LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.04.28 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 28.APR.2002 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language varieties

Ian James Parsley <parsleyij at ukonline.co.uk> wrote earlier this month:

> The classic example of American usage with a 'British accent' is Elaine
> out of Frazier, of course - 'it must have gotten lost in the elevator'
> being a classic, but 'someplace' creeps in there quite often as well!

This is not uncommon in real life.  In fact, I dare say that it is the
rule with British and other non-American English-speaking people living
in the United States for a long time, unless they live in their own
little enclaves perhaps.  (I only know one such "insulated" person who,
after a good forty years in the country, associating mostly with
Americans, raising American-speaking children and currently having the
first American grandchild on the way, still insists she is here only
temporarily and has no intention of adapting linguistically or
culturally, but even she uses Americanisms without really being aware of
it and, to her dismay, was told so on her last visit "home.")

Thus, though her supposed local accent might be a poor imitation, the
lexical and idiomatic adaptation of the Daphne Moon character in
"Frasier" (Elaine being in the "Seinfeld Show," I believe) seems
perfectly convincing to me.

"Got lost" would be pretty much understandable and perhaps acceptable,
though somewhat foreign, to most Americans.  "Lift" definitely is
foreign, both in the sense of "elevator" and in the sense of "ride" ("to
give someone a lift/ride"), though I think it would be perceived as less
foreign in some East Coast communities.

Before living here, I used to say only "lift," "rubbish," "(electric)
torch," "(rubbish) tip," "(rubbish) bin," "cutlery," "skirting board,"
"(car) bonnet," "capsicum," "(fresh) coriander," "swede (turnip)," etc.,
but these are not understood here by the vast majority of people, and I
therefore had no choice but to switch to "elevator/ride,"
"garbage/trash," "flashlight," "dump," "trash can,"
"silverware/flatware,"* "baseboard," "hood (of a car)," "bell pepper,"
"cilantro" and "rutabaga" respectively.  (*The other day I was advised
where I could find "plastic silverware" in a cafeteria!)  Certainly, you
quickly drop "rubber" in favor of "eraser," because "rubber" here is a
casual term for "condom."  (So, don't come to the States and ask to
borrow someone's "rubber"!)  "Tap" is understood by most within clear
contexts (and Americans do say "tap water"), but after a while you find
yourself saying "faucet" because you get tired of coming across as too
weird.  And there was my Australianism "powerpoint" that caused as much
amusement as my use of "torch" did, so I had to drop it for
"(electrical) outlet."  Certainly no one around here would know what
"biro" or "cellotape" mean, so you *must* switch to "ballpoint pen" and
"scotch tape" respectively.  Even though it is understood within most
contexts, I no longer say "compulsory" where Americans say "mandatory,"
because the former just sounds too odd to too many people.  You also do
not say "biscuit" for what Americans call "cookie," because to Americans
a "biscuit" is their version of "scone," and the British word "scone"
has now been borrowed to denote a special type of scone (larger than the
typical British one, more like the average Australian one), and it is
pronounced [skoUn] rather than [skOn].  Oh, and then there was my use of
"cottonwool" that aroused much hilarity.  I was told that that would be
"cotton balls" around here.  "But I want a great, big wad of it, not
those little balls for makeup removal. I mean the *material*, not the
balls made from it."  "Sorry. It's still called 'cotton balls'."  Ah,
well ... I guess it's because you don't get the stuff around here unless
it's been made into little balls.

I know several Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans
that live here, and, with the above-mentioned exception, they all have
adapted in this way, even those who know that they will eventually leave
the country.  Though slip-ups do happen, your main concern has to be to
be understood without having to explain like a permanent tourist.  "It
must have gotten lost in the elevator" starts to sound pretty normal
pretty soon, and before you know it you start saying "someplace" where
you used to say "somewhere," though this latter one is a case of
expansion, i.e., of choice, because "somewhere" is used in U.S. English
as well.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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