DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND SPEAK LIKE A BRIT

[dArKeR]

By Jon Kelly And David Edwards

IT HAS been a truism for decades: "Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language."

Not any more, they aren't.

Widely attributed to George Bernard Shaw, these words were spoken half a century ago - and if the great playwright were around today, might he feel a little nostalgic for that transatlantic rift?

Because from cinema to TV, from the internet to our McDonald's, Starbucks and Gap-lined

high streets, the influence of the US is everywhere.

Now, say the critics, the colonialism is complete with the natives - us - speaking the language of the empire - them.

Here are some of the worst culprits worth guarding against. As the French say: "Vive la difference!"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14099817%26method=full%26siteid=50143%26headline=do%2dyourself%2da%2dfavour%2dand%2dspeak%2dlike%2da%2dbrit-name_page.html

[Snow]

1. Spell like one, too - but keep your sense of humour -eom-

[Miss Authoritiva]

2. A delight.

I must confess that I took a look at the "Sex and Slimming" section, too. It is indeed about losing weight and getting laid, in either order.

[ixion]

3. good sport, I say.

As an English major, I've been both disgusted and fascinated with the way US English allows for on the spot word creation and alteration of word contexts. US English is one of the only languages that work that way. As such, it's 'the Borg' of language, assimilating what it finds useful and scrapping the rest.

I'm guilty of using the terms mentioned in the article, but I'm also familiar with the 'proper' way of saying the same thing should the circumstances demand. ;-)

[Skittles]

4. I was SO disappointed when I visited England last year

the beloved England of my childhood was gone and in its place was something that looked a lot like America - not just McDonalds and Texaco but freaking strip malls. I found it so disturbing. England is losing its identity, just like the small towns of America have lost theirs.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I'm seeing similar trends in Japan

The quirky little coffee shops with individually brewed cups of any blend you choose, served on the owner's private collection of china, and accompanied by the owner's quirky choice of music in a tiny, idiosyncratically furnished space, are being driven out not only by Starbuck's but by homegrown imitators of Starbucks. :-(

[mistertrickster]

6. Hmmm . . . I deg to biffer. I went to London last fall to visit my son

at the School of Economics there. I didn't hear much of anything that sounded like RP (received pronunciation). In fact, I came to appreciate the smooth sound of our American English with the harsh working class British English I heard everywhere.

Although I do like the jab at Bush in the article . . .

[WingNOT]

7. British English ? New one on me...

We have a multitude of accents, traditional received pronunciation, "estuary english", varieties of Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Macunian, Scouse, Brummie.

Oh sorry I forgot, "London" IS England for a lot of you! lol

As for the "harsh working class British English" WTF?!