American English

[donutsweeper]

Writing for an American fandom and sounding like a native is hard. Here and there posts about how to sound like an American have popped up but the past couple of times I've commented in those posts about how to speak like an American or New Yorker I've been jumped on by people who argue that they use different words than I suggested and that they say phrases that I consider non- American all the time. I'll admit that it's quite possible for an American to say "bloody stupid" but it's not typical and isn't, in my opinion, something that should be written in stories that are set in America.

One problem is America is huge. People speak differently depending on where they live and how old they are and when the story is set. The speech patterns that Hollywood and television and books tend to use are often an attempt at a generic, non-geographic version of American English, but a lot of times it is hard to pin down exactly what that is.

I've beta-ed for several non-Americans in many different fandoms and I'm glad to do it because nothing throws me out of a story faster than the mental image of Dean Winchester wearing a dress (jumper). Since writing fiction has been fighting me of late, I thought I'd try to put some of my thoughts on this topic to paper (or worddoc) to attempt to organize them. So here goes:

1) Sometimes being specific is a bad thing. But sometimes not being specific enough is worse.
Specifics can slip into a story without realizing it. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen paracetamol or Tylenol 3 mentioned when neither of those products are readily available here in the US. It's tricky, because you want to write that Tony needed to take something for a headache, but saying he 'took a pain reliever' sounds ridiculous. You can't go generic either because few people ask for acetaminophen out right. Even if I only have an over-the-counter generic version of acetaminophen I tend to wind up calling it Tylenol here. The same goes for Advil instead of ibuprofen. Aspirin however, is just aspirin so you can stick with that or figure out a way to rewrite it to avoid the issue entirely. (As a note, others have commented they feel differently on the subject which makes it difficult to know what to write.)

Another medicine cabinet and bathroom (and please use the term bathroom, not en suite or washroom or anything like that) item that can be problematic are band-aids. If you have a cut you grab a band-aid for it; they are one of those trademark names that have taken on a life of their own. No one asks for a plaster or an adhesive bandage, and bandage in general is something much larger and for a more serious wound (like the roll of gauze or large gauze pad that a hospital might apply, for example). Ace bandages, however, are entirely different and the kind of elastic bandaging used to wrap up sprains.

Oh, and you dry your face with a towel or hand towel, not a flannel. A flannel in the US is a flannel shirt (like the kind Dean Winchester often wears.)

2) Little differences can actually be huge.
A story I read recently had the main character, a cop, giving a "pot plant" as a housewarming present. I've seen the term pot plant used several times, the problem is that here pot = marijuana and is therefore illegal. A potted plant, however is any kind of plant that happens to reside in a pot. Some might also call it a houseplant.

3) Contractions put in the certain places can be grammatically correct, yet sound wrong.
In general Americans will not say "I daren't," but rather "I don't dare." The same goes for "she'll not" instead of "she won't" If there's an option "don't" will be used instead of adding "n't" to another verb ("don't have" instead of "haven't")

4) Americans add in articles that others might leave out.
If you've just had surgery you would be 'in a (or the) hospital' not 'in hospital.' And we don't go 'on holiday' here. We go on a vacation. (A holiday is something different; to us a holiday is a day off school or a day where the banks or post office is closed. Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Christmas, etc are all holidays.) On another note about hospitals, here it a patient might get a catheter if there is any chance they'd have difficulty getting out of bed to urinate, I understand that isn't necessarily the case elsewhere.


Randomness (non-American vs American words and phrases that stick out to me)

"I'll ring you" vs "I'll call you" (Also "he phoned/rang me" vs "he called me")

mobile phone vs cell phone (or simply mobile vs cell)

rang off vs hung up

"I was in a traffic accident" vs "in a car accident"

sack vs bag- You have a garbage/trash bag, bag for groceries, etc...

rubbish vs garbage

bin vs trash or trash can

touch wood vs knock (on) wood

have a coffee vs have a cup of coffee or some coffee

pack, holdall, carryall, or rucksack vs backpack, messenger bag, etc

queue (as both noun and verb) vs line

car park vs parking lot

half-ten vs ten thirty (or 10:30)

fancy (as in the statement "I think she fancies me") vs likes/wants

washing up vs doing the dishes

have a lie down vs take a nap

flannel vs washcloth

zip vs zipper

notes vs bills (as in the money found in your wallet)

post vs mail (you mail a letter, not post it or put it in the post)

pavement vs sidewalk (pavement is a surface here)

put the kettle on vs make tea (or coffee)

come back to mine vs come back to my place

started vs startled (as in "I started {vs startled} at the loud noise")

footpath vs trail (or track or path, etc)

round vs around (as in "he looked around")

mustn't vs can't

fringe vs bangs (the part of someone's hair that hangs over their forehead)

shop vs store (in general)

bin liners/bags vs trash bags

-t for past tense vs -ed (as in leant vs leaned)

In university (or uni) vs in college. {In general here only schools that offer post-graduate degrees (for those continuing their education past the 4 year bachelor's degree) are called universities and even if you are attending one of these universities it's fine to shorten it to call it a college. A dialog example would be, "I'm going off to college in the fall. I'll be attending the University of Minnesota." (Although you'd probably say U of M instead, but I'll ignore the college nickname issue at the moment.) If there's interest I can do a post explaining the American school system.}

Terms that have no place in the fic for an American fandom (although will be understood):
Whilst, fortnight, tablet (either as a pill or pad to write on), tetchy, wretched, gobsmacked, whinge, fretting, enthused, daft, disused, etc.

Comments

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

Suspenders is the one that always gives me a giggle, Jack Harkness playing with his suspenders, from US writers writing for UK fandoms. Jack Harkness in stockings, now there's an image.

Loved point 2, Pot plant *snort*.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Yes! Suspenders! One of the weirdest thing I ever wrote was when Jack was in Atlantis in a SGA crossover and John Sheppard was describing Jack's attire and mentioned the suspenders. It seemed all kinds of wrong, but in the context (an American's POV) it was right.

oooh, Jack in stockings... *sigh*

[hllangel]

One phrase that I'd always considered one from across the pond that I was extremely surprised to see on American TV was "have a flirt" as used by Peter in Vital Signs. I'd considered that construction of the phrase to be fairly british, but then he said it. I think with an increasing amount of media crossing the pond, some phrases and constructions are starting to bleed over, but it's not that pronounced yet.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I never noticed that one, but it certainly would seem a bit odd coming from an American to me. I think you are right though, there has been so much back and forth that things are creeping into both AE and BE and becoming commonplace.

[jadesfire.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* It sounds like an odd phrase to me too. "Have a bit of a flirt" would work, but "have a flirt" definitely doesn't sound quite right. I can't remember the context, but if it's someone telling someone else to "go have a flirt with [person]" then I can see it working. Even then, I think we'd consider that pretty abbreviated!

Wonderful post, Donut :D Ring/call always trips me up, as does "my place." We happily just say "come back to mine", which I think sounds weird to Americans?

I'd definitely be interested in an education system post, especially covering college. I get very confused about the idea of 'majoring' in something and credits and things!

Thanks!

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

giving a "pot plant" as a housewarming present

HEE. That's beautiful. (But inappropriate.)

You make some very good points about things I've noticed too. I run across grammar differences in teaching materials fairly often. For instance, the British tend to say "He has got" something where Americans would say "He has" something. Which leads to the got/gotten difference: Americans use "gotten" as the past participle of get (sometimes with the sense of "become"), and the British cringe when we do it. But if an American in a fic says "He had got careless" it's going to sound wrong.

You also make a good point that there are a huge number of individual and regional differences. My entire family commonly says ibuprofen, not Advil, and when I'm using generic acetaminophen, I say that, not Tylenol (unless I'm limited to 140 characters!) But I'm weird. I had an American use "rucksack" in my journal just today where I would have expected "backpack," and I think there are some contexts where Americans would use "wretched" -- sometimes it's the bon mot -- but in a more formal and less colloquial sense (and much less often) than the British.

Oh, I don't know if people would be interested in this, but I follow a blog by an American linguist who has emigrated to England, and she writes regularly about the differences in expressions and nuance. Separated by a Common Language and @lynneguist on Twitter.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what English 'pot plant' is, maybe Australian? But I've seen it many, many times and it always makes me laugh

Oh, the has got/has/gotten thing, I knew I was forgetting something, yes that's another BE vs AE thing that is pretty telling.

And regionalisms are definitely a problem, it must drive non-Americans nuts trying to pick the right words for things when they can change so much throughout the states.

I've never red that blog as much as I'd have liked to, I always mean to but then don't find the time.

[karababe-64.livejournal.com]

I find discussions like this very interesting. I'm Australian and with a lot of the examples you used, we use the terms interchangably (at least the people I know do). I think it's the combination of our English history but most of the films/tv shows/books we watch/read are American that we are use to both terms being used. I almost never notice that the wrong term has been used.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I'd always wondered about Australian English. There are some phrases I knew were used there, but in general most seemed pretty random. I suppose it's easier/less frustrating to read fanfic then since it doesn't jump out as wrong if a UK term is used in an American fandom (or vice versa)

[chatona.livejournal.com]

Boy am I glad that you've already agreed to beta my NCIS Big Bang fic ♥

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Hey, I love to beta!

[kateri-e.livejournal.com]

Great list. With all of the British TV that I watch, fanfic authors I read, and British friends I have I find that I forget that some terms are from the UK and not the US.
I had it recently pointed out to me by my sisters future in-laws, who are English. They love it when I am at gatherings because I understand them, AND get the pop culture references fairly often.
Another Brit-ism vs. American-ism for your list that was pointed out to me recently: Knocked up
UK- I'll knock you up tomorrow (Visit you at your house)
US- I'll knock you up tomorrow (I'll get you preggers tomorrow)

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

oh YES *facepalm* I can't believe I forgot knocked up!! It really threw me for a loop the first time I saw it because John Sheppard told Rodney McKay he was going to knock him up the first thing the next morning and I was thinking to myself... well, it *is* a scifi show...

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

Fretting? Really? I fret all the time. There are other terms I use that I know are a little different, like "daft", but "fretting" genuinely surprises me.

I was just thinking about #4 the other week and I was thinking of a couple of examples where we leave the article out even though it would seem to fall under the same general category. Like "college". There were others but they're not coming to me right now. It's a weird issue.

Great post!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Fret isn't 100% UK to me, but it sounds wrong in most of the contexts where I've read it in fanfic- it's probably just me, but in my mind someone like Supernatural's Bobby Singer or NCIS' Tony DiNozzo wouldn't say it. It's either old fashioned in my mind (so an Old West character could get away with it) or something a more formal/educated speaker might say.

[padawanpooh.livejournal.com]

A very thoughtful post and you've caught pretty much all of the variations I've come across.

Looking at the comments though, I've *never* heard someone say they're going to knock you up tomorrow (meaning visit your house tomorrow). It may be a regional thing but I grew up in the south of England and now live in the Midlands and have never heard it.

US/UK English is a total minefield. I think the only solution is to get a beta-reader pen pal in the other country to Britpick-USpick any stories...

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I've seen the knock you up thing once or twice, but by no means as often as many of the other phrases.

Yes, a beta/helper/whatever can make a HUGE difference

[kateri-e.livejournal.com]

The times I've seen it in fanfiction I don't know where the author lives, but my friend that said it to me lived pretty much his whole life in Redding (I think I spelled that right, at least that is the way it SOUNDS)

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

And then there's Canadian English, which is a strange hybrid of the two. Some of those things you pointed out we might say in Canada(in hospital, whinge, on holiday, rucksack, etc.), but some of the things we might not. Or we might say both. But I doubt there are enough stories set in Canada for me to provide a worthwhile sister post.

It's funny, though, because I always use ibuprofen in American fic because I associate that as an American thing to say, vs. Motrin. It might be due to the fact that you say Dramamine and I say Gravol, so I assume that all your medications are different.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Canadian and Australian English are both a hybrid of AE/BE I think.

Ibuprofen is probably just a personal quirk of mine.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I'm awfully late to this party, but I just wanted to thank you for a thoughtful post. I don't really mind running across British-isms in SPN fic (arguably kind of an uber-American story), but it's true that nothing clues me in faster to their British Commonwealth origins than "a coffee."

There are some subtle preposition differences too: in the US, one generally lives "on" a street, while in the UK I think one more commonly lives "in" a street.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it!

I don't think I ever noticed in vs on a street, I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

[rabecka.livejournal.com]

I had to laugh at the jumper. It took me awhile to figure out the British use. Made for some very odd images.

Another terminology difference - cot vs crib vs camp bed.

For grammar, I'm not sure what it's called, but for example, "he was sat (UK)" vs "he was sitting (US)".

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, camp bed. It took me a bit to figure out what that meant.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

And then, the Winchesters wear boots, but their gear is packed in the Impala's trunk.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, pulling something out of the car's boot. That bothers me to no end.

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

One that drives me absolutely BONKERS is different from (American) vs different to (British) followed closely supposed to be (American) vs meant to be (British)

Both dead giveaways that a British writer needs Americhecking.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh YES, those are annoying!

Thanks for the shout out for this in your LJ today! :)

[unfeathered]

This is fascinating. A lot of stuff I already knew, of course, (though also stuff I tend to forget - and also not such a problem unless I'm writing Buffy fic) but also some stuff I didn't know.

The thing that really caught my eye as new this time round was: do Americans really not say 'fortnight'????

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Nope. We'd have come across fortnight via Shakespeare but that's it. And some might not even know how long it is.

[fritti13.livejournal.com]

I'm coming in a bit late here (I've been on vacay) and haven't had a chance to read all of the posts yet. I'm American (obviously from the "vacay" statement) and two terms that can throw me right off is a cars boot vs. trunk and a torch vs. flashlight. To us, a boot is something you wear on your foot and has nothing to do with a car and a torch is something used in the old days and it burned. Also, because (as you pointed out) this country is SO huge, different meanings take place within our own country! For instance, I live in Wisconsin, which is in the North half of the country. We drink from public drinking fountians and have pop and drive over speed bumps but in the south, they drink from bubblers and have sodas and drive over speed humps. It's kind of fun, actually!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I hope you had a nice vacation!

I never heard speed humps before!

I'm from both NY and MN so I tend to speak a mishmash of slang. That's what really got me thinking as to the way Hollywood presents American English.

I never really tried to put together a comparison of different terms in the different regions of the US, but it would be interesting. Is it a pocketbook or purse? Sub, hero or grinder? Pop, soda or coke?