Banned Words

stu-bim

I am sure it is only meant as a way of introducing / reinforcing that these are not acceptable usage of the words in proper english

I doubt there are the 'like police' with an enforceable punishment

Probably a way of introducing debate on the issue

Just dribble for a newspaper pick to blow out of all proportion

greg66_tri_v2.0

Cornerblock wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

totes, amazeballs

MASSIVE at my elder daughter's SW London school. Along with "kk".

What's kk?

Okay - which, along with "hi" and "yeah", my parents tried very very hard to stop me using as a child, regarding them as lazy and unwelcome Americanisms.

How times change...

greg66_tri_v2.0

Sketchley wrote:

exclaiming 'fool' in a loud voice

In the style of Mr T from the A Team? I can see that that might have caused problems.

stu-bim

Sketchley wrote:

I discovered a few years ago having moved to large open plan office that exclaiming 'fool' in a loud voice when spotting a bug in my code wasn't acceptable.

A friend when he first moved to Barbados learned the Bajan equivelent of damn being 'rass' while playing football
And he would use it a lot in the exact same context as above

It is the shortened version of 'rasshole' with both being two of the more vulgar local curse words. Its up there with the C word for most people here
http://barbados.gssites.com/pages/links/naughtyslang.htm

Needless to say eventually someone explained to him that some of the Bajans in the openplan office had complained and maybe he should use a different word
(from my understanding eventually happened to be a few months)

EKE_38BPM

It really bugs me when my trainees finish a drill and ask me "Did I do good?"
I usually ask them if they are American and the reply is usually "No." So I correct them with "Well, the question is 'Did I do well?' You're British, not American."

Then I continue with "Dude, you were AWESOME! High five!" (not really).

"Like" (as in "I was, like, riding down the road") or "Sort of" (as in "I was, sort of, riding down the road") annoying me, along with the rising antipodean inflection? and "You get me?" "You see what I'm saying" etc

joelsim

Putting 'like' into a sentence just makes people sound stupid.

Headhuunter

EKE_38BPM wrote:

It really bugs me when my trainees finish a drill and ask me "Did I do good?"
I usually ask them if they are American and the reply is usually "No." So I correct them with "Well, the question is 'Did I do well?' You're British, not American."

Then I continue with "Dude, you were AWESOME! High five!" (not really).

"Like" (as in "I was, like, riding down the road") or "Sort of" (as in "I was, sort of, riding down the road") annoying me, along with the rising antipodean inflection? and "You get me?" "You see what I'm saying" etc

But British English, especially in London is so Americanised these days.... I cringe when I'm on a coffee place and I hear people say "Yeah, can I get a....".... Can I GET! It's just grates on me for some reason...

daviesee

Joelsim wrote:

Putting 'like' into a sentence just makes people sound stupid.

I like that comment.
Oh.

cyclingprop

Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying "Is it".

tgotb

Joelsim wrote:

Putting 'like' into a sentence just makes people sound stupid.

Especially as part of the phrase "I was like".

"It was like so embarrassed!"
"Ah, so you weren't actually embarrassed, you just felt a similar emotion (innit)."

daddy0

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCz7Owuz15U&list=PL4pn74Dz2XWZLNXT1q6kGcLGq0l2uYLKy

The banned words are already about 10 years out of date. They've only picked words to ban that they can understand and have failed to grasp the actual problem.

I work around the corner from the Harris Academy, and I've lived in the surrounding area all my life. Most 20-30 somethings I know in Croydon, and the surrounding areas, all talk like this. Most as an ironic pi$$take, but some "don't get it" and think they sound like a "bad man". Most early 20 somethings I know, both at work and socially, actually think that talking street is normal and I believe its the language they use for their internal monologue - its how they think...

Watch the channel 4 series PhoneShop, its bare jokes, blud. It is also a fairly accurate dramatisation of what its like in manz ends (in south London).

voodooman

Try working in an EBD+ school. My students call me blud, though when they spell it (or tattoo it) it has an umlaut? Weird.

rjsterry

Daddy0 wrote:

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCz7Owuz15U&list=PL4pn74Dz2XWZLNXT1q6kGcLGq0l2uYLKy

The banned words are already about 10 years out of date. They've only picked words to ban that they can understand and have failed to grasp the actual problem.

I work around the corner from the Harris Academy, and I've lived in the surrounding area all my life. Most 20-30 somethings I know in Croydon, and the surrounding areas, all talk like this. Most as an ironic pi$$take, but some "don't get it" and think they sound like a "bad man". Most early 20 somethings I know, both at work and socially, actually think that talking street is normal and I believe its the language they use for their internal monologue - its how they think...

Watch the channel 4 series PhoneShop, its bare jokes, blud. It is also a fairly accurate dramatisation of what its like in manz ends (in south London).

Watch it? Sutton High St is just down the road; I can go and see the real thing.

EKE_38BPM

Headhuunter wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

It really bugs me when my trainees finish a drill and ask me "Did I do good?"
I usually ask them if they are American and the reply is usually "No." So I correct them with "Well, the question is 'Did I do well?' You're British, not American."

Then I continue with "Dude, you were AWESOME! High five!" (not really).

"Like" (as in "I was, like, riding down the road") or "Sort of" (as in "I was, sort of, riding down the road") annoying me, along with the rising antipodean inflection? and "You get me?" "You see what I'm saying" etc

But British English, especially in London is so Americanised these days.... I cringe when I'm on a coffee place and I hear people say "Yeah, can I get a....".... Can I GET! It's just grates on me for some reason...

Mrs EKE is generally very well spoken but she says "Can I get...". I pull her up on it every time.

rolf_f

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Anyone, and I mean anyone, who sets themselves the goal of banning "like" (other than in its proper usage) and sentences beginning with "Basically" has both my admiration and pity in equal measure.

"Literally" belongs on the list. Along with "really/quite/fairly unique"; an expression used by people I would be happy to see really/quite/fairly dead. Literally.

"Literally" tends to make me laugh inside - I always think "Are you sure you mean 'literally' - or do you mean 'figuratively'?"..........

Easy check to see if what someone is saying is ridiculous - replace the offending term with it's opposite.

sketchley

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

exclaiming 'fool' in a loud voice

In the style of Mr T from the A Team? I can see that that might have caused problems.

Damn rude word filter. The word I used began with c and is another word for Rooster. Still I think we should have a national talk like Mr T day to run alongside national talk like a pirate day... I ain't getting on no plane.....

tgotb

Sketchley wrote:

The word I used began with c and is another word for Rooster.

I can see why using that in an office environment was deemed to be inappropriate...

sketchley

TGOTB wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

The word I used began with c and is another word for Rooster.

I can see why using that in an office environment was deemed to be inappropriate...

Agreed, but there was nothing wrong with it when I had my own office, I just had to learn new behaviour in new environment. Which was original point, nothing wrong with teaching children what is appropriate where. I still get told I talk loudly though which I'm struggling to sort out......

Gallywomack

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

But British English, especially in London is so Americanised these days.... I cringe when I'm on a coffee place and I hear people say "Yeah, can I get a....".... Can I GET! It's just grates on me for some reason...

Mrs EKE is generally very well spoken but she says "Can I get...". I pull her up on it every time.

It's all so pervasive though. I haven't succumbed to 'can I ged' yet, but ordering a sandwich - I can't even think how to specify the kind of bread I want without saying 'on white' or 'on granary' or whatever. If I do try and avoid the Americanism, I end up coming out with some awkward phrasing like 'salt beef please...made with rye bread...'. OK, on paper that looks fine, but try uttering those words in the high-pressure environment of a City sandwich shop and you sound like a total rube...er dufus...er plonker.

rjsterry

Gallywomack wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

But British English, especially in London is so Americanised these days.... I cringe when I'm on a coffee place and I hear people say "Yeah, can I get a....".... Can I GET! It's just grates on me for some reason...

Mrs EKE is generally very well spoken but she says "Can I get...". I pull her up on it every time.

It's all so pervasive though. I haven't succumbed to 'can I ged' yet, but ordering a sandwich - I can't even think how to specify the kind of bread I want without saying 'on white' or 'on granary' or whatever. If I do try and avoid the Americanism, I end up coming out with some awkward phrasing like 'salt beef please...made with rye bread...'. OK, on paper that looks fine, but try uttering those words in the high-pressure environment of a City sandwich shop and you sound like a total rube...er dufus...er plonker.

Before we get too jingoistic, many "Americanisms" are actually archaic British English figures of speech that halve since died out on this side of the pond.

bdave262000

My wife recently told a woman to stop swearing at staff in our local Costa. She turned round to my wife and said "faarkk off you ain't even english innit" my wife asked her to repeat what she said as she couldn't understand her accent.

Gallywomack

rjsterry wrote:

Before we get too jingoistic, many "Americanisms" are actually archaic British English figures of speech that halve since died out on this side of the pond.

Oh yeah I know - 'gotten' being a commonly-cited example. Someone told me that 'can I get', or at least using 'get' in that passive sense, is a long-established formulation in parts of the north-west, but have never had this confirmed (certainly not by actually going there - perish the thought!). However, I don't think smart young women drawling 'can I ged a skinny latte' in London coffee shops are unconsciously preserving a relict provincial formulation! And I suspect the 'on' thing with sandwich-ordering is likely to have had its genesis in the land of the free - I might be wrong but I think having a choice of how your sandwich comes is a very recent addition to the British culinary landscape...

greg66_tri_v2.0

Gallywomack wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

But British English, especially in London is so Americanised these days.... I cringe when I'm on a coffee place and I hear people say "Yeah, can I get a....".... Can I GET! It's just grates on me for some reason...

Mrs EKE is generally very well spoken but she says "Can I get...". I pull her up on it every time.

It's all so pervasive though. I haven't succumbed to 'can I ged' yet, but ordering a sandwich - I can't even think how to specify the kind of bread I want without saying 'on white' or 'on granary' or whatever. If I do try and avoid the Americanism, I end up coming out with some awkward phrasing like 'salt beef please...made with rye bread...'. OK, on paper that looks fine, but try uttering those words in the high-pressure environment of a City sandwich shop and you sound like a total rube...er dufus...er plonker.

Yeah. If you're feeling the pressure as a customer, imagine what the staff must be feeling!

The "can I get...?" thing. Do people object to (a) "can"; (b) "get"; (c) "can" and "get"?

rjsterry

Gallywomack wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Before we get too jingoistic, many "Americanisms" are actually archaic British English figures of speech that halve since died out on this side of the pond.

Oh yeah I know - 'gotten' being a commonly-cited example. Someone told me that 'can I get', or at least using 'get' in that passive sense, is a long-established formulation in parts of the north-west, but have never had this confirmed (certainly not by actually going there - perish the thought!). However, I don't think smart young women drawling 'can I ged a skinny latte' in London coffee shops are unconsciously preserving a relict provincial formulation! And I suspect the 'on' thing with sandwich-ordering is likely to have had its genesis in the land of the free - I might be wrong but I think having a choice of how your sandwich comes is a very recent addition to the British culinary landscape...

The funny thing is, I've caught myself doing it when ordering a coffee, but for example at the bakery, I would always say "could I have a large wholemeal and a couple of eccles cakes?"

Use of 'of' when it should be 'have' - "I shouldn't of..." really gets on my wick, and I had it drummed into me that it should be different from, rather than different to, but apparently both are correct.

Gallywomack

The "can I get...?" thing. Do people object to (a) "can"; (b) "get"; (c) "can" and "get"?

I just object to the fact that 15 or so years ago, nobody said it, but since 'Friends' and ordering stuff in coffee shops came to our awareness, now everyone says it. That is just weak-minded to me. Like the way in which what would have been called the disco (primary school) or ball (secondary school/sixth form/uni) in my day is now commonly known as the 'prom'. It's weak-minded co-option of American language and culture for no better reason than we watch a lot of telly and films from there.

I have a pet theory that 'Friends' is directly responsible for the rise of the coffee shop in the UK.

tgotb

Gallywomack wrote:

I might be wrong but I think having a choice of how your sandwich comes is a very recent addition to the British culinary landscape...

I've always hated ordering sandwiches in the US, it's like a gestapo interrogation. I now actively avoid many City lunch outlets that probably produce very nice food, because I can't face the ordeal of ordering...

msmancunia

Gallywomack wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Before we get too jingoistic, many "Americanisms" are actually archaic British English figures of speech that halve since died out on this side of the pond.

Oh yeah I know - 'gotten' being a commonly-cited example. Someone told me that 'can I get', or at least using 'get' in that passive sense, is a long-established formulation in parts of the north-west, but have never had this confirmed (certainly not by actually going there - perish the thought!). However, I don't think smart young women drawling 'can I ged a skinny latte' in London coffee shops are unconsciously preserving a relict provincial formulation! And I suspect the 'on' thing with sandwich-ordering is likely to have had its genesis in the land of the free - I might be wrong but I think having a choice of how your sandwich comes is a very recent addition to the British culinary landscape...

In the north west people usually call you a get - as in " you lazy get". I think it's a version of "git".

The "can I get.." got on my nerves so much I decided to have a one-woman protest and say "please may I have.?". It's not until you start doing it that you realise that shop assistants/baristas/counter staff/waiters etc are just a lot nicer when you do.

rjsterry

TGOTB wrote:

Gallywomack wrote:

I might be wrong but I think having a choice of how your sandwich comes is a very recent addition to the British culinary landscape...

I've always hated ordering sandwiches in the US,

Yes, they are a bit past their best by the time they arrive in London :roll:

it's like a gestapo interrogation. I now actively avoid many City lunch outlets that probably produce very nice food, because I can't face the ordeal of ordering...

+1 I'd just like to buy a sandwich; I don't want to be shouted at because I can't reel off EXACTLY what bread, butter/marge, main filling, secondary filling, salad, etc. I want without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

greg66_tri_v2.0

rjsterry wrote:

+1 I'd just like to buy a sandwich; I don't want to be shouted at because I can't reel off EXACTLY what bread, butter/marge, main filling, secondary filling, salad, etc. I want without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

It's a two-way street. Many years ago I had a staple order of turkey and bacon with cranberry and mayo, no butter, on malted bread. The sandwich makers' success rate was about 1 in 7. The nadir was discovering, on returning to my desk, that I had a white bread mayo and jam sandwich...

rubertoe

msmancunia wrote:

"please may I have.?". It's not until you start doing it that you realise that shop assistants/baristas/counter staff/waiters etc are just a lot nicer when you do.

Its totes amaze how being polite to people affects how they treat you.