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Americanisms abroad

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The Indian Express Posted: Nov 26, 2008 at 2320 hrs IST
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One of the trickier issues that presented itself as I composed a style guide for The National concerned what should be done about Americanisms. Life was more straightforward when I worked in London for The Daily Telegraph, which somewhat grandly banned each example provided there was “a reasonable word of our own”. Here [in the UAE], the case for British English as our mode of expression was irresistible (though an Englishman would say that). Nevertheless, flexibility was desirable given the large numbers of Americans and Canadians, in the UAE. Snatches of American conversation have, in any case, crept into everyday usage. Many people now routinely order food or drink by saying “can I get..?” in place of “may I have..? Worse, the question “how are you?” frequently brings the reply “I’m good”. With the language in disarray, what possible hope was there of persuading American colleagues to use good when meaning virtuous or well-behaved rather than to indicate that they were in robust health or did not require a second helping?...

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[My style guide] acknowledged that certain words and phrases had become interchangeable through usage. “Apartment/flat is a good example of acceptable synonyms, while the phrase ‘French fries’ is readily understood to mean what the British call chips.”...Even so, The National’s clear preference is for the English variant whenever conflict arises. Defence is never defense. ...Cars are cars, with bonnets not hoods... employees work from Monday to Friday, not Monday through Friday. Events happen on Tuesday, they do not happen Tuesday. In the spirit of flexibility, however, candidates may stand or run for office and films may be movies.

From a comment by Colin Randall, the executive editor of ‘The National’ in Abu Dhabi

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