Re: Us Vs UK English, How Relevant?
Has any reader/user actually faced a problem that was caused because they
did not understand a documented term, purely because of the dialect (UK/US
English) used?
I have never had a reader/user complain about dialect in my documentation. Complaints usually come from the powers that be. For example, most of my clients insist that we (Canadians) use American spelling in our documents because, if we don't, the Americans will complain. Well, no American has complained about my Canadian-spelled docs. That said, I use American spelling on my web site, just in case Americans really are that, um, well, anal. (Are you? Do you think that the average American experiences a shudder of anxiety at the sight of "oddly" spelled words? Is this person likely to feel less friendly towards the author or company as a result?)
In another (non-tech) example, last year I adapted some fairy tales for a Malaysian, British-schooled, audience. In one tale I wrote something like "The witch magicked Rapunzel to a far-off land." My editor objected to "magicked," saying that he'd never heard of it and that it sounded weird. I argued to no avail that I remembered perfectly well using this expression as a child in England, that it was used regularly in children's shows and books. I had to recast the sentence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lyndsey Amott
www.docsymmetry.com
Winnipeg, MB R3G 2J3
References:
Re: Converting American English to British English: From: Sean Hower
Us Vs UK English, How Relevant?: From: Edwin Skau
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