Smashing
Old Chap
Brilliant
Old Bean
Jolly Good
Cheerio
...etc

This is a debate between my girlfriend and I, and one of us must win.

The Queen's English, please.

Old Chap--were not from the 18th centuary
Brilliant-duh
Old Bean-- again its 2007 now
Jolly Good- only old folks and amreicans pretending to be english
Cheerio- oh yea
...etc

and the queen is of german heratige ...

oh and in england yorkshir then leeds im secrently shaking my fist at the people who think we all talk like that... their are brits in amreica that you wouldnt even know were english. like the dad out of frasier and erm..well thats all i can think of rite now

Smashing - Yeah
Old Chap - Nah
Brilliant - Of course
Old Bean - Nope
Jolly Good - Hell not
Cheerio - Uncommon

"Smashing" and "Brilliant" are used in British English, "Cheerio" is not common, and "Jolly Good", "Old Chap" and "Old Bean" are just.... Meh, they are not used anymore...

Note; I voted yes, because some people use these words, especially old folks.

king's English
–noun
standard, educated, or correct English speech or usage, esp. of England.

Also called, when a queen is sovereign, queen's English.

...was jokingly in reference to...




When people speak English in a way that is non-standard and generally incomprehensible by the standard English speaker, the other may prompt them to speak in "the Queen's English." That's what I meant; now you know.

The argument arose out of the fact that the English say "smashing," which I said they didn't, but I also contested that the English don't say all those other words Americans stereotype Brits as saying. I suppose I lost the initial argument, but on a larger scale, I was right. 50/50

I think it's interesting, comparing the North American (Canada matters too! .... wait, no we don't) stereotypes of cultures to the truth. It's what makes being online fun. n.n At least for an over analyst like me.



"In a fortnight, we're going to the Queen's house for tea and crumpets."

I voted no.

Crap! History lesson! Run away!

*lol* "Brilliant" and "Smashing" are common, "Cheerio"s hell uncommon and oters re not used anymore.

"Brilliant" and "Smashing" are both common worldwide, so I don't see why people associate them with Britain. Britain lost all of its "exclusive" words late 19th Century.

Not really. I have never in my entire life heard someone use brilliant OR smashing in that context.

Seriously though, is there one nation that Americans haven't stereotyped?

Except America, 'coz they just nicked everyone else's language, and culture, and settlements. YOU AREN'T EVEN FROM AMERICA!!!!

I HATE americanized spelling. You should apologiSe for ruining my favoUrite language

P.S Yes, I say all of those things. Except "old bean". Unless referring to stale HEINZ products.

but Americans DO stereotype their own dialect, that's how we got the southern hill-billy and the valley girl.

While I share your love for the conservation of our wonderful language (I shudder every time I type in a colour as I have to purposefully mis-spell it...) you have to realise that the English Language comes from all different places, so in effect, others might not like how we have murdered their language.



Julius Ceaser will be turning in his grave...

I think that German has a little in common with English too, but I'm too lazy to research it.

Obsidian wrote:

Julius CAEser will be turning in his grave...

Especially when you mispell his name.

Obsidian wrote:

I think that German has a little in common with English too, but I'm too lazy to research it.

Not sure on this one. Certainly, the Anglo-Saxon influence will have a part.

For those of you who haven't done English history yet (and shame on you), the Anglo-Saxons were invaders from Germany, who took over Britain in the AD 400-500s after the Romans left England. They brought with them the Old German tongue, and even when Viking and Norman diluted it vastly, smatterings of German remained.

Of course, over a thousand years, the language has evolved a huge amount, but there is still similarities. Also, if I remember back to my French lessons, English is a Germanic language, unlike French which derives from Latin. I have a suspicion that I got it completely wrong, and it's the other way round, but I prefer English to have come from German than Latin.

Also, a few German phrases have entered the English language; "Shadenfreude" is a prety obvious example, but there are more subtle words. There is a swear word that, iirc came from a German curse.

And to make this on-topic,

rio_uk wrote:

I HATE americanized spelling. You should apologiSe for ruining my favoUrite language

Much as I hate the whole "colour" deal, don't forget that we British tried to reform our own language. Supporters of reform to English spelling - out of the thirteen people mentioned, at least seven were British, one of which was a major writer and created one of the first dictionaries, and another who is a member of the Royal Family.

You ARE kidding, aren't you?

And because of this, English is considered a Western Germanic language. Most languages today are derivatives of a large branch of languages called Indo-European languages that evolve over time as you stated. English is apart of the Germanic branch that is divided into three regional branches, western, northern, and eastern. English itself has evolved from old, middle, and modern day English. French and other romance languages are apart of the branch of Italic languages with four archaic languages (Latin, Faliscan, Umbrian, and Oscan). All present day Italic languages derive from Latin only.


Contrary to popular belief, Americans did not change the spelling of words for the sake of doing so. No one knew how to spell before dictionaries were so readily available; no uniform agreement for spelling was taught or even remembered. Primary documents you read before the English settlement of America have been "spell checked" so you can read them easier. Most people didn't know how to spell their own last names, let alone agree to a conformed spelling used between all relatives. The spelling of "Shakespeare" is even assumed to create continuity, because he himself used more than one spelling. American English evolved differently, because all other English speaking nations were apart of the "Commonwealth" (though not officially established until 1931). Since America was not, it was free of the influence of England in many ways, which not only stems from units of measurement and jargon, but spelling as well. Both ways are correct in their own right, excluding the spelling of aluminum, which you people changed to suit yourselves despite its discoverer's naming.

I suppose in this respect, kicking your ass in that war has proved to be more irritating than once previously thought.



Look at us assert ourselves.

PS Spelling it "Americanized" is a little bit of that Americanized spelling seeping into British culture. ;) You people actually spell it "Americanised." Now go hate yourself.

lol jeez
are you done with your hw crap?

by the way, I want y'all to know that I won this argument lol it was based on the word "smashing" and that's really the only one that matters. we threw in the others because they are fun british words and we were drunk.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT AND REMEMBER IT AND LAUGH OK MATT JEEZ ITS FUNNY