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American_Alex
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Toe is in the water |
Location: New York, upstate
Registered: October 2017
Messages: 98
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I'm reading through the story "The Bully and the Bullied", which is set somewhere in a northern rural location in the US. I'm up to chapter 3, and already the word "bloody" has been used twice. Americans DO NOT use this word, unless they are trying to sound stereotypically British. Never in the US, and rarely even in Canada. Using British vernacular in an "American" story is improper, and should be avoided.
Certain other "Britishisms" should also be avoided when trying to sound like an American. Words like "pram", "roundabout", "petrol" and "boffin", exclamations such as "brilliant", "oi" and "cor" are also never used in American dialogue. Certain 'Northern' or Celtic terms like "bairn", or "ceilidh" will confuse most Americans. Certain grammatical forms like "the caller has hang up" or "in hospital" are also distinctly British, and not American. Certain loan words from French, like "aubergine", "abbatoir", "fete" or "palais" likewise are never used in Amercan vernacular.
Going further, there are certain terms which would confuse nearly any American. "Lollipop lady", "fruit machine", "rock trousers", and "Hoxton bonnet" come to mind, mostly because I've just recently learned these expressions. British standard spellings also sometime differ; sometimes slightly, as in center/centre, to the more extreme like in jail/gaol. A quick way to make these sort of issues minimal would be to set your spell-checker to American standard English, if only to check your accuracy.
"Able was I ere I saw Elba"
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Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Fri, 16 November 2018 23:31
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Fri, 16 November 2018 23:41
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: Mark on Sat, 17 November 2018 00:19
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sat, 17 November 2018 09:09
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: NW on Sat, 17 November 2018 11:40
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sat, 17 November 2018 15:09
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: Mark on Sat, 17 November 2018 16:15
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sat, 17 November 2018 16:26
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: Mark on Sun, 18 November 2018 04:11
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sun, 18 November 2018 08:26
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The usage of 'sir' etc
By: timmy on Sun, 18 November 2018 09:21
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Re: The usage of 'sir' etc
By: NW on Sun, 18 November 2018 09:36
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Re: The usage of 'sir' etc
By: Mark on Sun, 18 November 2018 14:06
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: joecasey on Sat, 17 November 2018 20:43
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sun, 18 November 2018 08:20
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Sat, 17 November 2018 16:28
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: chrisr on Sat, 17 November 2018 18:43
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Re: Words Americans do not use
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Re: Words Americans do not use
By: timmy on Tue, 20 November 2018 16:52
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