3 ms·

Sigh! --another company which makes a thing of being European, but then uses US English throughout their interface and website. I'll pass.

dartharva 6y ago
They're clearly using British English (check the top-right corner), plus you can change the language to whatever you like.
- Normille 6y ago
  Just on the front page of their site: "optimized", "colors", "color", "organization", "awesome" And someone complaining on their support forum that, even though he's set the phone language to UK English, various apps keep displaying the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. I've heard before European companies make the argument that they use American English on their sites and products because that is the most used version [not true, but hey ho!]. But Fairphone don't even sell their phones in the US, yet still use American English on their website and in their software. Sorry. It might seem a minor issue but it really winds me up how so many companies claiming to be "Proudly European" nonetheless present this sycophantic 'pretendy American' public image.
  - rowanG077 6y ago
    What does UK English have to do with EU? Most of the EU doesn't speak english natively so if a company brands itself as European it doesn't make sense to choose British English over US English or vice versa. That would only make sense if it identifies itself as a British company.
    - Normille 6y ago
      Ever heard of a country called Ireland? Last time I checked, it was in the EU. And they speak English. Anyway, my point had nothing to do with the political grouping of the EU. It was a geographical & marketing one. The UK is still part of Europe [even if not for much longer part of the EU]. So, given Fairphone DO sell their phones in UK [and Ireland] but DO NOT sell them in the USA, why have they adopted the US version of English, rather than the version used by people in the market they actually sell into? Is Fairphone's Spanish documentation & software written in Latin American Spanish? Is their Portuguese documentation & software written in Brasilian Portuguese? Is their French documentation & software written in Québécois? ...or is it only the European variants of English that are habitually eschewed in favour of their transatlantic counterparts?
      - rowanG077 6y ago
        > Anyway, my point had nothing to do with the political grouping of the EU. It was a geographical & marketing one. The UK is still part of Europe [even if not for much longer part of the EU]. So, given Fairphone DO sell their phones in UK [and Ireland] but DO NOT sell them in the USA, why have they adopted the US version of English, rather than the version used by people in the market they actually sell into? Probably because as you say it is more commonly used. Why cater to small minority of UK(or Irish) users? > Is Fairphone's Spanish documentation & software written in Latin American Spanish? Is their Portuguese documentation & software written in Brasilian Portuguese? Is their French documentation & software written in Québécois? This a false equivalence. The target is the entire EU not just UK. If they where only selling in the UK then you would have a point. > ...or is it only the European variants of English that are habitually eschewed in favour of their transatlantic counterparts? To be completely honest US English is more of a European variant of English then British English. The US English spelling is just way more common in Europe then in the British Spelling. Anyway for me this discussion has gone on long enough. It doesn't matter to me, I just was completely flabbergasted by someone getting so mad about it.
        Normille 6y ago
        >I just was completely flabbergasted by someone getting so mad about it. Because, to me, having been brought up and educated in British English, reading American English is like reading text which is full of typos and illogical grammar. I can tolerate it when I'm reading American writing, but it irritates the hell out of me when it's put out by British, Irish, European, Australian, Indian, etc. English speakers.
  - detaro 6y ago
    For most of the EU, including the places Fairphone the company is located, English is a second language, and unlikely to strictly follow either British or US English conventions because it's learned through mixed sources. (Even my high-school english classes, where one would expect some rigor, didn't insist on either one specifically)

dartharva 6y ago

They're clearly using British English (check the top-right corner), plus you can change the language to whatever you like.

Normille 6y ago
Just on the front page of their site: "optimized", "colors", "color", "organization", "awesome" And someone complaining on their support forum that, even though he's set the phone language to UK English, various apps keep displaying the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. I've heard before European companies make the argument that they use American English on their sites and products because that is the most used version [not true, but hey ho!]. But Fairphone don't even sell their phones in the US, yet still use American English on their website and in their software. Sorry. It might seem a minor issue but it really winds me up how so many companies claiming to be "Proudly European" nonetheless present this sycophantic 'pretendy American' public image.
- rowanG077 6y ago
  What does UK English have to do with EU? Most of the EU doesn't speak english natively so if a company brands itself as European it doesn't make sense to choose British English over US English or vice versa. That would only make sense if it identifies itself as a British company.
  - Normille 6y ago
    Ever heard of a country called Ireland? Last time I checked, it was in the EU. And they speak English. Anyway, my point had nothing to do with the political grouping of the EU. It was a geographical & marketing one. The UK is still part of Europe [even if not for much longer part of the EU]. So, given Fairphone DO sell their phones in UK [and Ireland] but DO NOT sell them in the USA, why have they adopted the US version of English, rather than the version used by people in the market they actually sell into? Is Fairphone's Spanish documentation & software written in Latin American Spanish? Is their Portuguese documentation & software written in Brasilian Portuguese? Is their French documentation & software written in Québécois? ...or is it only the European variants of English that are habitually eschewed in favour of their transatlantic counterparts?
    - rowanG077 6y ago
      > Anyway, my point had nothing to do with the political grouping of the EU. It was a geographical & marketing one. The UK is still part of Europe [even if not for much longer part of the EU]. So, given Fairphone DO sell their phones in UK [and Ireland] but DO NOT sell them in the USA, why have they adopted the US version of English, rather than the version used by people in the market they actually sell into? Probably because as you say it is more commonly used. Why cater to small minority of UK(or Irish) users? > Is Fairphone's Spanish documentation & software written in Latin American Spanish? Is their Portuguese documentation & software written in Brasilian Portuguese? Is their French documentation & software written in Québécois? This a false equivalence. The target is the entire EU not just UK. If they where only selling in the UK then you would have a point. > ...or is it only the European variants of English that are habitually eschewed in favour of their transatlantic counterparts? To be completely honest US English is more of a European variant of English then British English. The US English spelling is just way more common in Europe then in the British Spelling. Anyway for me this discussion has gone on long enough. It doesn't matter to me, I just was completely flabbergasted by someone getting so mad about it.
      - Normille 6y ago
        >I just was completely flabbergasted by someone getting so mad about it. Because, to me, having been brought up and educated in British English, reading American English is like reading text which is full of typos and illogical grammar. I can tolerate it when I'm reading American writing, but it irritates the hell out of me when it's put out by British, Irish, European, Australian, Indian, etc. English speakers.
- detaro 6y ago
  For most of the EU, including the places Fairphone the company is located, English is a second language, and unlikely to strictly follow either British or US English conventions because it's learned through mixed sources. (Even my high-school english classes, where one would expect some rigor, didn't insist on either one specifically)