Brit-picking: vital or a waste of time?

[emmagrant01]

jedirita and I discussed this topic over lunch yesterday, and it pops up on LJ constantly. I've never given it much thought, honestly, because everyone who's ever called me for an Americanism has been extraordinarily nice about it. The culture in the HP fandom seems to be that writers should use British English whenever possible, and I'll admit that I've bought into that 100%. I always looked at it as a respect-for-canon issue.

Rita feels differently, though, as do a lot of other people. So I started thinking about it, and now I'm questioning my sudden zeal to make sure my HP fic is as Americanism-free as possible. Can I really accomplish that? And is it really a worthwhile goal, considering there are so many other more important things to work on as a writer?

I'll keep this brief because so many people have already said something about this at some point. I'm still forming my thoughts, and I won't bore you with anything half-assed, for once! ;-)

For now, I'll just point to this post by lykaios, and say. "Yeah. What she said."

Comments

[jane-sehrn-ta.livejournal.com]

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.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

English is a living language, and I'm rather amazed that people would waste time on the localization of the writer.

I think this is a valid point. While I understand that language is a big part of characterization, I have to believe there's a degree of acceptable error or difference that can be tolerated.

Thanks for your comments!