Posts Tagged ‘americanism’
The other day I went to visit a friend where she works. As I waited in the reception area I could see and hear a lot of what was going on. It’s an open plan call center where all you could hear was constant chattering. One lady (if I can call he that) stood out like a sore thumb. Not because of her appearance or anything but from what was coming out of her mouth. She wasn’t swearing but she was having a hissy fit! I gathered she was the ‘team leader’ of her section. Her problem? “Our phone numbers start with thirteen hundred and NOT one three hundred”! I thought to myself…’what the…’? Then my friend came out and I asked her what was that woman’s problem? She explained to me that she was one of these people who hate ‘Americanisms’. She apparently had a fit one day in the lunch room when some of her staff were using expressions such as ‘I kicked his butt’ and ‘cool dude’ and words like vacation instead of holiday, butt instead of bum, diaper instead of nappy, garbage instead of rubbish, cell phone instead of mobile phone and elevator instead of lift. Is this woman for real? Unfortunately, she is. To people like that I say, “get a f*#@ing life”!!
What am I getting at here? It’s simple. Because we live in a multi cultural society, the Internet and other technological advances has brought us so much closer, whats the big deal in using another countries expressions? I’m sure there are plenty of people in America and other countries who use our Aussie expressions like mate and barbie (short for barbecue) for example. As a Team Leader (which is also a manager) she should not be so narrow minded as to ‘ban’ various American expressions from the workplace. As long as her staff are not using crude expressions at work, what does it matter? Let people express themselves in whatever style of ‘isms’ they like.
There are many more important things as a manager to worry about than if people are using the ‘queens’ English. Language has always evolved and will continue to evolve so we should all just learn to deal with it. If this woman hates Americanisms so much, then maybe she shouldn’t buy anything American made either. I know for a fact that she drives a Chrysler 300C (I love that car) so maybe she should trade that in and get a locally made Holden or a Ford…but then again, where are the parent companies for Holden and Ford? 
Cheers
Andrew Bailey
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