The Americanisation of die Englische Sprache
 

My wife and are enjoying a brief return to England, having lived here for most of 2010. The previous stay was long enough that we were getting pretty good at understanding English. We've been away long enough that the invasion of Americanisms is noticeable and surprising to us.

Bangers and Mash has become Sausages and Mash.
Chips are frequently referred to as fries.
Bookings are now often reservations.

We've also noticed a few not related to food, although I don't recall them at the moment.

I think of it as more of a homogenisation of English. The world is slowly converging towards one global usage with influences from many different places affecting all countries. It is not just USA (which I assume you mean when you say American?) imposing its language on others. It also works in reverse with USA taking on words from elsewhere.

William, spot any whilsts yet? While the elusive crepuscular critter known as the whilst ([i]Whiles anglorum stiffupperlabius[/i]) exists in the English-speaking New World, it it exceedingly rare here in the wild, and most often found behind glass in zoos and research institutes.

I do hope its numbers in its native habitat are not dwindling as are those of the other exemplars you note.

I'm sure globalization plays a role, but in Britain vocabulary (and, to an extent, food) are still a matter of social class.

[QUOTE]
Ed Milliband [leader of the UK Labour Party] had an unfortunate campaign...He made the elementary blunder of trying to tackle a bacon-and-ketchup butty in front of a salivating mob of cameramen. It is wrong to blame this on his lack of an aide with a background in TV. You do not need experience in the broadcast media to know that it is a messy business eating a bacon butty; you simply have to have eaten one before.
[/QUOTE]
From an article on the current election campaign:
[URL]http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/24/ed-miliband-labour-local-elections-party-campaign[/URL]

[QUOTE=Nick;374233][...] in Britain vocabulary (and, to an extent, food) are still a matter of social class.[/QUOTE]
...and location, as well as social class. I grew up partly in the northwest of England where such gastronomical delights as the "chip butty" were popular. Elsewhere in the country, the chip butty was hardly known in the language, let alone the diet.

In the UK, the diet gets worse the further north you go. In Glasgow a popular item sold by fish-and-chip shops is the deep-fried Mars bar.

That and the chip butty are exceedingly full of megacalories, and regular consumption thereof will increase a person's body mass and reduce said person's life expectancy.

[QUOTE=Nick;374233]I'm sure globalization plays a role, but in Britain vocabulary (and, to an extent, food) are still a matter of social class.[/QUOTE]

I had to look up "butty". Now I am wondering, did he have chips in that? In any case, buttered white bread with catsup and bacon sounds nasty.

+1 to "homogenization" because that's pretty much it. In Paris, just last week, I saw a bit of the same.

I don't have much of a soft spot for people lamenting the "degradation" of the language. If English is indeed destined to be the language of Earth, it would be cool to have one dialect and one spelling of each word.

EDIT: On the other hand, I am one to use -our instead of -or whenever possible. Favour vs Favor. It's a bit inconsistent of me, and that confuses me somewhat. :shrug:

[QUOTE=retina;374217]homogenisation[/QUOTE][QUOTE=TheMawn;374254]homogenization[/QUOTE][QUOTE=TheMawn;374254]... and one spelling of each word.[/QUOTE]I was first so do I win?

[QUOTE=kladner;374248]I had to look up "butty". Now I am wondering, did he have chips in that? In any case, buttered white bread with catsup and bacon sounds nasty.[/QUOTE]It might sound nasty but as long as you use ketchup instead of catsup it tastes delicious.

[QUOTE=retina;374255]I was first so do I win?[/QUOTE]

Lord of Evil needs someone else to tell him if he wins?