US and British English

“England and America are two countries separated by a common language” is the famous comment made by the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw.

Working on an article for a future issue of Business Spotlight about the cultural differences between the Americans and the British has made me think again about the importance (or not) of differences between American and British English.

As I write, Bill Gates forces me to choose not only between these two types of English, but in his spell check offers no fewer than 18 varieties, including Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. This all reinforces the idea that these differences are clear-cut. When I used to teach English at Munich University, a common tactic used by students when they made what I called “a mistake” was to say, “That’s not wrong, it’s American English.” Sometimes, unfortunately, they were right, but not always.

Another little irritation is the phrase you find in some German translations of English novels: Aus dem Amerikanischen. I’m not alone in finding this rather absurd and, like Josef Joffe in a witty piece in Die Zeit a few years ago, am missing the phrase in translations of German novels “Translated from the Austrian”. What happens if a British writer moves to the States? Does he then write in American English?

By the way, if, despite my rantings, you are still determined to find out about British and American English then I would recommend looking at this excellent site.

As far as business communication is concerned, I really don’t think it matters whether you spell organisation with an "s" or a "z". Microsoft has just underlined my spelling, as I have US English as the standard setting.

A massive festival?

Just compare the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the US and that of a British prime minister. On the one hand, a massive festival — and on the other, a cup of tea with the Queen.

Maybe that says it all, but if you want to find out more you’ll have to buy the first issue of Business Spotlight in 2010.