Ameripicking

[snick_backup]

I was reading along in my latest issue of Mighty Avengers, and suddenly I sat up and said, "Huh, I did not this author was British." I looked him up, and lo he was. I got clued in because he used one of those tricky phrases that I think doesn't get included in the sweater/jumper list of American and British English differences.

So, here are three phrasings that always tell me that an author isn't American and which I wouldn't expect from an American character (generally speaking; I assume there are regional differences, but these have all been faithful indicators for me in the past as to authorship):

1. Using 'meant to' where I would use 'supposed to.' I usually interpret 'meant to' as being about, say, purpose or life meaning or someone's (say a parent's or God's) intentions for someone else. 'Supposed to' is much more immediate and includes expectations one puts on oneself.

Good example: Vivian always knew she was meant to work with kids.

Bad example: We're meant to be unpacking our stuff, but it's kind of turned into a housewarming.

Fixed example: We're supposed to be unpacking our stuff, but it's kind of turned into a housewarming.

2. 'Different to.' This FAQ breaks down the UK/US usage. Basically, US speakers never say 'different to,' ever. I would instead use 'different from' (which is apparently fairly standard worldwide) or 'different than' (which is more of an American-specific usage).

3. Singular/plural usage of collective nouns. I actually don't see non-American writers use this for American characters, so maybe everyone already knows about it, but I think it's cool, so I'm going to tell you about it anyway. Basically, American English always uses collective nouns (ex: family, team) as singular and British English sometimes uses them as plural, if the context treats the difference members as indivduals.

British English: The company are braced for lay-offs.

American English: The company is braced for lay-offs.

(I am not totally confident of my British English example there; someone tell me if it sounds ridiculous.)

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Comment here or there. ( DW replies)

Comments

[quinara]

My problem is that I spend so much time trying to Americanise my prose that I've got to the point that if I care about perfection, I know I'll never finish anything! So I honestly don't bother about trying to find things I know are invisible to me. I get over enough ropiness with British characters that I sort of hope we can all get along... I mean, language usage does rub off, so who's to say if people like the Buffyverse characters who spend enough time with Giles and Spike wouldn't shift slightly from standard American? I've picked up so many non-Britishisms from my non-native friends.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I think there's been a lot of mixing - possibly more in fandom that in RL? We all spend a lot of time "talking" with and reading things written by friends and acquaintances from the other country and things are beginning to rub off. LOL When doing character's voices, I try to keep in mind actual show dialogue as much as possible, rather than thinking "would someone from this country say this or that" I try to ask myself if it "sounds" right for the character as written and presented on the show. Would Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, etc say that? The American characters have slightly different voices, just as Giles and Spike do. In Spike's case, we're talking about a character who re-invented himself many years ago, left his native country and has lived in the US off and on for years. Add that to the fact that the character was speaking lines written by mostly American writers and spoken by a California boy, and... yeah. I don't think he's going to sound "right" to very many Brits. Giles, probably more so given both ASH's nationality and his character's more precise speech.

[snickfic]

Well, and the great thing is that there are lots of Americans in fandom who'd probably be willing to check your work for any remaining oddballs, if you felt you wanted that.