British English or American English?

[Flidarjosh]

The story I'm writing at the time is taking place in England and I thought to set the mood by using British english. But I do wonder if that's a good idea after all, or if it would be confusing or annoying for the majority of the readers. And I mean spelling, not phrases (realize vs. realise, for example).

Any thoughts on that?

English isn't my first language anyway, so it makes no big difference to me.

 

[Handley_Page]

The story I'm writing at the time is taking place in England and I thought to set the mood by using British english. But I do wonder if that's a good idea after all, or if it would be confusing or annoying for the majority of the readers. And I mean spelling, not phrases (realize vs. realise, for example).

Any thoughts on that?

English isn't my first language anyway, so it makes no big difference to me.

If it is important that the action is in England, I suggest British English, but -
be warned, you'll need to get the right time (60s English is so rare these days).

Any of the English readers would give you a few clues at need.

.

 

[Privates1stClass]

The story I'm writing at the time is taking place in England and I thought to set the mood by using British english. But I do wonder if that's a good idea after all, or if it would be confusing or annoying for the majority of the readers. And I mean spelling, not phrases (realize vs. realise, for example).

Any thoughts on that?

English isn't my first language anyway, so it makes no big difference to me.

I don't see it making any difference in your story, but if you choose American or British English, be sure to stick with it throughout the story.

There are some differences in what the British call a "fanny" and what it means to an American. Otherwise, if it makes no difference to you, it makes no difference to me.

The British use "whilst" when we'd say "while." We ride "elevators" when the British take the "lift."

Good luck with your story.

 

[StrangeLife]

Brits have a fascination with "barge poles". I had to google that...

 

[R. Richard]

I would write the story in the dialect that most of my readers would use. If I wrote the story for USA readers, I would throw in a few easily understood 'Britishisms,' to set the scene.

 

[LWulf]

I would write it in British english. However, are the characters all British?

It doesn't bother me at all seeing flavour instead of flavor, or colour instead of color. Bonnet instead of hood, loo instead of toilet. It's all good.

Are you also going to add accents during speaking parts?

 

[Hard_Rom]

I'm am English and a Canadian. If the characters are English use English English. There are lots of websites for English colloquialisms. Some even for actual dialect speech. An accent is one thing, dialect is another.

Proper English

Hello, how are you? I am fine and yourself?

In Yorkshire Dialect.

Ayup, 'a's teur bin? Ah'm fine 'n yursen?

With Accent

'ello, 'ow you bin? Fine 'n you?

H is frequently dropped. T starts to disappear. They don't use the word "the" in Yorkshire.

 

[StrangeLife]

I'm am English and a Canadian. If the characters are English use English English. There are lots of websites for English colloquialisms. Some even for actual dialect speech. An accent is one thing, dialect is another.

Proper English

Hello, how are you? I am fine and yourself?

In Yorkshire Dialect.

Ayup, 'a's teur bin? Ah'm fine 'n yursen?

With Accent

'ello, 'ow you bin? Fine 'n you?

H is frequently dropped. T starts to disappear. They don't use the word "the" in Yorkshire.

American ghetto...

Yo dawg! S'up?

 

[sr71plt]

I think you'd quickly learn that you didn't want to use more than a flavoring of any dialect.

 

[Handley_Page]

I'm am English and a Canadian. If the characters are English use English English. There are lots of websites for English colloquialisms. Some even for actual dialect speech. An accent is one thing, dialect is another.

Proper English

Hello, how are you? I am fine and yourself?

In Yorkshire Dialect.

Ayup, 'a's teur bin? Ah'm fine 'n yursen?

With Accent

'ello, 'ow you bin? Fine 'n you?

H is frequently dropped. T starts to disappear. They don't use the word "the" in Yorkshire.

Go on then; tell me which part of Yorkshire that is.

 

[LWulf]

Go on then; tell me which part of Yorkshire that is.

...the Pudding part? XD

(It was a moral imperative. I HAD to!)

 

[Flidarjosh]

The (two) characters are both from England and they are young enough to have their language infected with the occasional american terms as well. And I won't use accents, I don't think I could pull that off in an authentic way.

I think I'll stay with the British english for now, thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[DeYaKen]

Getting back to the question. If the story is set in England then certainly the characters should speak British English.
However you will get criticisms from American readers who do not realise there are differences in the language.

For instance I recently got the following comment.

>>This sentence is confusing

>>It turned out that he'd got a whole seduction scene arranged, dinner at Browns, then a club and back to our adjoining rooms for god's sake.

>>he'd is either 'he had', or 'he would'
>>If you insert either term into the sentence, you would have:

>>It turned out that 'he had' got a whole seduction scene arranged, dinner at Browns, then a club and back to our adjoining rooms for god's sake.

>>OR

>>It turned out that 'he would' got a whole seduction scene arranged, dinner at Browns, then a club and back to our adjoining rooms for god's sake.

>>Because things like this are like a slap in the face to me, it takes you from a five star to a four star.

Now I accept that I could have made the sentence clearer, but this was dialogue and therefore reflects the way the character speaks.

However, in UK English the poster was wrong.

He'd Got can only be "He had Got" because "He would got" doesn't make sense in UK English. Got is past tense of get and so cannot be put with would unless you put a have in between so it would become "He'd have got "

Somebody suggested that I should have used gotten. Although that word is in the dictionary it is old English and rarely used in the UK.

We don't tend to have buddies here we call them mates However, calling someone mate or pal can be threatening. The most feared question in Glasgow is "Are you calling me a liar, pal?"

 

[R. Richard]

The most feared question in Glasgow is "Are you calling me a liar, pal?"

Strange. I spent some of my younger years in South Central Los Angeles. One of the most feared questions there was, "Do you want me to break your other arm/leg, motherfucker?" Much clearer!

 

[colddiesel]

Go on then; tell me which part of Yorkshire that is.

Keighley in West Yorkshire has the thickest Yorkshire accent /dialect I have ever heard.

 

[Weird Harold]

... I mean spelling, not phrases (realize vs. realise, for example).

Spelling isn't going to give the "flavo(u)r" you're looking for. It is the phrasing and slang/dialect that creates a sense of location. The spelling should match the Narrator's Voice -- if you narrate in English then use European spelling; If you narrate in American use American spelling.

If you happen to Narrate in Indian English or some other dialect of English, go with that -- and use European spelling. Use the spelling, idioms and slang you're used to and narrate from the viewpoint of a narrator with English as a second language.

How you handle character dialect and spelling is a bit different. I'd say use the same spelling standard throughout even with characters from different regions. Use idioms, slang and phrasing to distinguish character nationalities if you can do so realistically -- probably requires the use of several international proofreaders to get right.

 

[Hypoxia]

Are zillions of Anglish dialects, far beyond just US/UK. If a character speaks in a pronounced dialect, I follow this advice I heard somewhere: Let them talk funny at first, to establish the character, then ease them into (mostly) Standard, maybe with scattered specks of dialect later to reaffirm the character.

Something for the OP to consider: Is the narrative 1st or 3rd person? If 3rd person, then tailor your narrative's orthography (spelling, phrasing, punctuation) to your target audience.

EDIT: Bad advice removed.

 

[sr71plt]

Spelling isn't going to give the "flavo(u)r" you're looking for. It is the phrasing and slang/dialect that creates a sense of location. The spelling should match the Narrator's Voice -- if you narrate in English then use European spelling; If you narrate in American use American spelling.

If you happen to Narrate in Indian English or some other dialect of English, go with that -- and use European spelling. Use the spelling, idioms and slang you're used to and narrate from the viewpoint of a narrator with English as a second language.

How you handle character dialect and spelling is a bit different. I'd say use the same spelling standard throughout even with characters from different regions. Use idioms, slang and phrasing to distinguish character nationalities if you can do so realistically -- probably requires the use of several international proofreaders to get right.

Oh, I couldn't agree with mixing and matching spelling styles in the same story. Showing dialect (again, only enough to flavor it, as I noted before) is fine, but I've never ever seen British spelling style used for a British speaker and American spelling style for an American speaker in the same story--and I certainly wouldn't recommend being the first one to do it.

 

[Weird Harold]

...I've never ever seen British spelling style used for a British speaker and American spelling style for an American speaker in the same story...

I have seen it, although I don't recall exactly where or when. It wasn't distracting or jarring, it was just a matter of style -- like using first person present for one POV and third person omniscient for everyone else, which is L.E. Modesitt's trademark style.

 

[sr71plt]

I have seen it, although I don't recall exactly where or when. It wasn't distracting or jarring, it was just a matter of style -- like using first person present for one POV and third person omniscient for everyone else, which is L.E. Modesitt's trademark style.

Doubt if you've seen it put out by any actual publisher. And if you google the issue, I think you'll find a mountain of advice on not doing it. But if someone wants to do it on Literotica, I guess they can. I certainly wouldn't counsel anyone to do it; it's amateurish at best and certainly will be distracting to the reader.

 

[DeYaKen]

The most feared question in Glasgow is "Are you calling me a liar, pal?"

Strange. I spent some of my younger years in South Central Los Angeles. One of the most feared questions there was, "Do you want me to break your other arm/leg, motherfucker?" Much clearer!

Thanks for illustrating my point so well. For the OP's British characters to be believable they would have to use a British turn of phrase. This is usually more subtle than in the US. It is also riddled with Irony.A British villain is not likely to say `i will put you in the hospital' He is more likely to say `i hope you like hospital food' On the whole the British version would play down the threat more.

`You are pissing me off big time' might become `you're really beginning to try my patience.'

 

[robertreams]

Consistency is all that maters. I read one story that flipped back and forth, drove me nuts.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I have seen it, although I don't recall exactly where or when. It wasn't distracting or jarring, it was just a matter of style -- like using first person present for one POV and third person omniscient for everyone else, which is L.E. Modesitt's trademark style.

It would make sense for something like an epistolary novel, where each section is supposed to be actually written by the character in question.

 

[i_would]

Spelling doesn't make a difference on the characters indeed. Choose one, stick to it.

What does matter is the words they use. That's where you can tell whether a character is British, American, Australian, etc. These nations use different words for the same thing.

It can become particularly funny when say an American and a Brit talk to one another. I've watched some great stuff in the Discovery Channel show "wheeler dealers" where one of the British hosts went to the US to buy cars. When it comes to motor vehicles, about half the parts have very different names in American English and British English (boot vs. trunk, bonnet vs. hood, wing vs. fender, etc). Luckily they seemed to know the terms in the other's language

 

[geronimo_appleby]

if it's a brit narrating, use britspeak. if it's a yank, use their garbled version of the language.

joke.

in dialogue you could switch 'tween the two, mebbe.