Americanisms and more

[richard]

As I live in the US...
Yes the US media has a lot of faults, but I don't think concentrating on Hollywood is necessarily one of them. What you are seeing sounds like very specific media outlets (eg. "E!"). The 24 hr news stations are different (CNN, MSNBC, Fox,etc) . I think you can make an argument that they are no longer performing the level of journalism essential for a functioning democracy, but I don't think you can argue that they are over-concentrating on Hollywood. Washington (DC) perhaps.

Bill Bedford's comment about regional cultures has a lot to it, and a similar thing can be seen in the US (even to the point of DC centralism and resulting paranoia from the masses). To the outside world it might seem the same thing (as does the UK), but there's a lot of regional cultural identity. Yes rivalries between California and New York, but then the States in the middle (ie. everyone else) have their own identities. I've heard Texan independence be compared to that of Yorkshire. They both have their cultures and myths (I'm a Yorkshireman living Texas - I see the similarities!).
Local rivalries can also give the UK ones a good run for their money. eg. the Oklahoma vs. Texas Univ. game rivalries make the Newcastle/Sunderland ones look a storm in a teacup.

As for business management speke - that's the same in the US and the UK. I actually have an MBA and unfortunately I saw people coasting through on that kind of stuff (doing an MBA because I want to know how to run a business and with a scientific background as well gave me a different attitude to many of the people there)

Richard

[giner]

I think this sort of regionality applies to most countries and, as has been mentioned, is not very visible from outside of those countries. Regionalities exist here in Canada, too. Regarding the culture of corporate speak, I wonder if it isn't down to the fact that the world's major commerce now runs almost entirely digitally, and Microsoft, or Silicon Valley in general, hold sway on the terminology therein by having the lion's share of business software. The terminology then permeates into the everyday language of business, no matter where on the planet.

[manna]

G'Day Gents
Sorry if I'm going slightly off track, I recieve 'Imparja' TV, it covers Central Australia (Alice Springs etc) and I often wonder what the local Aboriginal people think of our way of life when they see us on TV, a lot still speak in the local tongue, with the odd word of English, which is often 'Mac Donalds' or 'booze'??
manna

[melton]

I also was a TOPS clerk and remember those portacabins at the back of Webb House, Crewe. Portacabin 2 was the one nearest the main building for some reason.
AB FULLUP 56590 - that got a good printout!
It's true that brakevans orginally had the CARKIND CAB regardless of brake type but this was later altered to reflect actual braking.

[PinzaC55]

I loathe the word "sustainable".It sounds big and important but means virtually nothing.Thankfully it seems to be dying out now.

[StevieG]

As may have been the same for 'hq1', during my time in KX Div'l Control, some figures had to be extracted from TOPS via the keyboard-fitted IBM 'golfball' printer (VDU monitors? Ha! You must be joking.), for the Div. Officers' daily morning conference with Regional HQ, including the tally of vans on the Division.
That enquiry's input went something like :
Z8 D ; D
45100 ; 54300
VHV VNV VSV VVV
Your initials, and 'Enter' -
- for the tabulated figures, printed out on the ubiquitous tractor-fed paper.

But don't rush entering the enquiry! Because forget that middle line that specified the areas for the enquiry and the printer would still be churning out its concertina folded paper results half an hour later if you let it, probably listing all vans and their locations for the whole country.
The only way to abort it? Contact T.O.C. (no, not Train Operating Company, but TOPS Online Control) in Melton House just beside Marylebone station, quote your printer's 'terminal' number, and then they could 'kill' the enquiry's output for you.

Happy days !! (?)

[Mr Bunt]

I bitch about the use of Train Stations and Bryan has a bitch about the spelling of Plo(W)ughs but does anyone have the same pathological hatred for the use of the word Consist(s) when describing train formations.

Never mind about how they speak, our American cousins do crazy things when they shunt! Our hand signal for "move away from me" is theirs for "move towards me", as I found out at New Romney one night when the driver of the Redwood Valley Railway's 4-4-0 "Fern" tried to shove his train through the carriage siding buffers after I'd uncoupled him and indicated it was safe for him to pull away from his "consist" and go on shed.

[Ferrybridge Flyer]

It does wind me up when English is so mucked about with!!!!Text speak wants to f**K off too!!

[coachmann]

It does wind me up when English is so mucked about with!!!!

Entirely agree. I have trouble understanding Geordies, Brummies, and Scottish weather presenters.