Sir, – Regarding Paul Clements’s Irishman’s Diary (“A language divided: Charting the rise of American English in everyday Irish speak,” April 21st): Increasingly, I hear people in Ireland saying “Can I get a coffee?” when ordering in cafes, instead of the more traditional “Could I have a coffee?” or “I’ll have a coffee, please”. And not only that, but the reply from behind the counter, if it isn’t “Awesome!” (as mentioned in Clements’s piece), is likely to be “Great!“, “No problem!“, a cheery “Perfect” or “Sounds good!”.
Where before you might have heard “That’s grand” or “No bother”, it’s clear the linguistic traffic is two-way: not just how we ask for something is changing, but how it’s answered too. It just shows that we give as good as we get. – Yours, etc,
Barbara Clancy,
Stillorgan,
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Co Dublin.
Sir, – I enjoyed Paul Clements’s diary and would like to add one more example of Americanise: momentarily. On this side of the Atlantic it means “for a moment” but in America it seems to mean “in a moment”. – Yours, etc,
Anne Strahan,
Bantry,
Cork.
