I feel vaguely qualified to speak to this because I was born in Britain, grew up in Australia with a variation of the Queen's English and now live in Canada (where people still ask me about my accent and laugh at my Australianisms LOL). I haven't read much HP fic yet, but I probably have the reverse situation going on when writing in Star Wars, and can speak to that. Apart from spelling lightsaber in the American way, I write largely using the Queen's English, filtered by my life experiences. I certainly don't sweat whether each word is American English. Like any author should, my guiding rules for the appropriateness of a "local" expression are: "is it understandable?", "does it advance the story?", and sometimes "is it damned hilarious?".
English, wherever it is spoken and written, is a constantly evolving thing. In some five years I have picked up a few Canadianisms, and I'm not horrified if suddenly it should sneak in. Growing up in Australia, I was constantly exposed to British and American culture, including such gems as "Some Mothers Do Have 'Em" and "Welcome Back, Kotter", and it seems to me only natural that my personal form of English will have some nods to both.
English is a living language, and I'm rather amazed that people would waste time on the localization of the writer. I actually think it would be hilarious to have a Texan Harry Potter (you should write it! LOL). As a writer, if you understand grammar, know how to break the rules when appropriate/interesting, and follow guidelines such as those I use above, you can't go too wrong. This kind of snobbery shouldn't exist in such a diverse culture.
As writers we should embrace the differences as they help us to grow and evolve this wonderful living language of ours.
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Date: 2004-08-14 08:49 am (UTC)English, wherever it is spoken and written, is a constantly evolving thing. In some five years I have picked up a few Canadianisms, and I'm not horrified if suddenly it should sneak in. Growing up in Australia, I was constantly exposed to British and American culture, including such gems as "Some Mothers Do Have 'Em" and "Welcome Back, Kotter", and it seems to me only natural that my personal form of English will have some nods to both.
English is a living language, and I'm rather amazed that people would waste time on the localization of the writer. I actually think it would be hilarious to have a Texan Harry Potter (you should write it! LOL). As a writer, if you understand grammar, know how to break the rules when appropriate/interesting, and follow guidelines such as those I use above, you can't go too wrong. This kind of snobbery shouldn't exist in such a diverse culture.
As writers we should embrace the differences as they help us to grow and evolve this wonderful living language of ours.