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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 gr

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.

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.