Is it ok to use American slang as a Brit?

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

It gradually gets absorbed, the term "OK" is American slang in itself but is now global. How many of us have issues saying things like "cool". I even heard of very old farts complaining that "yeah" was a horrible American practise.

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bluetooth_pizza@reddit

Depending on what slang you're using it's either become completely normalised or it can definitely raise eyebrows. Doesn't mean it's not "ok" to use, just something to think about.

"You guys" is fine, think most Brits say it nowadays. "Y'all" definitely sounds odd with any kind of UK accent. Then there's things like "fanny", which they use to mean bum - doesn't quite have the same meaning over here.

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CommercialAd2154@reddit

Some of them are so established in British English that you’d hardly know they were American (‘movie’ and ‘film’ are used interchangeably for example), but if my wife (who is a non-native English speaker) accidentally uses an American word like ‘y’all’, you can bet I’m going to rip the piss out of her lol

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WanderlustZero@reddit

No. Use Canadian slang instead.

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WanderlustZero@reddit

Donald Trump downvoted this

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sullgk0d@reddit

Ok, but the use of "eh" only gets you so far...

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WanderlustZero@reddit

Okay hoser

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Ryclea@reddit

Cultural appropriation is the singular most American thing possible.

I, as the official representative of America, invite you to use any American slang you wish

Cheets, mate!.

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WanderlustZero@reddit

That's cultural Imperialism then

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Ryclea@reddit

Copying other people is the singular most human activity possible. Cave 76 had a wheel, so we got one, too.

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WanderlustZero@reddit

But in general you want to copy from the people who've made innovations, not ruined something someone else made

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JacobDCRoss@reddit

I see you must never have met a Japanese person. Not only do they love to appropriate things for their culture, they really love it. When other people do it to them. To a Japanese person, it's more of an appreciation than anything.

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apeliott@reddit

One of my Japanese friends used to own a business renting out kimono. Most of her customers were foreigners. Everyone was happy with it.

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glasgowgeg@reddit

Most of her customers were foreigners. Everyone was happy with it

That's cultural appreciation, not appropriation, though.

Cultural appropriation typically is something like the commercialisation of Native American war bonnets, which are signs of respect, honour, and authority within a tribe, not part of a costume for going to a music festival in a desert.

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JacobDCRoss@reddit

Yes. And a lot of the things that people think of as Japanese ended up coming from foreign countries. One of the most popular breeds of koi fish is called a doitsu, which is their word for German. Because it's from Germany. Tempura foods were brought there by the Portuguese like 400 years ago and the Shogun really liked it so it caught on. Ramune soda was invented by a Scottish man in Japan.

There's a whole bunch of things like that, honestly, it just helps make everyone that much richer, in a cultural sense.

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sullgk0d@reddit

Yeah.

When my wife and I got married, my not-so-traditional future Japanese inlaws made it abundantly clear that I would be wearing kimono. When I very gently pushed back, saying about as bluntly as I could under the circumstances that I look better in a tux (my father-in-law was a senior vice president of JA/Zennoh, so he was quite familiar with suits) and that it felt like cosplay to me.

He smiled warmly, turned his back on me and walked out without saying a word. My then-future wife said, "Welp, I guess that you're gonna be wearing a kimono." I shrugged and it turned out to be cool, culturally interesting and fun. I kept fooling around with my fan when the cameras weren't rolling and stopping when I was aware of attention. One of the photographers made it his mission to catch me in the act and I kept seeing him before he nabbed me. We were both very aware of the game. At the end, I told my wife that I thought that I won. When the photos came out, she laughed and said, "Game over, big boy," and handed me a photo. The guy managed to catch me in the act and I was chagrined, pleasantly.

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sullgk0d@reddit

u/Chickenman70806

Does your FIL still push you around?

That is an insightful question and it made me think.

I think that the answer is "no."

I come from Appalachia in the States. We have a clannish orientation, much like the Scots, from which many of us claim ancestry. Regardless, it was this culture that dominates the long term families there. It's easy for me to drop into recognizing him as "chief" or whatever term you want to drop for this notion.

I took his little girl away. I, a straight-up foreigner, took his little girl away. We moved to Saudi Arabia. In my mind, looking back all of those years ago, he deserved some deference that I instinctively knew to give him. My MIL told me when we left after we were married, "Well, we always knew when she wanted to go to Uni in the States that there was a chance that she'd find a foreigner to marry."

I had done pretty well in my career before we met, so I wasn't coming into the relationship as an unwashed hillbilly, either. I have a Computer Science degree and had done well enough to work internationally before she and I met. He knew, on some level, that she would be provided for despite me moving her to the desert, but the fact remains: I was taking his little girl away.

Now, we live in Hawai'i, and I think that he sees some of his earlier faith in me manifested in reality.

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Chickenman70806@reddit

Does your FIL still push you around?

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JacobDCRoss@reddit

That's a really lovely story

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sullgk0d@reddit

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to tell me.

There are layers under formal kimono, too, all brilliantly illustrated. I took photos of some of them because I had no idea about that before I went through the process.

Also, my wife's hairpiece was about as "flowing" as a motorcycle helmet. You could rap it with your fist and it would make a knocking sound.

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Infinite_Strategy490@reddit

Because no one outside America has appropriated blue jeans, ball caps, hip-hop or phrases like "Ich bin in einem Meeting"?

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Own-Employer-4957@reddit

You have confused me so much good sir. Well done!

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mr-dirtybassist@reddit

No. It's generally frowned upon and often followed with being asked "what, are you a yabo or something?"

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No-Presentation-7236@reddit

There’s no American slang that isn’t also English

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thewearisomeMachine@reddit

I think a lot of Native Americans would disagree

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State_Of_Franklin@reddit

Don't forget about the Cajuns, Creole, Gullah, and Pennsylvania Dutch.

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sullgk0d@reddit

Also Hawai'ian...

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Rookie_42@reddit

That’s hot garbage.

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elitejackal@reddit

Let me get my thinking pants o- I mean underwear

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Impressive-Egg4494@reddit

If you really want to test the waters, go on a local Scottish Facebook group and ask what day you should put the trash out. Most comments would be about you using the word 'trash'.

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sullgk0d@reddit

Hey, we use the word "rubbish" in Hawai'i, too.

I can't remember the last time that I used the word "trash," tbh. At least 10 years ago...

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Any_Listen_7306@reddit

This is so true. Next week ask about the garbage truck.

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roymunson82@reddit

Word of warning then. Out there they call them 'fanny-packs'. Cos fanny means your arse over there. Not your minge

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123Catskill@reddit

Don’t worry about it. Just be yourself.

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tartanthing@reddit

Please don't axe anyone if they could care less. This is still a capital offence.

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Shortchange96@reddit

BECSPK

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Infinite_Spring_3564@reddit

No, it’s incredibly annoying imo. Try to do your best to curb it.

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GotAnyNirnroot@reddit

I mean, you're free to speak how you want.

Obviously odd words/phrases will sound odd yo our ears.

But many Americanisms have entered our culture, via entertainment etc.

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Scav_Construction@reddit

Whackin in my tool shed!

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MashedPotatoIsDevine@reddit

I find it annoying as hell when I hear another British person use American slang.

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WanderlustZero@reddit

Like dipping a silk handkerchief in oil

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Diazepam_Dan@reddit

I generally consider American cultural encroachment quite worrysome but I'm not about to police random people's language so say what you want

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Borgmeister@reddit

I'm British, my partner is American - we love mangling each other's slang.

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Altruistic_Cicada_67@reddit

Examples?...

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ONLY_SAYS_ONLY@reddit

“Baloney my jagoff, baseball!”

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Salty-Ambition9733@reddit

Jagoff? Hellooooo, fellow Pittsburgher!

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erin_burr@reddit

Yinz're everywhere

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CrowLaneS41@reddit

Eyyy, I'm walkin' here !

Howdy partner !

And that's it.

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CrowLaneS41@reddit

Eyyy, I'm walkin' here !

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Willywonka5725@reddit

Sorry, but American slang is subject to a tariff of 500 braincells, paid for by the user.

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State_Of_Franklin@reddit

That was funny.

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HootinHollerHill@reddit

As an American, as long as it’s contextually appropriate (or within spitting distance of appropriate), I don’t mind non-Americans using our slang. We have such a hold over entertainment that it would be shocking if other non-Americans didn’t know or use our slang.

I tend to “code switch” a lot out of habit and out of having multiple cultural and regional markers that are somewhat at odds with each other. I was just in Glasgow last month and a Glaswegian was telling me a story and I responded with “That’s absolutely mental, innit?” as opposed to what I would say here in the U.S. as “That’s crazy, dude.”

Slang away, my friend.

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Lifelemons9393@reddit

No it's not.

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Automatic-Concept147@reddit

You have to slide a 'ya'll' in for all that is love and holy. Thank you the American South.

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Antique-Link3477@reddit

It's sometimes cringey but there's no laws against it.

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CtForrestEye@reddit

It's bloody fine

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Swarovski_8X20B@reddit

Yeh go for it.

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afcote1@reddit

No.

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Scary-Towel6962@reddit

It is often embarrassing yes. Black people seem to love it especially though and it's becoming more normalised.

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invalidnifemi@reddit

as a nigerian brit, i use it alot too and i personally think its completely fine

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JagoHazzard@reddit

The greatest writers in the English language did whatever they wanted. It is respectful to follow their example.

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BoldRay@reddit

Why not use Scottish or Nigerian slang? Scottish and Nigerian English dialects have some of the richest, funniest terms and phrases? American is just… meh

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invalidnifemi@reddit

you raise a good point (im nigerian), but its still up to them

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PlanetSwallower@reddit

I think it's fine. Languages grow and change all the time, British English is already much influenced by Americanisms in ways we can't see because they've been naturalised, your use of slang is just part of an ongoing process.

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RhinoRhys@reddit

The point of language is to convey meaning. If the other person understands what you mean then it really doesn't matter what noises you make.

But the likelihood of you being understood entirely depends on the other person.

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elitejackal@reddit

I do when I talk to my American friends while I’m playing video games online with them, hell I’ve got a few Aussie friends I use their slang too. It just depends who you are talking to and if you’re good friends.