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Americanism

Americanism also called "Americentrism" is the idea of an American ethnicity and the holding of American values as ideal.

Compare:Sovietism[?], Anti-Sovietism[?]

Also, an Americanism is a word or phrase used commonly in America that has been more recently introduced into British English (for example), especially through the popular media of television and movies.

If a word, locution, punctuation convention, or other conventional usage was standard in England from 1500 until 1850, 1900, or 1950, and was then replaced by some new conventional expression, then the British call it an Americanism and usually do not suspect that it originated in England and was used there until recently. For example, some English persons still living can remember being taught in school to write "Mr. Smith" rather than the newer usage "Mr Smith"; younger English persons therefore call the former, older usage an "Americanism". "July 5th, 1960" is how the British formerly wrote dates. More recently they have imported the French usage, "5 July, 1960", and the younger British think the older British usage is an Americanism. Most words and locutions that the British call Americanisms are of that sort.



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