Comments on Five Chinese Crackers: The Mail joins the Brigade

I would also say that adressing a mixed-gender gro...

2011-09-30T13:25:51.356+01:00

I would also say that adressing a mixed-gender group as "you guys" is just the English languages way of struggling with a lack of non-gender specific terms, rather than trying to keep the woman down.

(I have also heard it used by girls to refer to just girls, so you could make an argument that, in this context, it has become non-gender specific.)

"Common Era" is not an Americanism. It ...

2011-09-29T11:31:15.027+01:00

"Common Era" is not an Americanism. It was used - in Latin, as "Vulgaris Aerae" - in academic texts in Europe from the 18thC onwards; in its English form its been used in academia for decades. It is simply a neutral way of expressing dates, without the cultural and religious baggage of "Anno Domini" and "Before Christ".
Rather as astronomers now use UT (Universal Time) in place of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), in fact. Or do you also object to this dreadful rejection of Great Britain's proud scientific past?

Why is it annoying picking up on Americanisms? Did...

2011-09-28T19:04:55.501+01:00

Why is it annoying picking up on Americanisms? Did the English language spring up all on it's own? Deary me.

Anyway, BCE/CE is more than appropriate.

Anyone who's read books of recent American ori...

2011-09-26T10:40:22.607+01:00

Anyone who's read books of recent American origin may have noticed these terms (CE and BCE) have been creeping in for a while now.
I agree: the BBC (along with other media organisations - or is it now organizations) do have an annoying habit of picking up on Americanisms.
E.g. "any time soon" (what was wrong with "in the near future"?) and addressing mixed or all female groups as "you guys" (whatever happend to female emancipation, why do we never address a group of men as "you girls"?)
I doubt the Mail is immune from this.