Americans....

[meridian_rose]

I received a review on an older fic - it's always nice to get comments on older fics, and fics in small fandoms, and this was both. However the writer was under the impression that there were "minor spelling and grammar" errors. Now this is a fic that I edited before posting to AO3, but which has never been beta read. So I copied and pasted the AO3 version into Word to have another look.

I found I'd used portacabin when I mean the propriety term Portakabin. Fair enough. Maybe it was because I used some non-standard words within the dialogue, "lemme see" rather than "let me see" as a nod to a character's speech patterns. I couldn't find any other errors. Then I thought, oh-oh.



Changing the text from UK to US in Word showed up a whole lot of "errors", eg favourite, neighbour. However these are not errors in my work. I try to have characters use the correct terms "elevator" rather than "lift", for example, if the character is American. But I'm British, and I write a variety of characters, fandoms, and original works, and I am not going to start spelling words without a u in them "Because America".


Team America: World Police. "It's okay, we got the terrorists!"

Do I need to have the spelt vs spelled debate again?



#yesIknow #notallAmericans #BritishEnglish

Comments

[silk_dragon_zen]

Normally I can't stand spelling snobbery except in one context: if my screen-reader can't pronounce it, we have a *big* problem. That said, my screen-reader always pronounces U.K. spellings correctly.

Also, how can people be well read and not have encountered U.K. spellings in books? I mean, for heavens' sake, the last four Harry Potter books, I am told, were not altered when published over here, after fans like my sister and I complained about it. I have a complete set of U.K. editions of HP (alas, not all of them hard back) because my sister bought the first three for me as a gift from a shop in Canada because she didn't want me to have to endure the irritation of Americanisms in an otherwise British story.

[meridian_rose]

Somebody commented at LJ that it's often readers who are not writers, who make these sort of ill-informed comments. To which I agreed it is possible, even likely, but surely that means these are readers who are not at all well-read, if they have never have encountered British spellings! "Harry Potter" is a good example of a mainstream work, as are the Sherlock Holmes stories. I cannot fathom how someone looks at a fic and decides all those words with a "u" in them are misspellings. As another commenter pointed out, it's not hard to Google something to check on it before you accuse a writer of having made a mistake!

[silk_dragon_zen]

Well, it's not hard for *most* people to Google things — if I thought I were seeing many mistakes, it wouldn't occur to me to Google any of them since Googling is a little spoon-intensive for me — but I take your point.

[setentpet.livejournal.com]

You would think people would know that it can be done both ways. I am american and I know that. Of course that doesn't mean everyone does. That sucks. You would think they would see all the u's and wonder why things were being spelled that way and maybe googled it or something. Or they just thought you were just that bad at spelling.

[meridian_rose]

That's why I took such umbrage; I think they were saying "you're bad at spelling but you can do better" by which they mean you should spell like an American :/
Thank you - not all Americans :)

[meridian_rose]

LOL :)
Yes, sometimes you have to google before "correcting" someone. There are, as you say, a lot of similar words with different meanings.

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

Ugh. From time to time those comments pop up, it's always on old work and always from readers who aren't writers. Ignore.

And how the hell are you? *hugs*

[meridian_rose]

"Readers who aren't writers"; to be honest I didn't check, but that's a good point. Also readers who don't read widely, I'd wager.

I'm doing good thanks! I'm working on a few things that aren't ready for posting and real life is treating me well, thanks for asking. I'm thinking I'm well out of the Idol drama, though I'm still reading and voting quietly, on the sidelines :)

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

It probably sounds weird, but I do tend to check the "cred" of some reviewers....

Oh, I'm so glad to hear you're doing well! I hope to see you writing original again. And yeah, that's a &^%$storm, isn't it? Ugh. I, personally, don't think you got the votes you deserved when you were in...do you think you would try a mini-season?

[meridian_rose]

I probably would try a mini-season. But I like writing fanfic, and I learn and keep in practice by doing so; and I like playing in my original fic universes without necessarily knowing where the entire plot is going. It's rare I write original fic one-shots, and original fic one-shots of a particular length are what naturally do best; although if I'd done better with my one-shot mythology AU, I wouldn't have been in the redemption poll against a personal/diary style post that week. So a definite maybe :)

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

*nods* I think it also helps to be in from the beginning and establish a presence.

ALSO, plenty of Idolars used the weekly prompts to write chapters in their own 'verses and lasted quite long for the most part. Used Idol as an exercise, if you know what I mean, and got good feedback. Just a thought.

[et-tu-lj.livejournal.com]

Ugh, how irritating.

When I write British fandoms, I always put in an author's note saying I'm American and spell that way, but have tried to avoid blatant Americanisms. If it's a true cultural difference and you're a native of the culture I'm attempting to write, please give me the specifics and the background and I'm happy to learn, but otherwise don't pester me. I've gotten into several helpful discussions that way, like explaining the British school system, or the scarcity of handguns in Britain.

I think it's far easier for an American to write in a British fandom, as so many are dominated by American writers. In those fandoms, I've found a high awareness of the differences because so many writers are trying to cross the same cultural divide. The actual Brits within those communities are highly valued as Britpick betas.

Going from British to an American fandom, there's so much less awareness of the differences. Some American readers/writers who know only American fandoms seem completely oblivious to the differences, and much less likely to understand what they're seeing. You have my sympathy.

[meridian_rose]

Yes to all of this! Thank you :)

[xfirefly9x.livejournal.com]

Ugggh.

*hugs*

[meridian_rose]

IKR? Thanks *hugs*; I know Australians, and to a lesser extent, Canadians also run into this American ignorance/arrogance, so we all need to stick together!

[xfirefly9x.livejournal.com]

I luckily haven't had it too bad (so far!), but yeah. Definitely need to stick together.

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

Bleh. What a condescending comment, too - 'you'd be good if only you could spell better'? Definitely offensive. Really, after the success of Harry Potter, you'd think we Americans would be more used to British English - although I think I may have both a British and an American spelling version of at least one HP book.

Frankly - as a reader - spelling doesn't bother me so much as improper grammar, and even that I can ignore if it's just one tiny typo.

[meridian_rose]

Oh, yes, being told I'm "doing it wrong" when Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes are so well-known just boggles the mind.

Hi, the way! Glad to see you around again :D Looking forward to the Legendland Battle 20 (even though I'm crushed it's the final one!)

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

Me too (sad it's the last LL battle), but I might not have come back to it otherwise, so happy, too :)

I'm trying to get all my screencaps organized to prepare for any graphics challenges, which is a daunting task!