"take a decision" vs. "make a decision"

[Professor Pro]

We say "take a decision" mostly in British English and "make a decision" mostly in American English. They mean the same!

[M.Ramzan]

I was also surprised at the number of times I've read and
heard "take a decision" in the last couple of years. Most
of the sources were British (BBC, The Economist'''

As far as I know, there is not yet a "decision-taking
process". You can never be wrong with "decision-making
process".

[English Rpg Gm]

It is my best guess that "to take a decision" is favoured by the British upper class school system because of the French "prendre un decision" influence on the language almost a thousand years ago. Faire un decision, the English equivalent of to make a decision, is awkward to the ear in French and bad form even today. The French always take a decision, as if from a deck of cards.

French has long been the language of diplomacy in Europe, where most of the known world was carved up nautically (the Mercador map vs Arno Peters) during the French Capetian dynasty. The maps: http://www.petersmap.com/page2.html The Capetians: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_Dynasty

Diplomats worked largely in French until recently in history. These persons always took a decision. They were usually persons of power and influence in their respective countries, so it is not a stretch of the imagination to imagine how taking a decision became popular in diverse cultures where French (Politics) and English (Business) dominated the linguistic landscape.

The English language was deeply influenced by the Norman Conquest. English is not the native language of Britain, surprise, surprise. Britain had no unifying language. Celtic, German, Norweigen, Danish and an esperanto-esque of these languages were commonly spoken by the people we refer to as The English today.

When French came, it became the dominant lingo of the upper class. But, this attitude of uberness on the part of the French "English" led to a separation between the mainland French and The French king on the Island of (Great!) Britain. The result is that today Englanders do not speak French.

So to the thinking person of modern English, making a decision, is more correct - even to historians who speak English. Unless they belong to the upper class, of course! Those (vintage) persons like to remind you (young) plebs of that connexion.

That's the way I see it. That's the way I play it in my medieval RPGs practicing the English language.

[Beeesneees]

I tend to use them like this:

We needed to make a decision.

We have taken the decision to...
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Cheers m' dears!