Only Americans are sociopaths?!

Dear all,

I was once again writing in English. Inadvertently, I had changed my word corrector from US English to UK English. Then much to my surprise, the characteristic red wavy line just popped up under the word "sociopathic". First thinking that I might have made a typo, I right-clicked the word... only to discover that the suggestions available were limited to "idiopathic" and "osteopathic".

Funnier, when I changed my corrector back to US English, the red line disappeared, indicating that the term was legit. After laughing a great deal, I decided to come here to troll you guys a little: how come only Americans have the privilege to use that word? Apparently, the Brits have the right to be called cranky, crazy, loopy and whatnot. But sociopathic? Good heavens, no! That belongs to the damn Yanks!

Now don't get me wrong, I understand there are differences, sometimes huge, between English as spoken in the UK and the American dialect(s). But I did not expect that on this word, of all. Thoughts?

'Murica-born and -bred, but no prison psychiatrist could ever clarify to my satisfaction whether I'm a sociopath or a psychopath. Worthless shits, they deserved to be offed (I think).

A garden-path is what I know you believe I am that is.

I find it odd how you phrase some of your threads aimed at Americans. Between this and the bullies one i wonder if you harbor some bad feelings towards us lol

chicago said:

I find it odd how you phrase some of your threads aimed at Americans. Between this and the bullies one i wonder if you harbor some bad feelings towards us lol

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That's interesting; I've always read it as the opposite; sort of like a fanboy's admiration, with just a soupcon of superiority.

Not the slightest! Au contraire as a number of people here can testify, I harbor quite a strong fascination for your country. I find your history, your culture and even your politics to be quite amazing. And I absolutely love to be able to interact with so many actual Americans without having to move from Beijing. It helps me understanding you better and is a great opportunity to improve my English at the same time.

I do not aim at anyone. However I admit to a degree of provocation with this particular thread, as I clearly stated in the 2nd paragraph. But you'll admit that it was a tempting opportunity I mean, how come "sociopathic" is a word in US English but not in UK English? That really made me laugh.

Now, my dear Chicago of Arizona, rest assured of all my love and admiration for this great country of yours! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go and practice learning the Star Spangled Banner. It should come in handy should China ever kick me out and I should seek refuge in the US. Provided Trump does not have me shot upon arrival, that is

EDIT @ Wolf: I am a bit of a fanboy, true . To be fair though, it is nothing special: most Europeans are, whether they admit it or not. I don't think I even have a soupçon (delightful use of the word btw, didn't know you could do that in English) of superiority; but I guess I can sound like I do sometimes. If anything, I am proud of my language skills, but apart from that I do not consider my culture to be above anyone else's.

Nedstacey2 said:

'Murica-born and -bred, but no prison psychiatrist could ever clarify to my satisfaction whether I'm a sociopath or a psychopath. Worthless shits, they deserved to be offed (I think).

A garden-path is what I know you believe I am that is.

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Oh I love garden path sentences! And word play in general~ Thanks for the link; I laughed a great deal at the 2nd one in the list you provided: "Fat people eat accumulates". There is no way you can do that in French, let me tell you~

About once a generation psychiatrists here change the word for "a very evil person who won't stop doing very evil things to other people."
The Brits don't feel obliged to adopt their new terminology.

"Sociopath" has been used long enough to require replacement, I think. So look out for some new term.

milagros317 said:

About once a generation psychiatrists here change the word for "a very evil person who won't stop doing very evil things to other people."
The Brits don't feel obliged to adopt their new terminology.

"Sociopath" has been used long enough to require replacement, I think. So look out for some new term.

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Lol really that's the explanation? That's even funnier than I thought~

Interestingly enough, there used to be a term in French which meant roughly the same thing and was in vogue in the 70s-80s: névropathe. You can hear it a lot in movies of the period. And just like you said, one generation later it was gone. Funny, the life of words, some have a glorious destiny, others a short life...

Tenebrae said:

Lol really that's the explanation? That's even funnier than I thought~

Interestingly enough, there used to be a term in French which meant roughly the same thing and was in vogue in the 70s-80s: névropathe. You can hear it a lot in movies of the period. And just like you said, one generation later it was gone. Funny, the life of words, some have a glorious destiny, others a short life...

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I believe that that is the explanation. The mental health professionals need a word for the people that they can not cure, who will keep on doing evil no matter what treatment they get. When I was a child, the word was "psychopath," but it was changed by the 1970's.

My bad. Im not a sociopath but i think my reading comprehension could use some work. Sorry bout that

Tenebrae said:

Oh I love garden path sentences! . . . I laughed a great deal at the 2nd one in the list you provided: "Fat people eat accumulates". There is no way you can do that in French, let me tell you~

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I can believe that, with how your native language is fastidious enough to retain the definite articles and object relative pronouns that English thoughtlessly dispenses with all over the place. No need for us to distinguish scrupulously between the equivalents of la graisse qu'on mange and les gros gens qui mangent, thereby enabling us with impunity to stroll merrily down that chemin de jardin.

Come to think of it, English is very much a sociopathic language: "Hey, let's make our verbs look just like nouns and vice versa and confound the hell out of anybody foolhardy enough to want to learn!" And germane to your original inquest, these anti-social proclivities were internally nurtured long before this maternal language of mine was transported to the shores of this hemisphere, I hasten to note.