I have never thought the pronunciation was that important as long has you understand the message.
Understanding the message can be difficult ant time depending where you are.

I think there may be places in deepest darkest Dorset, and south London apparently, where vestiges of Medieval English still survive.

It could be. I see words used on here that I've never heard anyone use in real life but always presume it's regional rather than other FMs bring contrary for the sake of it. In my experience gotten is pretty normal but I've never lived outside of the south east so what's normal for me might sound like another language to someone from up north

I'd have thought Medieval English would have survived here in darkest Lancashire rather than down South - we still use "tha" for you, "bout" for without etc.

I can't say I've noticed anyone saying it (South East London here). It not something I or any of my family have ever used except for the aforementioned 'ill gotten gains' phrase.

Mmmmmm. As a Kentish lad brought up in the south east, and having lived in the Midlands and now in Oxfordshire I can safely say that until very recently I have not heard gotten said by anyone except a north American.

I think it is only the West Midlands that use Mom, my hubby is a brummie and he uses it, I am from the East Midlands and I use Mam lol

I can vouch for that. I've never, even once in my entire life, heard a British person use it in speech. I've only ever seen it written down in forum posts, but even then, the people concerned could have been American. I find it a horrible, ugly word and has almost certainly been picked up from American TV shows – most likely from hillbilly types.

I've become aware of ever more people using 'guy', which I suppose some people find more easy on the ear than the British equivalent of 'bloke'. But gotten is doubly horrible, as even the word, 'got', which it is derived from, is a word to be avoided as much as possible.

You can vouch for something that you have no experience of ? Okaaay.

Sadly, illiteracy is rife amongst the lower classes in England. Wales and Scotland appear to be far worse off than England IMO.

Went to Wales a few years back, biggest blunder of my life,

Yes, I have a particular dislike of the word guy as in when a waiter comes to the table and says 'what can I get you guys'. I inwardly squirm. It's got a history the word guy hasn't it. I believe it was considered 'hip' in the fifties. It went out of fashion and was sent up by people like Rik Mail in The Young Ones as an expression only used by prats to make themselves sound cool. So every time I hear some one say 'guys' or even 'hi guys' makes me think of Rik the prat in The Young Ones.

Yes. Like Andrew1954, I can vouch for the fact that I don't recall hearing a single British person using gotten until very recently. Is that really so difficult to understand?

I don't either.

I understand what you were trying to say, but you don't seem to understand what it means to vouch for something. I've never heard a parrot speak, therefore I can vouch for the fact that parrots cannot speak. Do you see the problem here?

Bit in bold is closer to the truth.

I quite like it and have used it occasionally for several years now. Sometimes, it rolls off the tongue better than, say, obtained or become and I've gotten used to it now. Of course, gotten does not have the same usage as got, and I wouldn't use it in a formal setting.

My Mum always used to remind me that the word 'got' should never be used and can be replaced by 'have' or similar. She considered it to be rude or ignorant. She'd definitely hate to hear 'gotten'!😱

I think people think it makes them look clever. More letters.

purposely use " gonna" instead of "going too".

Its more informal, more like speech then written text.


Thats what some people dont realize about chatting on the internet, its a written version of a spoken coveresation.

The starchy formality of written grammar has less validity (for lack of a better word.)

But converstion on the internet is relatively new, and we havent really come up with etiquette yet.....

Also, 'gonna' is a bona fide English word, and has been for a great many years.

Not nearly as painful to hear as "maffs."

Oh it certainly does!

"Heeey yoouu guys!" - Sloth from The Goonies

Having thought, I do say "gotten". I often say movie instead of film too. I think we see so many American films we pick stuff up from them. Young people call the police "feds" which is directly from America. I have noticed young black people use a lot of American words and phrases such as "feds" for the police.

Notto, never attallo

Same with "passed" instead of died, where did that come from

East Midlands originally too, my Mum hates being called Mam. She still gets called it though.

I'm not sure, but I'm sure I heard "gotten" in the E Midlands, but I'm not too sure if I'm confused.

Here in Australia, they use all sorts of Americanisms, but luckily Autumn is Autumn, mum is mum, maths is maths. I don't what it says about me, but it really aggravates me how Americans (and Australians) say and spell paedophile. Plus "pedo" as opposed to 5"paedo" just sounds ****ing ridiculous!