Ask HN: Writing for Americans | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Writing for Americans

13 pointsneiljohnson16 comments

I've recently started writing a tech blog and as a regular reader of Hacker News wanted to ask people's opinions on internationalisation.

As a Brit I spell words like grey, initialise and colour like so. I recently wrote a post entitled "In Defence of Scrumbut" and was wondering what an American audience would make of it. Does it appear to be a typo implying that the post is likely to be poorly written? Or are variations in the spelling on English words well known and it simply isn't an issue?

Clearly I'd rather stick with the British English spellings but I may want to adjust my choice of titles accordingly.

Thanks N

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Maybe I speak for myself, but just like accents, I like reading the English spelling of words--and dare I say prefer it?

I think it is absolutely fine. Now, if your bigger worry is getting the SERP pages on Google, then I can tell you it is very rare that I do a search and come across an English or Australian article in my results with the English spellings.

I know that wasn't your original question, but it is a fascinating one that I just thought of while replying to you.

Write in your most natural voice; and with your canonical spellings. The only British-isms that I have trouble getting my head around quickly are the over-casual dropping of place names and neighborhoods in London. But we Americans grow up reading plenty of Dickens and Orwell and Shakespeare and whatnot, so just like a British accent we can handle it as long as it's consistent.

In general, you will do quite well to have even your American audience think, "Here's an well-written Brit."

It's not the different spellings of common words (gray/grey), it's the different words (scrumbut?) and different meanings (we call it the hood, not the bonnet) that will interfere with communication.

I think if you're writing for an international audience, stick with whatever comes natural to you. I know (I'm Australian) that I use BrE spelling here on HN and around the web.

If I had to think about using AmE then two things would happen: 1) I would almost certainly miss some. If you use the word Defense ten times and spell it Defence once then it looks like a spelling error. 2) It would interrupt the flow of my writing. Anything that interrupts writing is bad. Why let the writing itself get in the way.

But of course, know your target market. I'm working on a product for the US right now, and the extra effort checking for BrE is annoying, but necessary.

I tried to google and find your post but could not see it. I would think the word scrumbut is a typo [or perhaps crass], but without seeing the byline or the article I would not know for sure.

Please don't curse in your writing but any local color is very nice! Personally, just as I enjoy hearing foreign accents in real life, I enjoy seeing them on the web. It helps remind me that the web is a many splendored and located place :).

Anne, thanks for the feedback. Actually I'm still proof reading the post, so it's not quite ready yet (suddenly realised a few bits needed turning upside down). For the typo I meant 'Defence' vs 'Defense', by Scrumbut I mean 'We do Scrum but..' as in http://bitsnwidgets.com/2008/04/19/DontBeASCRUMBUT.aspx N

I apologize for my interjection on this response, but...

@neiljohnson ABSOLUTELY curse if it is in your nature to communicate as so.

--Write as you speak and speak as you write--

I don't appreciate censorship of any sort. If @neiljohnson curses and certain audience members do not wish to read material with such language, then they can just not go to the blog and set their search filters to ignore such writing.

Are you [anyone] reading my comment and happen to love comedy? --Could you imagine saying to George Carlin, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor and so on to "please be funny, but don't curse."? Sure, there are comedians who do not even whisper a curse and are hilarious, but they too are allowed to be themselves.

Such language can be implored in speech without being vulgar. I also do not buy into the notion that using such language shows the limited vocabulary of an individual. I have been in the company of great minds who know how to properly use a "curse" word for impact, humor or emphasis. These people include published scientists, authors, politicians and priests.

@AnneTheAgile I'm sorry. I believe you had no intention of censorship and this is in no way about you. Of course your comment was a suggestion and personal preference. It is that your comment brought up a great point of discussion.

In summation, @neiljohnson, be yourself, write as you speak and speak as you write. And may I suggest a very near future post titled "Look At The Shite I Started".

Cheers!

Guys, thanks for the feedback, based on the discussion I've decided to stick with the British approach even with titles, and have submitted the article here.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1173473

Thanks

Neil

As long as they are the standard spellings, it shouldn't make much difference. It's the unexpected spellings, especially the ones that make your readers stop and wonder what you are trying to say that are problems. Anyone who reads much will be as comfortable reading the British spellings as the American. I use some spellings interchangeably - I am more likely to write "grey" than "gray" and I spell "defence/defense" either way (it is possible that I have even mixed them in the same essay - which is generally a bad idea).

Don't worry about the spelling. What strikes me as odd about British writing is the scarcity of commas. I feel rather breathless reading British writing, and often it's difficult to parse. (I'm pretty sure most Americans would have put more than one comma in your >100-word question.) Not to worry, though, it just adds flavor.

It's better to be consistent. If you try to Americanize (Americanise?) your text, you'll probably miss something, and it will look like a typo.

That said, in some professions, affecting British spelling will make people trust you more.

I wouldn't worry too much about spelling. That isn't a big deal. However, you might be careful about some words. For instance, I might have to pause for a second if I read lorrie instead of truck.

I think people who read tech blogs are educated enough to know that defence is not a typo (despite firefox trying to spell correct me as I type that).

We have an Australian resident in our surgery training program. He's going bald, has bushy eyebrows, and wears glasses. People have been treating him like a professor since day one. Even the faculty revere him.

I'm having trouble seeing how this is relevant. Can you provide more context? Thanks.

He's pointing out that appearances matter.

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