'Single-use' named 2018 word of the year Read moreOn my Separated by a Common Language blog, WotYs have a transatlantic twist. Both tell stories of how and why words travel to other nations and what happens when they get there. But the case of “whilst” demonstrates that Americans are exposed to British words enough to use them too. Some UK-to-US WotYs have added new meanings to American English, for instance “vet” (a candidate; 2008) or “gap year” (2014). • Lynne Murphy is professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex and author of The Prodigal Tongue: the Love–Hate Relationship between British and American English

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2019 12:55 UTC