I’ve noticed that “presently” (in the meaning “soon”) is one such indicator for post-WWII English.
British novels written in the 1950s consistently use “presently” to indicate a short passage of time. In the following decades it seems to have been removed from editors’ style guides and replaced mostly by plain old “soon”.
British novels written in the 1950s consistently use “presently” to indicate a short passage of time. In the following decades it seems to have been removed from editors’ style guides and replaced mostly by plain old “soon”.