I remember the first time someone called my two daughters 'you guys.' It seems like a long time ago, but it had me confused. Now, as the influence of American words becomes stronger in Britain, we are all guys and, come to think of it, most of us are awesome too.
So it didn't really surprise me this week to learn that some of our favourite English words are going out of fashion. I mean - who says marvellous or cheerio any more? And who eats marmalade? (Well, er, I do!)
The newly-released pilot list for the Spoken British National Corpus project - put together by Lancaster University and Cambridge University Press - looks at conversation starting from the early 1990s up to the present day. Marmalade is less frequently spoken about than it once wasPhoto courtesy of Sky News According to Sky News, Language expert Professor Tony McEnery from Lancaster University says: "These very early findings suggest the things that are most important to British society are indeed reflected in the amount we talk about them.
"New technologies like Facebook have really captured our attention, to the extent that, if we're not using it, we're probably talking about it."
Personally, I like some of the Americanisms that have been adopted over here - the English way of speaking does have a habit of sounding a bit stuffy at times. But as for 'absolutely.' How did that come to mean 'yes'?
Researchers on the 2014 project, which is still in its infancy, are asking for people to send in MP3 files of their conversations for analysis, though I imagine that a walk down the high street today would be just as revealing.
Would you like to spend the next three years studying chocolate? If so, it seems that Cambridge University is advertising your dream job. The impressive sounding Department of Chemical Engineering is searching for a student to work on a fully-funded project.... finding how to prevent chocolate melting in the sun!
But before you get too excited the role will also require 'good mathematical skills and a high grade degree, 'according to today's Daily Mail.
It's time to confess that I have a special interest in chocolate. My younger daughter, who grew up on Roald Dahl's best selling book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was determined to follow in her hero's footsteps After gaining a degree in food microbiology she got her first job working in - you've guessed it - a chocolate factory. It was her task to taste the first batch that came off the production - at 7.30 in the morning....
Which brings me back to that dream job at Cambridge University - what does the successful candidate have to do? They will 'investigate the factors which allow chocolate, which has a melting point close to that of the human body, to remain solid and retain qualities sought by consumers when it is stored and sold in warm climates.'
If the project is a success then hopefully we'll be able to eat chocolate all year round - even in a heatwave.
Meanwhile, I'll leave the last word to Roald Dahl himself:
“He turned and reached behind him for the chocolate bar, then he turned back again and handed it to Charlie. Charlie grabbed it and quickly tore off the wrapper and took an enormous bite. Then he took another…and another…and oh, the joy of being able to cram large pieces of something sweet and solid into one's mouth! The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one's mouth with rich solid food! 'You look like you wanted that one, sonny,' the shopkeeper said pleasantly.
Here it is! The new cover for my debut novel Baggy Pants & Bootees
- now available as an e-book and coming out in paperback soon.
When war baby Sophie joins the macho world of
1960s journalism she’s determined to
prove that she’s ‘one of the boys.‘ But her career is threatenedby a phone call from her estranged
mother setting Sophie on a quest to uncover the secret of her birth.
Was her father the all-American soldier she
dreamt of when she was a child, or someone far more sinister? This is the story
the ambitious reporter was destined to write.
Helped by the charming but mysterious David,
Sophie uncoversa heartbroken wartime orphan, a GI
romance and a terrifying rape that leads to an innocent man’s court martial – and finds clues
to her own unhappy childhood.
Torn between her secret love for Steve, the
newspaper’s most eligible
bachelor, and her desire to know who she really is, Sophie follows David to search
for her father. Only when faced with the startling truth can she accept the
tragedy of love, loss and betrayal, and begin a very different kind of future.
To buy the book or visit my author page click here
I'm thrilled to announce that my debut novel Baggy Pants and Bootees will be out in paperback in September with a great new cover design.
Reaching number 89 in
the Amazonmilitary romance category when it
was launched as an e-book in February this year, Baggy Pants and Bootees
received five star reviews from both sides of the Atlantic.
The book contrasts sensitive issues such as illegitimacy and child neglect in post-war Britain with the emerging male chauvinism of the 'swinging sixties.' Here's what it's all about:
When war baby Sophie joins the macho world of 1960s
journalism she’s determined to prove that she’s ‘one of the boys.’ Until a
phone call from her estranged mother after years of guilt and torment sets
Sophie on a quest to uncover the secret of her birth.
Was her father the all-American soldier she dreamt
of when she was a child, or someone far more sinister? This is the story the
ambitious reporter was destined to write.
Helped by the charming but mysterious David, Sophie
uncovers a heartbroken wartime orphan, a GI romance and a terrifying rape that
leads to an innocent man’s court martial – and finds clues to her own unhappy
childhood.
Torn between her secret love for Steve, the
newspaper’s most eligible bachelor, and her desire to know who she really is,
Sophie follows David to find her father.Only when faced with the startling truth can she accept the tragedy of love, loss and
betrayal and begin a very different kind of future. Baggy Pants and Bootees is available for pre-order as a paperback or as an updated e-book version now from here You can visit my facebook author page here or find me on twitter here
