As July 4th approaches, I think it’s important to remember what country we live in. And what language we speak.

And before you start rolling your eyes, no, I’m not going to begin a tirade about the immigrants and foreigners who can barely say hello in English. (Although I could, because in this city, it’s a serious struggle to communicate.)

No, this is about fellow Americans who have gone out of their way to incorporate British lingo into their vocabulary – without actually making the effort to live in the country or pick up the accent.

I first noticed it at work when a client called and asked to be called back on his “mobile.” I wrinkled my nose when he said it and thought, “Who does this guy think he is, Tony Blair?”

Last weekend I attended an event at the Puck building and a young woman asked me in crystal clear (non-accented) English, “Can you tell me where the loo is?”

I stared blankly at her for what seemed an eternity as my brain tried to comprehend what she was asking. Obviously I know what the “loo” is, but without a British accent to accompany it, I was lost.

Sure, British accents are cool. I even enjoy some of their slang (if I lived in England, I’d say “bloody fantastic” 24/7). And yes, the English have a way of sounding proper and sophisticated. But an American accent + British lingo just screams, “Fraud!”

Seriously, what’s so bad about our jargon that Americans have found the need to steal dialect from a culture across the Atlantic Ocean? Come on America, where’s your sense of patriotism? Did your heart not swell with pride when “bling-bling” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary?

I don’t know if this use of Brit slang is a new trend for 2008 or simply another way Americans have found to make themselves look like assholes. Either way, I’m over it.

As in, “Hey, I’m goin‘ to the bathroom to use my cell.”

Posted by cher on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 at 2:56 am.