I find that, increasingly, I use way more Americanisms than “Englishisms”. This has also been a conscious decision on my part for a few underlying factors; a) through increasing American contacts and b) the TV and film industry.
Having married an American, I now have an increasing amount of American’s who I’d like to communicate with – the easiest way to do so is through using Americanisms. I don’t feel like this is a bad thing, and I don’t feel like I’m neglecting where I came from or who I am by doing so. The aim is communicating well across the board, no matter who my audience with.
I feel like this is more allowed due to the way TV and film have affected the way we talk and have given us a huge amount of exposure to American culture (albeit probably an exaggerated version). I think about it logically, and actually all of my favourite TV shows (bar Match of the Day and Topgear) are American – even in the sport arena, I’m longing for the NFL season to get up and running again! American’s, in my opinion, do not have the same exposure to English culture. I am using phrases or words such as “diapers” or “stroller” over their English counterparts, “nappies” and “pushchairs”. If truth be told, then I’m sure most of my English friends know exactly what a diaper or stroller is, because we are exposed to that culture and set of words.
It’s not a bad thing, and I don’t feel any guilt in doing this. I just want people to understand me, ya’ll.
P.S. I wonder just how many times in the above I’ve been very “English” as opposed to “American”… is it time for me to eat my words yet?
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