American English or English English?

[tony090909]

I live in England and have recently begun posting on Literotica. I've had several pieces of feedback (mainly from English women) saying that they are so glad I use the English word knickers instead of the American one panties (actually I use either depending on the context or simply the mood I'm in).

Today I got some feedback saying if you want your stories to have wide appeal then use the more recognised words (eg panties instead of knickers and sperm or cum instead of spunk).

Does anyone have any strong feelings on this? I would have thought that if the story is good enough to appeal to someone then surely a few mildly unfamiliar words aren't going to spoil it.

Comments are welcome!

 

[oggbashan]

It doesn't really matter which you use, but if you are British it is far easier to write your own version of English (and set Word to UK English).

I state in my profile that I write in British English.

Og

 

[_Lynn_]

I live in England and have recently begun posting on Literotica. I've had several pieces of feedback (mainly from English women) saying that they are so glad I use the English word knickers instead of the American one panties (actually I use either depending on the context or simply the mood I'm in).

Today I got some feedback saying if you want your stories to have wide appeal then use the more recognised words (eg panties instead of knickers and sperm or cum instead of spunk).

Does anyone have any strong feelings on this? I would have thought that if the story is good enough to appeal to someone then surely a few mildly unfamiliar words aren't going to spoil it.

Comments are welcome!

My first thought is to remain consistent throughout the piece, whichever you choose to use. Mixing English and American terminology would be confusing, I think.

 

[al_Ussa]

My first thought is to remain consistent throughout the piece, whichever you choose to use. Mixing English and American terminology would be confusing, I think.

Actually I find myself occaisonally mixing in American English, British English, Singlish (Singapore English), Australian English, Indian English, Kiwi English, South African English, Canadian English, West Indian English...

Its all good.

 

[sr71plt]

You can use either, certainly (with consistency being a nice touch). But the reality is that the audience here appears to be mostly American, and many Americans don't realize there is a difference. So, you won't stop receiving the "hey, what?" comments if you chose to write British style.

 

[Handley_Page]

Perhaps an explanatory note might help ?

 

[YoursSINSerely]

Well, I didn't know what spunk was. People tell me I have alot of spunk and I thought they were talking about my sassy little attitude. I think the two words are not interchangeable between countries. Guess I would need an interpreter for the story.

 

[_Lynn_]

You can use either, certainly (with consistency being a nice touch). But the reality is that the audience here appears to be mostly American, and many Americans don't realize there is a difference. So, you won't stop receiving the "hey, what?" comments if you chose to write British style.

I thought about adding that to my reply as well.

 

[sr71plt]

Perhaps an explanatory note might help ?

What? A disclaimer up front: "Sorry, I'm British"?

That would go over great.

 

[al_Ussa]

I think most Americans - most people in general - are smart enough to figure out the meaning of a word in context.

If a guy in a classroom asks the girl sitting next to himfor a rubber, not everyone is going to assume its a condom.

If someone talks about going to knock up the neighbor lady in the flat next to them, not everyone is going to assume hes impregnating her.

Well.. maybe on this forum, but thats something else.

 

[oggbashan]

There are a few words that cause raised eyebrows:

Fanny. What is a fanny-pack? To me that is a full pussy.

Arse/Ass. An Ass is a quadruped with expressive ears. An Arse produces faeces. As for an Arsenal? A great football team that plays with style and panache; a storage depot for military hardware; or "arse 'n all" - the complete arsehole.

Madam, sometimes spoken as Ma'am, is a form of address for Her Majesty the Queen after calling her "Your Majesty" the first time, particularly when answering a question from her... But in the US, a Madam means something completely different.

Og

Edited for PS: Quote from my profile: I write in British English and the stories are sometimes fairly long.... I don't apologise for it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I enjoy reading British English, it seems 'exotic.'

But I also have a better grasp of the word differences-- because I enjoy reading British English.

 

[Rubyswallows]

You'd think given Americans' fascination with all things British, that a little thing like slight variations on the same word wouldn't be a problem. Erotica is erotica!

The only word that brings me out of a story written by a British author is "lift." Weird, I know, but using lift instead of elevator makes me think of a giant reaching down and lifting the people to whatever floor they want to go to.

 

[wife2hotblk]

You think that is bad. I am a American married to a Brit and living in London. One of the first things I did professionally was to learn to spell the English way. But what about this sort of thing? Eventually, I found my happy medium. If my story is set in the UK, I use Queens English. If it is set in the good ole' USA, then American spellings. But yes, I received almost that same feedback at one point.

 

[Rubyswallows]

You think that is bad. I am a American married to a Brit and living in London. One of the first things I did professionally was to learn to spell the English way. But what about this sort of thing? Eventually, I found my happy medium. If my story is set in the UK, I use Queens English. If it is set in the good ole' USA, then American spellings. But yes, I received almost that same feedback at one point.

Ahh, the good ole random "u" thrown in for good measure or "s" instead of zeds ;-D

My favorite (pronounced) word is - aluminium

 

[ishtat]

The best thing about English is that it is constantly changing, maybe we should celebrate the differences rather than carp about conformity. Consistency is however desirable within any publication. The differences are fun, in Aussie English rooting = fucking. I understand that in the US it is slightly different.

And as an aside an Indian friend told me recently that the number of Indians who speak English every day (It is the language of business everywhere in India) is now greater than the number of Americans who do so. Should we all respond to that change?

My daughter has been published in Australia UK and USA. The editing differences were pretty minor between the various editions.

 

[al_Ussa]

And as an aside an Indian friend told me recently that the number of Indians who speak English every day (It is the language of business everywhere in India) is now greater than the number of Americans who do so. Should we all respond to that change?

Hehe, I'm always amused when Americans find out that India - all of South Asia pretty much - uses English.

See, India (and Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc) was administered by the Brits for a LOOONG time. They left their legal system, their educational system, their infrastructure, their culture... and their language.

India has dozens of MAJOR languages. Hindi (and Urdu) is just the most widely spoken with some 200 million speakers, but you've also got Bengali and Panjabi (both of which outnumber French-speakers in the world), as well as Gujarati, Assamese, Nepali, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Marathi, even Sanskrit and Persian...

English is a nice, neutral language that is widely spoken by people from different states, and better yet, different countries. An Indian man can comfortably talk to (and do business with) an American, Brit or Aussie. Its a great language for the diaspora in South Africa, Dubai, England, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and elsewhere...

You know that India is currently the largest democracy in the world? And that it will soon be the largest country in general.

Nigeria and the Philippines, while not nearly so large, are both note worthy in that they both have more English speakers than Britain. The Philippines especially because of the role of American colonialism, meaning Filipinos use American English (or rather a derivative of it).

 

[lesbiaphrodite]

Good advice so far. I'll add my bit and say simply that you should take those kinds of criticisms with the proverbial grain of salt. Just write consistently, as Mistress Lynn wisely advised.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I only dislike English when I am reading about a character born and raised in the USA and they keep using words like mum, knickers, fanny, car boot, and so on. If the characters are from America, have them speak American. If they are from England, have them speak English. That is all that I ask.

 

[oggbashan]

I only dislike English when I am reading about a character born and raised in the USA and they keep using words like mum, knickers, fanny, car boot, and so on. If the characters are from America, have them speak American. If they are from England, have them speak English. That is all that I ask.

It comes down to the same thing: Write about what you know.

I expect that I would be unconvincing if I set a story in the US and wrote in US English, unless I had a very helpful US editor.

I have looked at some people's stories set in the UK. Usually only a few changes were necessary, but each, left unchanged, would have broken the thread of the story by sounding wrong.

However, even Shakespeare could get it wrong, having a chiming clock in Julius Caesar.

Og

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Why would anyone want to copy anything the English do? Theyre a degenerate society that hasnt mattered since 1918.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

as long as you're consistent with usage in a piece then ...?

i use english english, 'cos i am english.

but, if a character is from another country, then i'd try to use the vernacular appropriate to their heritage.

... or summat.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Why would anyone want to copy anything the English do? Theyre a degenerate society that hasnt mattered since 1918.

LOL. but the wheel's rotating to your number now. time to learn mandarin?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LOL. but the wheel's rotating to your number now. time to learn mandarin?

I just read a new book that changed my thinking about the Chinks. Theyve been around forever and are still dependent on coolies. Theyve never been an aggressor and the Vietnamese kicked their ass in 1979.

The book predicts that the Japs will do a repeat of the 30s and World War 2. It also predicts that the Mexicans will absorb the bulk of our manufacturing and make a grab for Texas and California.

 

[Liar]

I live in England and have recently begun posting on Literotica. I've had several pieces of feedback (mainly from English women) saying that they are so glad I use the English word knickers instead of the American one panties (actually I use either depending on the context or simply the mood I'm in).

Today I got some feedback saying if you want your stories to have wide appeal then use the more recognised words (eg panties instead of knickers and sperm or cum instead of spunk).

Does anyone have any strong feelings on this? I would have thought that if the story is good enough to appeal to someone then surely a few mildly unfamiliar words aren't going to spoil it.

Comments are welcome!

Look at it this way:

Now, you have some readers who specifically appreciate that you write in the Queen's English. And I'm sure most other readers, American and other, don't really care as long as the story is good. And you may have a handful who don't like it because of the UK style.

If you switch to American, the yanks are not going to be as appreciative of your American English as the English is of your UK English., They'll just think it's "normal" (which it is, in the context of this site) and think nothing of it.

So you'd gain a few more readers, but lose your biggest fans.