American English versus British English: Spelling

[moderntimes]

Have zero idea what the term Sorcerer's Stone applies to. I've always known the term as "Philosopher's Stone" as you say. Who changed it and who has that false authority? Same for Aurora Borealis (Northern / Southern Lights), never heard Golden Compass term applied to that, either. Where did you see that this was the new American way? Because I haven't seen either and I read a lot.

Specific terms for various regions are neither wrong nor right. Brit vs US preferred is expected. I don't understand "robots" for example, as the traffic light is certainly not a robot, per the usual term. But here in Texas people call them "red lights" which I always ask, "What if the light is green?" as a joke.

We Americans tend to remove letters that aren't pronounced. The older spelling of "favourite" vs "favorite" is actually a lean towards Latin, as you well know. But the Brits also confuse us with their pronouncing words with letters left out, such as saying "shock" when they mean "shark" and somehow forget, ha ha, to pronounce the letter "r" a lot of times.

[Circling Turtle]

The Northern Lights is a book by Philip Pullman, in the His Dark Materials trilogy. When it was published in the US, and when the movie was made, they changed the title to The Golden Compass. The sequels are titled The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass so I always though that the good old Americans just changed the name so that it fit in with the whole object theme going on. However, I just googled it and I'm afraid I was wrong on that account, the real reason is something completely different! The title The Sorcerer's Stone, however, is inexcusable. Basically the American publishers decided that Harry Potter is a sorcerer, not a philosopher, so they changed the name. If I were J.K Rowling I would never have allowed it.

I guess my issue with South Africans saying 'trash' is I know that it's picked up from American TV. Haha I think we're one of the only countries to say robots though! It confuses visitors no end.

[moderntimes]

Er, I understand the difference between US & Brit preferred spelling, but changing the name of a kid's book for a kid's movie? That's neither. It's just commercialism and has nuttin' to do with spelling preferences.

[Circling Turtle]

Sorry I went a bit off topic there! It was a response to a previous post about the Americanisation of book title... As well as a bit of a rant haha. I guess when it comes to spelling it makes sense to alter it for whichever audience it is aimed at, but I agree with the original post that the two spellings shouldn't be mixed. Interestingly, Noah Webster (of dictionary fame) was responsible for the differences in spelling. It was an act of nationalism, as he wanted American spelling to be distinct from British spelling. And apparently both forms were acceptable in England before he made that move.

[bookowlie]

This thread is interesting. Over the years I have discovered there are British vs. American spelling variations for so many words. People who aren't familiar with the variations may look at someone's writing and think they've made several errors. We are an international board. When editing, it's always better to google the word to see if it's acceptable. A word is often spelled correctly even if you might not know there is another way to spell it. I find the same thing happens with words that I didn't know existed. If I am editing someone's work, I will occasionally see a word that I don't think is an actual word, but a mangled use of another word. I will google the word to be sure. Although sometimes the word, in fact, doesn't exist, other times I've found the word is not commonly used in the U.S.

[moderntimes]

I read lots of British and European mysteries as a reviewer, with the Euro spelling in English matching Brit preference. I therefore just whiz over alternate spelling and don't give it a second's thought. Now, use of unfamiliar words? That's another matter entirely. But as a James Joyce fan, I have about seen it all, so I take it all in stride. Errors of course are not part of that vocabulary.

[bookowlie]

Moderntimes, I don't remember the exact word that was unfamiliar to me. It was one of those words that was a familiar word with an unfamiliar extension. Here's a random example - extend, Extendification (I just made that word up). In the actual case that I can't remember, I looked it up and it was a word more commonly used overseas.

[stoppoppingtheP]

At school I learnt British grammar, but since I read so much, the two do sometimes get mixed in my head.

[moderntimes]

Switching between US and Brit spelling and grammar rules is tricky. I know a fairly well known author, and he's British but has since moved to the USA. He's had to restructure his writing to accommodate the US publisher. Yes, the publisher could re-edit the books but this writer is very conscientious and wants to make the change himself. He was emailing me that he's "almost there" but still gets words crossed over.

So your experience is fairly common, stopping.

[Kayo Smada]

As a proofreader/editor, consistency is key. And you also have to remember who your audience is to a degree. I was recently working with a real estate company editing community profiles in Indiana, and from what I gathered, one writer sometimes used British English spellings and one writer was from the West Coast. So, there were many style items and spellings I had to change to fit a Midwestern audience and to make it consistent. However, I say that with caution because as a huge fan of British literature, I often have to think about which word is the American English version. And some British English spellings have been accepted in American English as well (like the word "theatre").

[moderntimes]

For my "day job" career, I was engaged in scientific and high tech enterprise. I studied chemistry & biology in school, worked in research, and then later, spent the latter part of my work prior to partial retirement as a consultant for "big oil" technical specs. Most of this involved deepwater drilling and exploration, a large part of which involved safety and environmental specifications. Now these specs, after thorough editing, were sent through auto-translator software that translated the English into various "approved" languages used throughout the oil world, such as Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, French, German, etc. We had very strict punctuation and spelling specs to adhere to, so that the translator software wouldn't get hung up.

In science and technology, as you know, the metric system is used. More correctly, it's the "SI" system (Systeme Internationale) and the spelling is mostly taken from the British: metre, centimetre, and so on. And very rigid rules on punctuation as well. With most of these regulations based on British style.

When I got home and started to write my American mystery novels, I'd have to shift gears and reset my internal spellcheck for US style punctuation and typography, then the next morning, shift back into "international" style. Whew.

[hilarymay]

I agree with yett23 ie be consistent. I guess most authors use the type of English they grew up with. The major publishers produce different editions of books that sell internationally and the spelling suits the different target markets. If you're reviewing a book then probably the thing to do is note where it was published - so if, UK, then I wouldn't mark it down for have British/English English. If the author is from the US then I wouldn't mark it down for having US English.

The only time this has been an issue for me is in choosing books for my children.

[moderntimes]

When I review books, I never make any reference to spelling differences, so long as the typography is correct. Let's face it -- the author doesn't do the final typography anyway -- the publisher's editing staff does the spell-check and corrects other mechanical errors.

So if I ever come across a novel that has typos, I might email the publisher or agent to let them know that there are errors extant. Many of the books I receive are galley proofs, those cheaply bound editions that are submitted to reviewers, and the final print edition will not have such errors.

hilary, as you review books, you've certainly seen these galley proof editions, which are typical for a reviewer to receive, as you well know. All reviewers receive galley proofs. Looking at one of them just now, the cheap binding is typical, and the note on the very plain cover: "This is an uncorrected galley proof. Not for resale. Any quotes for review must be checked against the finished book" and I'm sure that all reviewers see this a lot.

Regardless, I don't downgrade the review if there are typos or spelling errors. And of course, never for changes between Brit or US preferred typography. It's the publisher's job and the publisher's staff to make those changes anyway, not the author.

I'm now reviewing a very good modern thriller originally written in Swedish, for example. Because the print version I've been sent is intended for US audiences, the spelling is mostly US-preferred but I still see an occasional British usage. From reading the copyright page, the novel will also be released in England and apparently it was translated by a British resident, then re-set to US audiences as well. So there's a slight mixture of styles throughout. No way it's the author's fault. He wrote in Swedish and although he may speak some English he's likely not so fluent that he could write a novel in English. So the job of translating and American vs British usage is the publisher's job, not the author's. So even if I find some spelling differences, I'll overlook those completely in my review.

Let's face it -- reviews should focus only on the book itself, not the spelling or typography (those are the publisher's job) nor things like the book's binding or cover or other things. Reviews must overlook such flaws, or if mentioning them in the review, remark that it's the publisher's fault to make these mistakes, not the author. Right?

[cosmicamy]

me hate grammer it is stupid silly bad and dumb
who need gramma am right !

[elegance51]

I write novels as well, and I use American English. For some reason, it was taught where I live currently: Kathmandu, Nepal. It does seem to get white annoying when the two English types get mixed up on a narrative paragraph, but it's okay if the use is for a specific character only.