Chat to vs. Chat with

I work in an office and lots of my co-workers use the phrase "chat to", as in could I chat to him about the project? I would say the same thing like this: could I chat with him about this project? At first I wondered if it was a European thing (the people in my office who use chat with tend to be English or Irish). Is there a correct usage for the verb chat?

Solution 1:

The prepositions are both idiomatic with 'chat' and are often used interchangeably, especially in American English. However, for those with a more poetic sense of language, 'chat to' is more unidirectional than 'chat with'. That is to say, 'chat with' conveys a greater emphasis on the bidirectionality of the exchange, while 'chat to' conveys a greater emphasis on the unidirectionality of the exchange. Taken to extremes, 'chat to' refers to a monological or at least more monological exchange, while 'chat with' refers to a dialogical or at least more dialogical exchange.

Prepositions generally take a semantic beating in American English as compared to British or Irish English.