donutsweeper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
donutsweeper) wrote2010-08-04 11:57 pm
donutsweeper) wrote2010-08-04 11:57 pm
Entry tags:
American English
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.
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.
no subject
Yes! Because you can't necessarily rely on one example of an American saying something to tell you it's okay to use for any American character in any situation. I know it's the same with BrE. I look to British-to-American dictionaries/lists first, but then I try to find real examples of the expression being used, and then sometimes I have to ask a real live Brit anyway -- would a [person from this part of Britain] who is [this age] say [expression] in [this situation]?
I always mean to but then don't find the time.
I know what you mean. I've found it easier to follow her Twitter account. She has a 140-character "Difference of the Day" and then she links to the blog posts, and I can pick which ones I want to (or have time to) read. I'm a
linguistics dorklanguage enthusiast though, and it's good for my job, too, so I try to make a little time for it.no subject
the age and place of a person really can make quite a difference. Writing can be annoyingly hard sometimes
no subject
That still makes me giggle.
no subject
:)