Foriegn language - American is!

American is a foreign language.

I suspect there are few who give any thought to, or realise / realize,
how many differences there are between British and American English
words. I have been told (though not personally counted) that there are
some 5,500 spelling differences between British and American text, as
well as identical words having different meanings.

For those writers who have never explored writing markets outside of
the US, this is arguably of little interest or concern. And it's true
that the internet, in particular, is 'blurring' the two languages more
and more but, nevertheless, the fact remains that the differences can
be enough to deter many publications from accepting the work of
'writers from the other side of the pond'. And that cuts both
ways.

While minor spelling differences may not colour / color an editor's
judgement as to whether to accept or reject the piece, the terminology
may be so different that the piece does end up in the rubbish-bin /
trash-can. A classic example would be an article about cars and
driving. From the bonnet / hood to boot / trunk, and all the bits in
between, including the accelerator / gas-pedal and windscreen /
windshield, it is enough to drive one off the road / highway, pull over
/ up in the nearest car-park / parking lot, and go spend a couple of
quid / bucks on a cup of tea (or coffee) and snack. Let's not even
worry about the chips / french-fries, where American chips are
crisps&;#8230; Confused yet?

For myself, the differences are a god-send, providing a nice
'side-line' freelancing for several 'translation companies' and writers
who decide to 'go international' from time to time. It's also a
god-send being one half of a British-American writing couple, whereby I
can double-check with my wife that my American is ok, and viser-versa.
Having said that, we have repeatedly debated over which version -
American or English - of our CVs / Resumes we should send, when
asked.

Talking of checks&;#8230; tick the box / check the box if this is a
service you could use and, yes, I accept postal-orders / money orders
and cheques / checks&;#8230; Working hours not restricted Monday to
/ through Friday.

Copyright David Taub (UKpoet@aol.com(link sends e-mail)), November 2001

First written for Florida Writers' Association membership
magazine

David Taub is a member of :
The British organisation 'National Union of Journalists' (NUJ);
The Florida Writers' Association;
Columnist for the UK magazine 'Poetry Now';
Freelance writer for various UK and USA magazines;
Co-author of Language of Souls (listed on amazon.com)
Website: www.ukpoet.cjb.net(link is external)