Minding our language on the use of Americanisms
The continual expansion of the English language is inevitable and welcome. But while Elisabeth Ribbans is right that 'it would be a mistake to regard language as a fortress', it is not unreasonable to lament the effect of some invasive species whose proliferation is so rapid that native alternatives face possible extinction (How the use of a word in the Guardian has gotten some readers upset, 4 June).
'Gotten' may be an innocuous, if inelegant, English word making a return journey from the US, but some other US variants are more problematic. For example, the phrase 'Can I get …?' is suffocating more polite ways of making a request, such as 'May I/can I have …?' or simply 'I'd like …'. It is also annoyingly inaccurate, since in most cases the person asking has no intention of helping themselves and wouldn't be allowed to, even if they wanted to.
But wholesale adoption not only leads to neglect of alternatives, it can also produce banality. So when both a sandwich and a sunset might today be described as 'awesome', it is reasonable to imagine that even as eclectic a wordsmith as Shakespeare might consider modern English borrowings as diminishing the language through having gotten lazy.Paul McGilchristCromer, Norfolk
Thank you, Elisabeth Ribbans, for your article on the cosmopolitan and evolving use of words in the English language. I am always stung by the snobbery I encounter among my British peers regarding American words or spellings. Criticism of American accents more so. My country of origin provokes pride and shame in increasingly equal measure, but to be cowed because of my voice, both written and spoken, leaves a foul taste. Once we've gotten past this distasteful persnicketiness, we can actually appreciate the meaning of the words being used, not just their spelling.Dr Amy FultonOxton, Scottish Borders
I grew up in the old West Riding, only a few miles from the county border with Lancashire. In the early 1950s, we regularly used the word 'gotten'. It was frowned on by teachers and others addicted to standard English. I believe the use of the word was common in other districts of Yorkshire. It is an English and not an American word, which has sadly passed out of use. Language evolves!Roderick WilsonAmpleforth, North Yorkshire
When I worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, US, in the 1980s, my friendly editor had more appreciation of British irony than spelling. She once wrote on a draft paper: 'Richard. Please pick one spelling of 'practice' and stick to it.'Richard LammingShaldon, Devon
Am I alone in finding 'shined' for 'shone' less than illuminating? Incidentally, like, who introduced 'like' like?Bill WintripDorchester, Dorset
So not an ill-gotten 'gotten' then. Now where do we stand on 'snuck'?Tony RimmerLytham St Anne's, Lancashire
Never mind 'faucet' and 'gotten' (Letters, 29 May), I've been racking my brain: in what play did Shakespeare use 'worser'? (Colon used free gratis.)Iain FentonLancaster
Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
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