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The French are renowned for being over-protective of their language. But I've been surprised at how fragile Americans also seem to be about their version of Eng

The French are renowned for being over-protective of their language. But I've been surprised at how fragile Americans also seem to be about their version of English. Several times, I've downloaded ebooks off the intarwebs, written by British authors, and found that they were the US published edition and had all the spellings and even vocabulary changed to American versions. It's very disconcerting to read a British authored book set in London where people notice the 'colors' of things, step down off the 'curb' and open the 'hood' of their 'auto'. I wonder why this is? I've never read a UK published edition of a book by an American author which didn't retain the US spelling and vocabulary. Why are Americans so fragile about this kind of thing?

gumby 5y ago
Famously "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published in the US as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" because some apocryphal market research said that US kids wouldn't get the reference and would be turned off by the reference to "philosopher" While the title was changed I find it hard to believe a significant number of 8 year old kids had even heard of the profession "philosopher" much less had any opinion positive or negative.
- MR4D 5y ago
  No argument with your statement, but wanted to say that I think any kid - American or otherwise - would find a Sorcerer cooler than a Philosopher. I would have to think that this alone would cause a change in title.
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    Well I am 42 and I would find a Sorcerer cooler than a Philosopher. With a few exceptions such as Diogenes.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- zxcvbn4038 5y ago
  Too many syllables? :) Should be happy it wasn’t changed to “magic dude”.
duped 5y ago
For what it's worth, Americans say "car" and not "auto." We're also far less tolerant of our own native dialects than how words are spelt across the pond. It is fun to read old books on spelling and pronunciation from the 19th and early 20th century (I can't reference any, I just find them in old bookshops and antique stores from time to time). The absolute rigidity of language seemed to be a fascination of our forebears.
Scoundreller 5y ago
Maybe in Quebec they are, but in France, there’s tons of English. You may find yourself shopping at “The Market” grocery store where you can buy “Daddy Sugar” sugar or my favourite cleaning brand: “Okay”. Big movie releases will often be available for watching dubbed or in English with French subtitles because enough people prefer that. Studying another language is compulsory (and often English, but that often doesn’t mean much).
jimmygrapes 5y ago
I recently read Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and was taken aback by his use of the word "tyre" considering both he and the publisher are American. It was also the only word I noticed with distinctive British spelling -- for example, "color" was left without the "u"

gumby 5y ago

Famously "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published in the US as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" because some apocryphal market research said that US kids wouldn't get the reference and would be turned off by the reference to "philosopher" While the title was changed I find it hard to believe a significant number of 8 year old kids had even heard of the profession "philosopher" much less had any opinion positive or negative.

MR4D 5y ago
No argument with your statement, but wanted to say that I think any kid - American or otherwise - would find a Sorcerer cooler than a Philosopher. I would have to think that this alone would cause a change in title.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  Well I am 42 and I would find a Sorcerer cooler than a Philosopher. With a few exceptions such as Diogenes.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
zxcvbn4038 5y ago
Too many syllables? :) Should be happy it wasn’t changed to “magic dude”.

duped 5y ago

For what it's worth, Americans say "car" and not "auto." We're also far less tolerant of our own native dialects than how words are spelt across the pond. It is fun to read old books on spelling and pronunciation from the 19th and early 20th century (I can't reference any, I just find them in old bookshops and antique stores from time to time). The absolute rigidity of language seemed to be a fascination of our forebears.

Scoundreller 5y ago

Maybe in Quebec they are, but in France, there’s tons of English. You may find yourself shopping at “The Market” grocery store where you can buy “Daddy Sugar” sugar or my favourite cleaning brand: “Okay”. Big movie releases will often be available for watching dubbed or in English with French subtitles because enough people prefer that. Studying another language is compulsory (and often English, but that often doesn’t mean much).

jimmygrapes 5y ago

I recently read Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and was taken aback by his use of the word "tyre" considering both he and the publisher are American. It was also the only word I noticed with distinctive British spelling -- for example, "color" was left without the "u"