5 ms·
For anyone not natively English-speaking, there is a kind of choice to make - which English to use? Especially when spelling. Curious what others have settled
by mongol 5y ago
For anyone not natively English-speaking, there is a kind of choice to make - which English to use? Especially when spelling. Curious what others have settled on.
- School-Cotton 5y agoIn my experience, Europeans and South Asians tend to use British spellings. East Asians and Latin Americans tend to use American spellings. Not sure about people from other parts of the world.
- dustintrex 5y agoAs a rule of thumb, former British colonies like India, Australia and Singapore tend to favo(u)r British spellings, while other countries tend to go with American spellings.
- Someone1234 5y agoCanadian-English being an exception, since they use neither British nor American English. They use some kind of mish-mash of both. For example, they spell "Colour" the British-English way but "Analyze" the American-English way.
- andrewshadura 5y agoAnalyze and analyse are both British English spellings, even though analyse is more widespread.
- elondaits 5y agoHere in Argentina, in the 80s (at least) teaching British English was the norm… but probably most people end up with American spelling due to the internet, books, magazines, etc.
- Tomte 5y agoI'm German. My English lessons started in 1992, I think. Our English teachers back then were highly influenced by England and the United Kingdom. They strived for "correct" British pronunciation. They had most of their vacations (sorry, holidays) in England. Maybe Scotland. Our school book began with "X lives in Hatfield. Hatfield is near London." One of the first words we learned was "biro". We were "pupils", not "students". Today's English teachers have grown up with American TV series and music. I'd be surprised if that British bias still showed. I've mostly felt that influence, as well, and I think my English is more American than British, thanks to Star Trek, Friends and the like. Although I have once put the word "connexion" in document at work, and I'd love to use "gaol" some day before I retire. ;-)
- alistairSH 5y agoWho’s the target audience? If it’s mostly Brits (or former colonies), use British English. If it’s Americans or very broad international, use American English. Of course, ignore that if you’re more comfortable with one over the other.
- Symbiote 5y agoBritish and American aren't spelling choices. There are differences between different dictionaries. Many international organizations¹ like the United Nations use Oxford spelling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_spelling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_spelling I think it's an excellent compromise, as it looks slightly foreign to the average American and the average Brit. ¹ Oxford spelling!
- nemetroid 5y agoOur teachers used to tell us that picking either British or American English was fine, but we should make a choice and stick with it. In my opinion, what matters is being understood, and I haven’t really followed that rule. I try to follow British spelling conventions, but for vocabulary, the American cultural influence is just so much greater that it becomes the natural choice. For pronunciation, I generally tend more toward British, and I make an effort to avoid typical Swedish-English mistakes that can impact your ability to be understood (th, sh/ch, voiced s, schwa). But beyond those few items, I don’t go out of my way to avoid influences from my native tongue. Having a natural flow is more important than imitating a specific accent.
- CRConrad 5y ago> I make an effort to avoid typical Swedish-English mistakes Oh you lovely wiking, you...
- CRConrad 5y agoSwede[1] here, started primary school in 1970. We were definitely taught British English, preferably RP (to the extent that our teachers knew how to talk that way; I only noticed from about year 7, so not sure about earlier). Still what I use. ___ 1: Northern European confusenik: Born German, lived in Finland almost half my life.