Indeed, I agree with that, all the Americanisms used by authors, especially when they over-use them, is very annoying…we should also learn to use the swear words appropriately, they have so many with so many meanings that only using fuck every three seconds is sort of sad.

In any case, it all depends of the person writing it and since I don’t know all the British phrases, words and their correct usage, then I won’t harp on anyone too much. It is a bit difficult not using the expressions you’re accustomed to, so I don’t mind as much since I’ve had to filter some Spanish words here and there on my stories.

 

Its okay to slio up some, just not over the entire story

 

You know I used to fret over all the damn americanisms in my stories, and I kept trying to remember to use Mum instead of Mom, but then I realized I'm writing this story as much for me as anyone else. And if I kept trying to stick with British phrases or even types of cuisines, or converting measurements into metrics then even when I re-read it, I'd be pausing and noticing the differences. "I just took a five pound crap" sounds better to me than "I just took a 2.268 kilogram crap". I suppose I could round and say "I just took a 2 kilogram crap" but even still. When I can, I try to please the brit-pickers, but I don't sweat it. There's as many americans reading and enjoying the fanfic as any other nationality. When I'm paying attention, I'll stick with "Mum" but sometimes 'Mum' sounds like a pussy!Ron sort of endearment, and if you're making fun of say, Moony's overprotective behavior, "Geez thanks Mom" seems more fitting on occasion.

Although, I'm curious. This is my best guessing understanding, so any out and proud Brits please correct me. The word bugger. It's a hunk of slang that can loosely translate to "Fuck" for americans or more strictly refer to sodomy, a.k.a. buggery. People can/do say Bugger me! Bugger off! Bugger that! and they will mean the same as Fuck me! (oh gosh, i'm surprised) Fuck off! (get away, i don't like you) Fuck that! (that is a ridiculous suggestion/request/idea and I won't do it).

But I don't think you can ever use the most common americanism of the word and say "Bugger you!", right? 'Fuck you' is pretty damn common in america, but 'Bugger you!' sounds kind of silly. 'Motherbugger' also, not a good translation, right? Although "Yup, he's a bugger," would work for "Yup, he's a fucker," right?

Anyone british enough to know if my assumptions are accurate? Or willing to correct me where I've been wrong?

BTW, Madeyes, I wouldn't sweat the cliches. They're unavoidable. Unless your ideas are horrible, eventually someone may use the same idea, and then more and more, and you're right back at being cliche. When it's time to make a decision on what you're writing, avoid the cliches, but once they're in the story, I'd say just work with them. Moony calling him 'cub' is quite common, but you could just as easily complain about people always calling the "Marauders" by their Marauder nicknames, when, according to canon, it probably wasn't all that frequent (Snape didn't recognize the four names on the map, or even the name Marauders I don't think). And as bad as Pronglet is, I think Harry getting called Bambi is worse. Of course the first strip club I went to, the first act I saw was a Bambi, so that might be affecting my confusion.

Of course I don't think I've ever read a story where Wormtail calls him rat-baby. That'd be cute.

 

I'm from a place that uses metric pretty much solely as our terms of measurement (who wouldn't, really, it's way more convenient, with the exception of miles - 60 minutes in an hour, 60 miles an hour, way easier to calculate) but we definately don't say 'I took a 2.268 kilogram crap" - colloquialisms and just basic conversation usually use imperial just because it's more convenient - pounds and feet prevail in daily use.

 

Nonjon, you have the use of bugger pretty much down. It is what those pussy bastards use when they don't want to swear. Bugger you = Fuck you; Bugger off = Fuck off. Although I'm yet to hear anybody say motherbugger.

I wouldn't be heard using the word 'bugger' by anyone, I'd much rather tell them to go fuck themselves.

About metric measurements. Here in England we tend to stick with imperial. It would be much more common for someone to say I took a 5 pound shit than an Xkg shit. Although, 14pound becomes a stone which I don't think you Americans do.

 

I suppose the meaning would be the same, but I'd stick with the general translation and put "Bugger." as the same as "Fuck."

And of course then "Oh shite" would be the cockney version of "Oh shit".

 

cockney confuses me...

 

What is this doing in General Fics? Did a Mod accidently split this into the wrong category?

 

I split it, and it is general discussion, although it could fit into fanfic discussion also.

 

In England the language is almost identical in every single way to that in america.
the only things that bother me as 'Americanisms' are
Mom
Pop/Soda
Cot
thats all i can think of
British people don't say bugger or bloody any more than anyone else, the predominant swearwords are still shit and fuck.
In britain the following are NOT swearwords and are used in everyday conversation.
Bloody
Bugger
Damn
Crap
Hell
I am fed up of reading fics were Ron says 'bloody hell' and Hermione turns round and says 'Ron! Language' or something like that. He says it in the films for christs sake and thats a PG.
so on the whole just chill and use normal language.
only the things above bother me in any way at all.
p.s nobody really speaks 'cockney' and i doubt if they did that americans would be able to write it anyway (no offense it just is really confusing) shite is the way Irish people pronounce shit... thats it. So seamus would say it.

 

It can be used in that context as well. If someone does something wrong they would say something akin to 'oh bugger!'.

Actually it's not really that commonly used over here, not as much as some people believe anyway. Not one person in my family, or any of my friends for that matter, would use it. Most people prefer to just swear.

Cockney rhyming slang confuses anybody that isn't from London. When things like 'Apples and Pears' starts meaning things like 'stairs', its best to just let it go over your head, otherwise your just going to get lost.

EDIT:

I'm not sure in what context you mean cot That_Boy but it is used here. It is what babies sleep in. And Pop is used by some people, soda however, isn't.

 

some people say that harry has in in his super-duper amazing hyper trunk of doom (tm) a "cot which pulls out from the wall for people to sleep in" and stuff like that. I think they mean something like a camp bed, whereas here it is in fact something a baby sleeps in.

Another thing occured to me!
Sex
Sex here is really not a big deal. Most people I know lost there virginity before they were 16, I have never met anyone who waited until they were married, although this happens a bit. and in HP fics people make tendf to make such a big deal about saving themselves. when here it happens.
This isn't meant to offend anyone who wants to wait to lose their virginity or anything like that, its just an observation about the culture difference over here.

 

A cot, in America, means a shitty, cheap, tiny bed that's found in boats, hospitals, bunkers, and anywhere else that taxpayers don't want to pay for decent beds. Babies sleep in cribs.

If you have sex before you're married, you'll get AIDS, die, and then go to hell. Seriously.

 

What the...I really thought bloody was a swear equivalent of fuck..but bugger is? weird...

Ignoring the fanatical christian nut above me (j/k man )

Sex here is really not a big deal here either usually. The difference is that American social standard/norms tend to take a more prudish tone than other Western societies. Media and what not always laud abstinence groups and teens etc etc. so that sets up a semi-moral standard for these things.

I wouldn't read the whole saving until marriage thing too seriously. Could be anything from plot device so they don't have to write lemons and get kicked from ff.net to some romantic notions or whatever.

 

Abstinence groups :rolls eyes:

Did you know that teens who publically declare that they are saving themselves for marriage are more likely to get a STD? This is because they are more likely to experiment with oral and anal sex and more likely to not use a condom.

However, I don't mind that particular plot device myself because I always figure it means one less poorly written sex scene in the fandom.

 

I just avoid the issue altogether and imply it without writing any. Ha!

 

From my experiance in High school that's true, the snobby stuck up saving for marriage bitches were generally the ones we went to after a good game and got our knobs polished by. They'd just bounce from room to room going off.

Saving for marriage is a retarded concept nowadays anyway, with your typical college kid basically dry humping on a club floor anyway. Besides, who the hell wants to marry someone that has not the slightest clue what to do?

 

I still remember my grandmother telling me to put on my mackintosh before going out in the cold...that was an odd day for me...damn british words :lol: ... I generally don't try for the brit-picking, its waaay to tedious for me, and as for the sex part...who cares, doesn't england have one of the highest teen pregnancy rates? In any event, abstinence is stupid, I know one of my friends says shes waiting til marriage (she told us this while we were all HEAVILY intoxicated), and someone said...candace, taking it up the ass means you're not a virgin; but candace is adamant to this day that it doesnt :shock:

 

yeah they're called technical virgins

I shit you not (pun intended) here the pledge off technicalvirgin.com which is meant as a parody of this mindset, but it's got major basis in fact.

I wonder how many of them wind up pregnant anyway from transfer.. hmm.