Americanisms

It's Prasana the Work Experience here ( not to be confused with Louise whose log in I've pirated). Part of my lovely job here at A&B is to ferret out the Americanisms from our manuscripts--policing the border between British English and it's progeny across the Atlantic.

Ironically, my life is one big Americanism. You see I am one--an American. Even my title threw me off at first ( in the States I'd be an intern) as did the computer keyboard (the @ is not in the normal place). But here I am, an American working in a British publishing house, hunting down Americanism. Sounds a bit traitorous. It's like I'm an cyborg programmed to track down my own kind and destroy them. Creepy.

But I remind myself it's for the good of the British public. You'll never have to worry about Monsieur Pamplemousse ordering french fries for Pommes Frites (not that he would deign to chips anyway) or your favorite London DI boarding the subway rather than the underground. Just imagine the confusion if mobiles became cell phones and trousers became pants and American pop culture icons like Regis and Kelly ( you don't want to know) became series regulars. Horrifying, but don't panic. You've got the right American on the job--Prasana the Work Experience, Conqueror of Americanisms, Preserver of the British Lexicon.