NickO
1726
I’m actually going to give you a serious answer.....
Oct 11, 2019,07:31 AM
Truth be told, I have no idea what Vivaldi thought of the word “fall” as he lived in late 17 / early 18 hundreds Venice. I’m sure his natural tongue was Italian and I have no idea what the Italian synonyms for the Italian word “autumn” are and whether he liked them or not.
The word “fall” entered the English lexicon sometime around the 1880s, I’m not sure why or how. What’s interesting is that in British English it remains to have very little traction. In American English, the word has really taken off and sometime around 1960 it became more popular than “autumn” to describe the season.
As someone who has lived in Britain and the USA for over 20 years each, I’m perhaps more sensitive than most to the differences in British English and American English. I was proud to learn the Queen’s English in school and, today in my opinion, many in our society have lost sight of the importance of grammar, courtesy in written and spoken form, and use an ever-shrinking vocabulary. But, then again, I text in full sentences, so maybe I’m just a curmudgeon-in-training and the world and our use of language has passed me by. I must consider that as a viable conclusion. However, while I’m not sure I believe gentlemen should still dress for dinner, I do feel courtesy and politeness has gone out of society somewhat in the past 75 years or so. Part of that may be tied to the loosening social constructs of our language.
So this is just the very long way of saying I miss “proper” English and really don’t fancy the American English language lexicon at all. So, for me, it is and will always be “Autumn”.
NickO