blamebrampton | Parla Inglese?

frantic_mice pushed me in the direction of

fanficrants (which I can see lasting another week on my watch list, if that). One of the more interesting of the many rants was from someone who, in essence, said 'Look, we live in a globalised age, is it really the case that reading American spellings in a fic set in the UK and vice-versa is worth making that much of a fuss about?'

And I have to agree. I can easily overlook gotten and alright if no one over the age of 20 cries and if people only talk about their deepest feelings when they are in extremis. But for some, including a long list of commenters, there are certain Americanisms that are like a dictionary to the 43rd President of the USA and have them running at first sight.

I can somewhat sympathise, because I can find it very hard to read when characters start acting American, talking at great length about their emotions and so on. While I adore my American friends, my closest ones know that they will receive one brief hug on meeting and departure, and I will probably never tell them any of my deepest feelings. Which is not because I don't love them, but because deepest feelings are only for personal perusal so that no innocent souls will become aware of the full extent of my inner lunacy.

But for spelling and so on ... well, I regularly read books and magazines published in America and sometimes set in the UK or elsewhere in the English speaking world, and I cope with them. In fact, the YA novel I just finished changed spellings depending on whether scenes were set in New York or Sydney and it read as very very odd indeed (though it's a good novel). Dealing with such spelling anomalies is commonplace: most of you do the same.

I do like a good Britpick for things like truck/lorry, stall/cubicle, Christmas eggnog/three bottles of decent whisky and hiding in the stables, and were I writing fic set in the US, I would make certain that my characters said Dude and asked for the check. However, my authorial voice would still sound like me, which I believe is appropriate. Wodehouse and Conan Doyle both have long sections of novels (Psmith, Journalist and The Valley of Fear respectively) set in the US where they follow this rule, and these were great successes on both sides of the Atlantic.

All of which is my lengthy way of saying, I can cope perfectly well if you're an American and you write alright, color and aluminum. But if you could hold off on having the lads say 'I love you so much, sweetie, that sometimes I just want to cry'*, I would take it as a personal favour.

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY

suonguyen !

*If you have actually written a fic that contains this line, obviously it worked well in the incredibly clever context you created for it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh little Mousie, with her sword raised high! I agree with you to an extent, entirely over spelling, which I can wholly cope with, but less so over situations and common and brand names, etc, which stick out more. Though truck, aluminum and stall will all be less of a point for me as a reader than 'Hi, we've just met, here's my life story and I lurve you!'

Since this mornin I've realized I'm moar bothered by hao peeps deal wit being bothered than what they're bothered wit. If that makes sense. I told Pie mebe I shouldn't have written that comment here because I agree with you and you didn't do any of the things I was ranting about. BUT! Mebe that's why I felt okays with saying it here.

I would say that. Hmmm. Well. I have a hard time believing that ANYBODY rly does: 'Hi, we've just met, here's my life story and I lurve you!'

Except mebe Hollywood actors who seem to just meet one person and hang around them liek 2 weeks and "fall in love" and then get married and divorced in a year. I dun't find that type of thing believable. Mebe people in some cultures are less effusive than others but. When I see characters behave that way I think it's either bad writin' (the author is having the characters TELL each other everythin so they dont have to go through the bother of showing) or that the emotions are so superficial they're easily contained with wordage or somfin. Not sure if you get my meaning.

When people say too much it makes me feel like they're trying to buy intimacy from each other. EASY intimacy. Liek, here I'll show you this about myself and I'll trust you with this so that there's a bond btw. AND! It might be liek a totes artificial bond çause it didn't come through chemistry and time and effort, just from the quick gratification stylin of CONFESHON. Characters who act this way dunt make me think oh yes true lovage.

RAMBLERAMBLE RAMBLE BLAH BLAH BLAH. *g* Not sure what my point is nao.

Yes, jumping on people is always uncool. I am probably the worst Britpicker in the world because I change mom to mum and pants to trousers automatically, but am wholly relaxed about things like 'Harry decided that was enough for the day, and he should just chill now.'

And rants are always fine and acceptable at Chez Brammers! This is a safe ranting place!

As I say, spelling doesn't really bother me much, certainly it bothers me less than people jumping on others re spelling. Anyone acting like an American soap opera character gives me the heebie jeebies (I love that phrase), but then, so do soap operas! I blame them for the whole LURVE thing you're talking about above. I think you love someone when you'll clean up their snot when they have the flu, not when you just want to shag them ;-)

Rambling is fine, too! XXX

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