese and Korean speakers use it as well.
We use it in Norwegian, as well. Additionally, my grandpa consistently uses the word "ålreit", which I would I assume is borrowed from British English, just slightly Norwegianized.
I will never understand the confusion over the word "gas". It is short for gasoline. That is what a gasoline engine runs on. If something runs on diesel, we say "diesel", not diesel gas, or anything else, because that is the correct word for it. If something runs on propane, or cng, that is what we call it, because that is what it is. Brits say "petrol". Short for petroleum. That is what is pumped out of the ground. I do not know of anything on earth that runs on petrol, yet a brit will argue untill he is blue in the face, saying that the word gas, is wrong. The fact is, americans use the correct words for these things, the brits do not. Period.
Using that same logic, why don’t you say “die” for diesel. “Cars low on fuel better go to the die station” because it’s absurd, using gasoline is perfectly fine but gas it’s just stupid as your putting a liquid in your car but calling it gas
@@oscarmackenzie5120 If we shortened diesel, which we wouldn't because it's only two syllables, it would most likely be shortened to "dies," kinda like dies nuts.
Petrol is derived from petroleum it isn’t short for petroleum. No one would say I’m filling my car with petroleum. The term gas for something that is a liquid comes across as an oxymoron if you aren’t used to it. But really it is just another homophone.
I love how diverse the English language is, because learning new intricate ways of describing something in each variation of English just sounds like a fun way dicking around with people.
Like Loki's insult to Black Widow. "You mewling quim" would never have passed the censors in American English, "You sniveling c***." Greatest run around the censors ever, imo.
I watch a lot of car videos, both American and British. British car buffs still reference miles quite a bit. Canada put mileposts on all their highways in the mid-20th century, and has shown no inclination to replace them with kilometer (kilometre?) posts. At least not the last time I drove through.
I do not think it makes a difference to the average American if we decided to change to the metric system. There would be grumbling during the transition, but once that was the focus in schools, our kids would not be the wiser. Future generations would likely not remember a time we used the imperial system. - BUT, the issue is not about desire or American stubbornness towards the metric. It actually would make life easier for many people. The issues is COST! The cost of switching all the text books, all the road signs. Not just the cost to government, but the cost to business for changing out all their labels and reworking any equipment that may be calibrated using the imperial system. I believe I have seen estimates that it would cost trillions of dollars to switch to the Metric system at this point. - Besides, it stimulates the mind when we have to do conversions. They do teach us both systems in school. It is just not often we need to use the metric system unless it is specific to our job. With calculators handy right on our phones, it is even less incentive to make the switch. - Personally, that part of me that likes order and efficiency would welcome the metric system. But the effort in converting from Imperial to Metric is not more an inconvenience, though usually not an annoyance.
@@standupyak "Brits and Europeans always hate the Americans ..." EVIDENCE? "You almost never hear Americans say anything hateful about other countries." BWAHAHA!!!! Try being a stand-up comic! LOL!!!
@@standupyak So much for evidence for YOUR assertion. "You almost never hear Americans say anything hateful about other countries." EXCEPT that these comments are utterly FULL of it!
@@standupyak OK, I have not read many comments either way. In the main, US people are respectful of other cultures, although a major exception was the French with Dubya and 'Freedom Fries'. A simple answer would have been to call them 'chips' like the English. I presume you have seen 'London Fish and Chips' shops?
@@danlock1 bout is an actual word I am just using it incorrectly why not Google something before speaking so the rectum you call a mouth doesn't have more shit coming out of it bout means a short period of intense activity of a specified kind. "occasional bouts of strenuous exercise" And while Dat isn't a word in the dictionary it is used by people who understood it which is the entire purpose of language
British English purism is hilarious, because it completely ignores the ways in which British English has diverged MASSIVELY from the common ancestor dialect(s) spoken in the 1700s. In many cases where the British and Americans have separate words for the same things, the American word is the older form. Take truck/lorry or diaper/nappy for example. And, after all, the standard American accent is MUCH closer to 1700s English than RP is. Take rhoticism and the "bath" vowel shift for instance. You don't get to change the language, then claim that other people are wrong for not adopting your changes.
That's where their "received pronunciation" comes in- they just up and decided in the late 19th century that ambitious middle class people should talk a certain way and that way would be the funny, nasal, No-R-sound way. And now they think that's normal. Weirdos.
I was under the impression that both American and English dialects diverged, but they diverged in different directions; thus, we're both equally "wrong", for example, when trying to read Shakespearean English. ie, both accents have trouble getting it all to rhyme, but on different words. At best, there's an accent in the Central East coast, off on an island somewhere (yeah, I think it's eastern Tennessee, or there-abouts), where the accent has been isolated since the 1600's - it's drifted as well, but kind of back-and-forth, to the point where its total sum of drifing hasn't been as much as standard American or British English.
@@kevinschultz6091 That's what I've read- that the closest thing to the pronunciation of Shakespeare's time is the North Carolina Drawl, possibly of the coastal islands. There was some interesting work to research the Shakespearean pronunciation for a shakespeare festival, videos of course on YT. (Does not sound carolinan but hey... At the least it seems they have the most Shakespearean vocabulary.)
@@unclejoeoakland - ah, I see you and I have watched the same RU-vid videos. :) Elizabethan English: it's speak-kind-of-like-a-pirate day, only every day!
P.S. People forget that English was looked down upon speaking during a good part of the Midevil period. You were cultured, if you spoke French. It was not until Henry VIII that it became more acceptable to speak English.
Britain Colour America Color Britain Harbour America Harbor Britain: Mate, what are you doing? America: Getting rid of U Britain:..... Edit: I don’t own this joke.
Evolution of language never needs to be defended. Language purists are dishonest with themselves; the language they use is already not "pure" because language is constantly changing. We borrow and mix both grammar and vocabulary from other languages, shorten words, and change pronunciations all the time. And we have for the entirety of human history.
@@Otakupatriot117 yes, but that world is more of a modern, memey word rather than a real word. I don't think it actually shows up in the encyclopedia or the English Dictionary. Edit: Just looked it up, and it actually does.
@@Otakupatriot117 Ive always thought British words such as "uni, lino and nappy " sound like child words, i.e. stupid! And I agree, "bae" is also a word that sound stupid, childish and I will never use!
When I have to hear about how American English is wrong, I always say at least we're not copying the French. Maths is the one that drives me crazy. I don't care how you say it, but don't correct me. It's a single study of something, it's not plural, and when you abbreviate a word you don't take a random letter from the end.
I absolutely have to correct you; mathematics is absolutely not a single study of something. It's a single subject at school, but that's because they're only scratching the surface of the very basic aspects of mathematics - namely arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculus, and with the merest soupçon of the necessary rigour to pursues any formal study.
@@derpimusmaximus8815 Yes the study of mathematics is made of many things, but the word is not plural.That's not how it's used in English. You don't say Maths are fun. Maths is fun.
Derpimus Maximus "Mathematics" is not a plural word, though. That much is absolute truth. The S st the end of "maths" is more of a traditional English thing, from what I've heard. It's not needed per se, but Brits tend to add the S at the end of abbreviated words that happen to end with S when they're unabbreviated. More so than Americans do apparently.
Except is usually pronounced "Hullo" and (at least until recently) spelt the the SAME way. (In OZ and NZ anyway.) Then there is the classic British Bobby exclaiming "Ullo, Ullo, Ullo!" when discovering amorous couples in a car together. All the world loves a lover, but (British) policemen still carry torches.
Bell's telephone greeting was actually "Ahoy-hoy"; "Hello" came from Thomas Edison (or so I've heard). In recent years the only use of "Ahoy-hoy" has been Montgomery Burns on The Simpsons and Col. Jack O'Neil on Stargate SG-1.
LOL....i thought that was hilarious as well😂 I almost want to share this video in Joel & Lia's (secret) Facebook group but am unsure if that would be a faux pas or not🤔
Britain: Hey America, why do you take the ‘U’ out of words? America: Because there’s no ‘You’ in America. *Loads flintlock musket with patriotic intent*
My favorites are words like "color," "flavor," that we spell without a U because they were spelled that way by the Romans long before anyone had a reason to have this discussion. Another one I've only recently come across is "aubergine" for "eggplant." I did some research, and it turns out "aubergine," came into English from French (it seems to have had quite a journey, but I'll keep it simple by only mentioning French), and it just means "the egg plant." So you're saying the same thing, but ironically, not in English.
Seven_Martinez The reason "aubergine" is known as "eggplant" in North America is apparently because the first variety popular in the US was a white variety, which, because of both its color and its shape, looks like a white-shelled egg.
Aubergine is the color, eggplant is the vegetable. Yes it came from France. The Brits also prefer coriander over cilantro a Spanish word. I've Hart both here in the USA.
"Ol Korrect" was a newspaper joke of the 1830s, when there was a fad for abbreviations and for phonetic spelling to represent uncouth, rustic country people or frontiersmen.
And so, one of the most commonly used phrases today ever, to the point where most people don't even think of it as slang anymore...is, in fact, a meme. :P
I have read that "OK" was actually a shipbuilder's mark that stood for "on keel." When building a ship the keel would be laid first and then the frames and planks would be attached to it. The foreman would check the construction as each part was installed and mark it "OK" to show that the ship was being assembled correctly,
"ain't" may have originated in the south but it's used all over the country and is actually considered bad grammar. "Y'all" is definitely a word you only hear in the south though...we use different terminology elsewhere in the country.
@@DSan-kl2yc Considered bad grammar in terms of written language, not in colloquial use. Back in school we'd lose points on essays if we used ain't instead of isn't!
In Ohio we use "Y'ain't" like. Y'ain't never heard of Y'ain't before? Though us Ohioans casually pick up parts of different accents as we please and put them down just as quickly. A few months ago everyone was picking up the british 'bin' but now we are back to trash/garbage can.
You also must remember we are NOT British and are not required to update with or follow the UK when changing our language. The American language cleared a lot of unnecessary silent letters and archaic words useless to our culture and set out on it's own development. British people do not have the right to criticize our language (but still do). Since the new millennia it has become a popular sport in Europe it seems to criticize all things American. This may be another reason Americans lack interest in foreign travel.
Did you know the American English accent was the original British accent. Later after the split of America and Britain. The higher ups in Britain started to change their accent to distinguish between the poor and rich, but then everyone started picking up on the accent
I find it even more fascinating that the reconstructed "Original Pronunciation" of Shakespeare's plays sounds like a mix of several English dialects over the globe. No surprise, before such pronunciation was rediscovered, many audiences preferred American accents to English London ones for Shakespearean plays.
It's not a matter of the American accent being the original British accent, but of a number of quite different British regional accents being brought to the different colonies. It's why people in Maine and Georgia speak so differently. After the first waves of colonists came to America the accents continued to evolve/change BOTH in Britain and America. Americans held onto certain features that fell out of use in Britain, and British held onto certain features that fell out of use in America, which is why certain usages used by one seem quaint to the other. Likewise Americans created new usages that sound novel to British, and visa versa.
Even the original English settlers did not keep the original English accent for long. They had neighbors from other European countries, Native Americans of many tribes and languages, imported African slaves (in the south), and immigrants who over the life of the US have come from everywhere. All of whom have contributed to the language or accent. And we export our version of the language in film, television, and vacationers, not to mention visitors coming to pick it up. Also, immigration continues and language gets changed and new words added more often than most are aware. Words are created also to deal with new discoveries, inventions, technologies, etc., not to mention fads, trends and people's efforts to be unique and different. So I say, original English accent is academic. Just try to keep up!
I doubt it, accents are from when a group is either extremely isolated (which America is the opposite) or when lots of different groups accents merge together to create a new accent (this is what happened in the US, Canada, Australia and NZ) so I’m calling BS
"was the original English" is a bit strong. The truth is probably more nuanced than all that, but the underlying part, that American accents didn't come from nowhere. They came from the English themselves. Same for NZ/Aussie accents. Divergence is bound to happen with separation and time.
I don't know why the British would single out he United States for "corrupting" the English language. There are lots of differences in words in other parts of the UK: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. And of course in Ireland, Canada and other places. The all time champ in "corrupting"/changing English words has to be Australia. They chop the end off of almost every word and add a vowel on the end of it.
A fair amount of the differences between American and British English could come from the more ethnographically diverse nature of the American people. There are subtle (and not so subtle) influences from the various Amerindian languages native to North America (hell, a goodly number of states' names are Amerindian words, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Alabama, among others); the various West African languages originally spoken by the enslaved; Mexican and Puerto Rican Spanish; Italian, German, Scandinavian, Central European, and Jewish immigrations of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Of course, as time goes on, there will be more changes, and new influences that will change the language further. That is the nature of languages, particularly those with wide distribution.
Love that you are this wordsmith and teaching all this historic information about words. Very interesting. I'm a historian as such, studied it at least, and I love anything that deals with history.
Excellent as always! Thank you! I'm enjoying vlogmas and it will help help me not become ornery the next time I hear someone criticize Americans for the way way we pronounce certain words then turn around and call tortilla chips "tor-till-a" chips. Happy St, Nicholas Day!
I found Joel and Lia because of your channel They're sweet kids, although Joel is a bit ignorant of American culture. I had to point out to him that like 15% of the world heritage sites are in the USA. No castles, but tons of other things.
On, Ahoy. Now I know why Mr. Burns from the Simpsons said "Ahoy, ahoy" when he started answering his phone for that one episode (or is that just a coincidence).
When considering the two, there is neither superiority nor inferiority. You might be easier to understand by locals if you use the local variant, however.
This is an awesome video! It can be really annoying when our way of speaking English isn't seen as legit as British English. This video is so refreshing.
Laurence man! You are sooooo much more credible and respectable than Joel and Leah. They can be entertaining at times but you offer more sophisticated humor and you are just more intellectually stimulating and informative. Lots of work went into this vid mate, thanks for that and keep it going strong. Merry Vlogmas!
American with a last name that starts with a Z: _zed_ is superior to _zee,_ especially when you're spelling your name over the telephone. But the greater problem is just with rhyming letters in general.
Just a cultural tip from the US, there are a fair share of us to which any and every variation of "Yankee" is a grave insult. Notably in the South (not that I expect everyone to know everything about the US civil war, but that's the main basis). I understand it's a cultural thing outside of the states, but it's something that should probably be reconsidered.
@@SangosEvilTwin I agree. Texan here. Someone kept referring to Irish as 'British' because it is part of the British Isles. The Irish were rightly offended. Same thing with being called Yankees. I suppose being called a Yank by a Brit would be okay, but not 'Yankee'. Of course it really doesn't matter as we have freedom of speech and the right to be offended.
As an amateur linguist and English student, these are the kinds of videos I live for. Very glad I found this channel and have years of backlog to chew through.
One thing that gets me every time about the Brits' pronunciation: when a word ends with the letter "a", they pronounce it like it ends with "er". Seriously?
I am puzzled by the English pronunciation of words with "er" that sound like "ar" to me. Thinking here of Derby (sounds like Darby) or clerk (sounds like clark to me).
Joel and Lia are cool and all but their level of "European ignorance" sometimes can be quite high, light hearted in nature or not. You have a degree of humility that most people in general lack severely and is why your channel is becoming such a high success and will continue to do so. In fact I'd say you're quite American in many of your perceived mannerisms, at least from your content subject manner and on screen manner. I guess what I'm driving at is that before anyone passes judgement about any culture they should read To Kill a Mockingbird and maybe take a few pages out of Atticus Finch's proverbial book
I love your comment, you hit the nail on the head with European ignorance. They go into every situation with the absolute assumption that the way they do things is correct way and everyone else is doing it odd, weird or just plain wrong. And they literally say that. They are extremely likable, very fun and light hearted but then they say such stupid and intentionally offensive comments almost every episode. I stopped watching, not because of their asshole comments but because they then blamed the viewers for getting offended instead of saying, maybe I should stop intentionally offending people.
@@harveythepookaI'm going to preface this by letting y'all know I'm Polish-American, speak the language, grewup with both American and Polish traditions, and frequently visit family over in Europe and they annoy me the same way euro armchair warriors do when talking shit online with their blatant unsolicited non factual evidence that America is the devil. My dad's side is"American" and I also got a healthy dose of 'murica, and I've lived in southern Illinois before, and Western Illinois' as well so I have plenty of "yeehaw," in me too. I am quite the walking conundrum. I was never able to really get into J&L not because of that but it didn't help. They just kinda bore me. Like I watched a whole video on them being in NYC and they didn't even do touristy shit not to mention cooler no touristy shit, they literally just stayed in their Airbnb and went to the gym and whatever else and proceeded to judge the entirety of the United States off of whatlittle they experienced of NYC. Yikes. I get that they vlog too but I'd hazard to say Laurence has a much different style of videos and I just vibe better with his. I can take people talking shit about American culture because literally the whole internet does, not too bothered by that, I just find it amazing that YT creators like J&L do that when a large portion of their constituency is American not surprisingly so as YT is an American developed platform lmfao. I'm not telling them not to do what they do, cause freedom and shit but like they could approach such things with more respect I guess? Americans love British cultural traditions and I rarely have heard anyone American saying they hate the UK for *insert political controversy outside of individual control* As I said before, I just kind of wish Europeans would be less hostile to us considering many of them have historically been our greatest allies and we share a very rich an complex history with them. That's all. Oh and could like the whole of the world outside of the US drop the whole "Americans don't pay attention to international events stigma?" It's quite annoying. Like we do, we just have more than enough things to worry about in our own continent sized nation and not everything happening in all other nearly 200 sovereignties is exactly newsworthy. Y'all need to chill. Not you though Laurence, in case you weren't sure- you're my favorite RU-vidr right now (: I hope you're loving vlogmas as much as I am, keep up the good work and always remember that variety is the spice of life!
@@harveythepooka Dana says- Did you ever think that they were joking? Especially since they've mentioned *repeatedly* that they are. It's called sarcasm. Nothing against you not liking them or their channel, that's of course up to your own personal taste. But calling them "asshole comments" is waaaay more offensive than they've ever been. They aren't intentionally offending anyone. If people can't take friendly ribbing, you're right, they shouldn't watch their channel. Side note: EVERYONE automatically assumes their way of looking at things or doing things is the right way- otherwise they wouldn't look at things or do things the way they do. Duh. And that includes me and you and every American and every European, African, Asian, Australian... you get the point. The only difference is whether we are open to hearing how other people percieve or do things. Joel and Lia are- otherwise they wouldn't even have a channel, since practically every video they do is having a good time talking about those differences and asking the viewers to educate them on why they do things the way they do. That isn't the mark of people who refuse to see their way might not be the best. Are we really at that place where people who think or do things differently than us are vilified for it and we cannot like or accept anyone unless they bow down, kiss our butts and say everything we Americans do is the better way? I'm not apologetic about being a US citizen or my beliefs or ways of saying/doing things, but I'm not offended if people from somewhere else think their way is right/better. Who cares?
They don't have "European ignorance" they simply have ignorance and are as ignorant .of much of the UK as they are of The US. I watched a few of their vids but stopped because of their self-obsessed stupidity.
"England takes credit for coining 'drizzle' because of course it does" - LMFAO I nearly had coffee coming out my nose when he said this. Laughed so freaking hard.
Oh my! One of my daughters married a Scotsman and has happily lived in Scotland for about twenty years. My family is arrogant Texan. You can imagine. I think it’s amazing we can understand each other at all.
As someone else commented, in a number of words brought over from Latin via French, the British keep the French spelling while Americans go back to the original Latin. The -er/-re and -or/-our words are the most notable examples.
Thank you for this. I had to do much of this same etymological research myself when I was teaching in Korea and Chine with fellow teachers from across the English speaking world. I was constantly on the defense, arguing on behalf of an entire nation.
when I lived in Europe (I'm American) i'd always get told "shouldn't what you call football be called hand egg? it's not real football, you don't even use your feet like you do in real football." What i think a lot of people don't really know is that Football (American) isn't really just "football", the full name is actually Gridiron Football as the field resembles a cooking gridiron. It's like how rugby was known as "Rugby Football" or how soccer (football) was known as "Association Football" as they're all more or less derivatives of one another. Why the name Gridiron didn't stick and football became what it's commonly known as is beyond me though. Gridiron sounds so much more badass.
Gridiron is still commonly used by American Football casters to refer to the field here in America. It’s not super common, but most everyone knows “the gridiron” refers to the football (American) field.
This reminds me of how when I studied in England I had someone come up to me and make fun of America because we say "sidewalk" and supposedly "eyeglasses". The 'joke' was that Americans are too stupid to just say glasses or "pavement" because we had to specify what we were talking about. I had happened to randomly find a clip of a popular English comedian saying that person's exact words just weeks prior so I knew they were copying this from that comedian. Not only was the joke ridiculous since we commonly say the word "glasses" in America and we're not idiots for saying words like sidewalk, but it was also the most hypocritical thing he could have said. All I had to do was look that guy straight in the face and say "Sweet corn." We say corn in America instead of having to describe it as sweet, which is what that guy and comedian said made Americans idiots for doing. We also just say peas instead of garden peas. I'm glad I was able to shut that guy down with two simple words because I really wasn't having the hypocrisy. America gets shit on so, so much for the stupidest of things and the people who do that never look at their own countries. I had a target on my back while in England for being American yet the problems with their country were apparently nothing compared to the problems with my own. So I'm grateful for this video. Hopefully it will stop some people from making ignorant statements and insults that I'm tired of hearing.
@@williammullikin2076 ….The vast majority of their pop singers, including the Beetles, all sing in an American accent. You have to wonder…, do they do it only to make in-roads into the massive American music market, or do they know it just sounds much better in the American accent….?? I think the answer is both. Their emulation in singing style alone, should put to rest any criticism they lay upon we Americans.
That coming from a country that eats beet root as if there's some other type of beet yet they don't say carrot root, potato root, turnip root. It makes absolutely no sense. And don't even get me started on aluminium.
I just want to say, your channel is absolutely excellent. Full of really well reasoned and articulated thoughts that come together well. Keep up the great work!
Lol I watch Joel and Lia all the time...such a cute couple...or non couple. But I only watch for laughs...love yours better...substance and cultured...wish you had an available brother!
I like Joel And Lia also. They warm my heart with their over the top sarcasm. Of which I look upon sarcasm fondly. It is an advanced art of communication, IMHO
I watch them sometimes too, but they really get over the top about making fun of American English. Especially as they spent a few weeks here trying to increase their business.
Wasn't it actually the case that a lot of the American spellings/pronounciations we common in both countries around the time of the American Revolution; that is, after the revolution, the UK made changes to the language that the US didn't pick up?
I actually discovered your channel from watching Joel & Lia (who I absolutely love) because one of your videos was recommended. I actually love the comparisons of America and England (from both channels), and I love learning about cultural differences! Thank you for doing what you do!
Nice to hear a commentary about this subject from someone smart and informed. Most videos about English pronunciation and words are knee-jerk reaction, elitist, judgmental crap, IMO. This one was refreshingly fair.
The phrase "How do you do?" is shorted to "howdy" or "hidey" then further shortened to 'hi." Some folks from the US deep South will often respond to "Hi" or "Hello" with "I'm fine" or "I'm doing well."
Cootie Bugs turned into a toy, The object is to be the first to build a three-dimensional bug-like object called a "cootie" from a variety of plastic body parts. Created by William Schaper in 1948, the game was launched in 1949 and sold millions in its first years. From(Wikapedia)
This video made me think of how in New England we use wicked the same way we use really. For example, "this video is wicked good." While in other parts of the country and the world, as far as I know, it is used to denote evil.
Sunnydale1909 Wicked meaning “cool” goes back to the 1960s and its used in various circles depending on your culture. Much like some of use the word “bitca” or “shiny” as a code word to show your a whedonite. Being a California native i’ve seen the word wicked come and go. Ive recently seen the resergence of “bitchin” and “trippin” which were high school slang for todays grandparents
