English Spelling Code Quandaries - Reali(s)(z)ing Differences!

[CiaranD]

I'm interested to hear others' views on English language spelling while studying in the US. I write in 'British' English and find the 'American' versions of words I've looked at since I was an infant to be slightly unsettling and counterintuitive — it would take a mindful effort to change convention. I'd imagine it's a similar experience too for Americans moving East, as it were. We enjoy the familiarity and automaticity of ingrained spellings.

So, my question is, though I anticipate having to change my vernacular vocabulary to accommodate convention (it's only polite to speak their language and make an effort!), I am not as sure about the necessity to change my written spellings in the academic setting? This may only be of interest to the particularities of fellow humanities students but I'm curious to find others' thoughts, nonetheless.

Edited June 6, 2015 by CiaranD

[EthanL]

I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this, too. I'm an American moving to New Zealand for grad school, and I assume I'll need to adapt to British spelling/language conventions.

[TakeruK]

As a Canadian in America, I see this too. It's a little weird in Canada since we use some American spelling (e.g. we prefer "ize" over "ise" most of the time) but we also use a lot of British spellings (we keep the "u" in colour, neighbour, favourite, etc.).

 

For my homework, I spell the way I want to. No one in my program will care. Sometimes, my friend is the TA and they jokingly "correct" my Canadian spelling but no points are removed. To me, it's like saying "to-may-toe" vs. "to-mah-toe". There isn't a right answer.

 

I also keep speaking Canadianisms and when my American friends are confused, I explain to them what I mean. For example, in Canada, we don't say "freshman/sophomore/junior/senior", just "first/second/third/fourth year". Or "Grade 5 students" instead of "Fifth Grade". "Pop" for sweet carbonated drinks instead of "soda". Again, I think the "dialect" of English we speak is no more or less valid than the differences between American dialects in California vs. Florida vs. Boston vs. New York. 

 

The only time the spelling differences actually matter are:

 

1. Writing computer code. My variable names will have the "u" in them, e.g.  "starColour" etc. I guess this can be an issue when I share my code with others, or I edit someone's else code. When this happens, I use whatever spelling convention the original author/primary author uses.

 

2. Writing journal articles. I always follow the journal's style guide, no matter what my own preference would be. When I write for American journals, I use American spellings. When my American colleagues write for British (or Canadian) journals (e.g. Nature), they use British spellings. 

[fuzzylogician]

^ This. 

 

For most things it doesn't matter, and if anyone corrects your spelling, they are probably doing it in jest. Certainly for homework, emails, and other informal communication you can do what you want. As long as you are consistent in your choices, people will respect it. 

 

For journals, etc., I follow the journals' style guide. Mostly for me this means US spelling, but again in most cases as long as you are consistent in your choices no one is going to remark on your choice of spelling "color" vs. "colour" and so on. It's really not as much of a problem as submissions from non-native speakers, where you may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies--and even then, not every journal will go out of their way to correct all these issues.

[bhr]

Consider reading the resolution affirming students' right to their own language. http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/srtolsummary

As a writing instructor, I can't see every caring about this sort of thing. The only time I've corrected an international student is when there is a clear problem with an idiom or if it interferes with my understanding.

[FantasticalDevPsych]

As a Canadian in America, I see this too. It's a little weird in Canada since we use some American spelling (e.g. we prefer "ize" over "ise" most of the time) but we also use a lot of British spellings (we keep the "u" in colour, neighbour, favourite, etc.).

 

For my homework, I spell the way I want to. No one in my program will care. Sometimes, my friend is the TA and they jokingly "correct" my Canadian spelling but no points are removed. To me, it's like saying "to-may-toe" vs. "to-mah-toe". There isn't a right answer.

 

I also keep speaking Canadianisms and when my American friends are confused, I explain to them what I mean. For example, in Canada, we don't say "freshman/sophomore/junior/senior", just "first/second/third/fourth year". Or "Grade 5 students" instead of "Fifth Grade". "Pop" for sweet carbonated drinks instead of "soda". Again, I think the "dialect" of English we speak is no more or less valid than the differences between American dialects in California vs. Florida vs. Boston vs. New York. 

 

The only time the spelling differences actually matter are:

 

1. Writing computer code. My variable names will have the "u" in them, e.g.  "starColour" etc. I guess this can be an issue when I share my code with others, or I edit someone's else code. When this happens, I use whatever spelling convention the original author/primary author uses.

 

2. Writing journal articles. I always follow the journal's style guide, no matter what my own preference would be. When I write for American journals, I use American spellings. When my American colleagues write for British (or Canadian) journals (e.g. Nature), they use British spellings.

Thank you for this! As someone with a British collaborator as well as a British friend (also an academic and likely future collaborator), it's good to see that what I had been doing was confirmed here. In informal correspondence, I use American words and spellings and receive British ones in return. If we use an idiom and the other person is confused we just explain it. My collaborators and I were considering submitting a paper to British and American journals and since I'm used to seeing both spellings from communicating and reading papers I just was going to use whichever spelling was appropriate.

[CiaranD]

Thanks, all! The points are all very informative. I had a PhD instructor during my undergrad who came from Boston and wrote his PhD, in Dublin, in U.S. English so I guess the flexibility is reciprocated everywhere. The journal convention, I suppose, is an obvious point - though changing referencing style is likely more of a headache than accommodating spelling convention in this instance!

Regarding idioms, as an Irishman, I've already learned that the majority of our often highly illogical verbal idiosyncrasies are utterly baffling to even some of the English, so I wouldn't dare include them anyway!

[TakeruK]

Thanks, all! The points are all very informative. I had a PhD instructor during my undergrad who came from Boston and wrote his PhD, in Dublin, in U.S. English so I guess the flexibility is reciprocated everywhere. The journal convention, I suppose, is an obvious point - though changing referencing style is likely more of a headache than accommodating spelling convention in this instance!

 

Luckily my journals provide BiBTeX bibliography style file so I just have to provide the metadata (e.g. author name, title, journal, etc.) in a standardized format and then the journal's style file formats it in whatever way I want.

 

Some of my friends are thinking about writing a python package that will go through and change all US spelling to British spelling and vice versa so that we can just run our final draft through the software just prior to journal submission!

 

Better yet, I hope one day all writing have contextual tags so that if I'm reading it from a browser set to "US English", then I'll see all US spellings etc. 

[CiaranD]

 

 

Better yet, I hope one day all writing have contextual tags so that if I'm reading it from a browser set to "US English", then I'll see all US spellings etc. 

 

 

Such idealism - such hope! I spent months battling with MS Word to stop correcting my British 'misspellings' for my Master's. That was in spite of the fact both my computer and Word were set to UK English and I'd gone through and changed things manually. We can dream of a perfect world!

[quirkycase]

I was curious about this as well since I'm American and heading to the UK.  I have a feeling my issue will be consistency.  I tend to adopt the habits of those around me, at least temporarily, meaning I'll probably change some of my spelling practices accidentally. But if I am reading something in American English or talking to someone from the US, they'll likely change back.  It'll be a hot mess.  I anticipate a lot of proofreading....

[CiaranD]

It may be of interest to note there are aspects which I'm certain I will have to change, for example in music theory, British/Irish convention is to use certain nomenclature for rhythmic values in musical notation: crotchets, quavers, semi-breves etc. In the US, the terms quarter–note, 8th note, half–note etc. are used. So, there are probably in-discipline things we all need to consider on switching code, maybe perhaps miles/kilometers being pertinent. Though, in Britain, they still use imperial forms in many respects - not so in Ireland or New Zealand for that matter!

Edited June 10, 2015 by CiaranD

[TakeruK]

So, there are probably in-discipline things we all need to consider on switching code, maybe perhaps miles/kilometers being pertinent. Though, in Britain, they still use imperial forms in many respects - not so in Ireland or New Zealand for that matter!

 

Science is pretty much all metric. When talking to my American friends, we can start a conversation by mentioning the Earth is 6400 km in diameter and then say that Las Vegas is 300 miles away. Or, that the temperature on Earth has risen by some number of degrees Celsius but then mention that it's like 100F outside today!!

 

What's kind of weird is that while American scientists know all the metric definitions and use it in their work, they often do not have as strong of an intuition for real world examples. That is, an Earth scientist might know that a 5 degree Celsius increase in temperature is significant in context of their research, but would still do the mental math to figure out the change in temperature in Fahrenheit in order to determine if they need to put on a jacket to go outside, for example.

 

Also another weird thing about Canada is that we keep some imperial things. I still know to preheat my oven to 350F or 400F etc. And most people still measure height and weight in feet and pounds! But we use litres and kilometres and kilograms for everything else that isn't human weight.

[CiaranD]

Yeah, it's an interesting contradiction! Didn't NASA lose one of their Mars orbiters due to a unit mix-up of this ilk? The danger is real and seemingly very expensive!
http://www.wired.com/2010/11/1110mars-climate-observer-report/

[music]

I was encouraged by my profs early on to switch to US English. I'm here for 6 years and it makes sense to me to let Word autocorrect my "ise" and "ou" for the sake of fitting into the academic environment. I chose to come to the US, so why would I choose to make an exception of myself in my academic work? Besides, I also anticipate submitting for more journals and conferences in the US than anywhere else during my PhD so it makes sense to conform. The nuanced grammar differences were most difficult for me. I also got teased (in a nice way) when I gave out a handout during a seminar presentation and used some left over UK sized A4 paper, since it was a different size to everyone else's.

 

With speaking, I am more reluctant to give up my British-isms, and still get caught out by some US words. Somehow I feel more personal ownership over spoken language than written. It probably also has to do with having regular in-person and skype contact with British friends and family. I'm really glad my husband is moving over to the US in a couple of months so we can preserve each other's accents and vocab!

 

Regarding the music thing - yes. That. I'm in Ethno but I have to take a theory class this coming year, and I'm not sure whether I'll adapt my music terminology so easily. Even worse will be trying to figure out how to do analysis in the US style, which is very different to how I learnt in the UK.

[TakeruK]

I was encouraged by my profs early on to switch to US English. I'm here for 6 years and it makes sense to me to let Word autocorrect my "ise" and "ou" for the sake of fitting into the academic environment. I chose to come to the US, so why would I choose to make an exception of myself in my academic work? Besides, I also anticipate submitting for more journals and conferences in the US than anywhere else during my PhD so it makes sense to conform. The nuanced grammar differences were most difficult for me. I also got teased (in a nice way) when I gave out a handout during a seminar presentation and used some left over UK sized A4 paper, since it was a different size to everyone else's.

 

(emphasis added). This is certianly a personal decision and I am all for whatever makes you happy! I just don't think that the reason I bolded above is a good reason for anyone (American or otherwise) to convince someone to change their ways when living in another country. I think this is a personal decision! I am not surprised that US professors are suggesting people switch to US English though, because one of the things I notice about the US is the "melting pot multiculturalism". I am more used to the "multicultural mosaic" in Canada, where we encourage people to keep their roots and adopt Canadian values in a way that complements but does not take over, their backgrounds.

 

In the same vein, I am upset when Americans suggest that foreign students, especially those with names that sound strange in English, to adopt "English" versions of their names. And especially when there are cultures that identify themselves as "LastName FirstName", sometimes Americans will even tell them to change their name and refer to themselves as "FirstName LastName". I think this is a terrible practice and we should not be telling people to change their identity in order to conform. Of course, what's important to each person depends on each person, but only that person should be the one deciding whether or not they want to conform any part of their identity while living in the US (or anywhere).

[quirkycase]

I completely agree with TakeruK's post above.  It's a personal decision, and no one should be pressured into conformity.  I think it's important to be respectful of the culture when you choose to move to another country,  but being respectful does not have to mean altering aspects of your identity. For some people, switching to another variety of English may not be a big deal and may not be strongly connected to their identity.  For others, it may be a large aspect of their identity and matter a great deal.  Telling anyone how to construct their identity is a major problem, in my opinion.   

 

 

[music]

(emphasis added). This is certianly a personal decision and I am all for whatever makes you happy! I just don't think that the reason I bolded above is a good reason for anyone (American or otherwise) to convince someone to change their ways when living in another country. 

Well if it's a personal decision, then whether or not it's a "good reason" is not yours to judge  I consider it a very good reason - cultural respect, especially coming from a country that has a tendency to throw scorn on the US. Just as in my academic fieldwork I seek to learn and practice cultural norms, I try to do the same in my academic day to day life. Please note also, you may not feel that non-conforming in this regard is making an exception of yourself, but I'm sure that in other areas of academic life where you do feel that way, you seek to conform for very obvious reasons (politeness, career prospects, reputation etc). The difference of opinion is hopefully over what counts as making an exception, and those kinds of decisions are both individually and culturally mediated, so I don't think it's wise for you to cast your judgement on my personal take on this issue as you did.

Edited June 26, 2015 by music

[music]

I completely agree with TakeruK's post above.  It's a personal decision, and no one should be pressured into conformity.  I think it's important to be respectful of the culture when you choose to move to another country,  but being respectful does not have to mean altering aspects of your identity. For some people, switching to another variety of English may not be a big deal and may not be strongly connected to their identity.  For others, it may be a large aspect of their identity and matter a great deal.  Telling anyone how to construct their identity is a major problem, in my opinion.   

To an extent, yes. But what about if you have to write your dissertation in American English (as I'm required to)? In that case, refusing to write in American English through your whole PhD program seems like a disrespectful thing to do, especially if it has been brought to your attention in a considerate way by profs...

[TakeruK]

Well if it's a personal decision, then whether or not it's a "good reason" is not yours to judge  I consider it a very good reason - cultural respect, especially coming from a country that has a tendency to throw scorn on the US. Just as in my academic fieldwork I seek to learn and practice cultural norms, I try to do the same in my academic day to day life. Please note also, you may not feel that non-conforming in this regard is making an exception of yourself, but I'm sure that in other areas of academic life where you do feel that way, you seek to conform for very obvious reasons (politeness, career prospects, reputation etc). The difference of opinion is hopefully over what counts as making an exception, and those kinds of decisions are both individually and culturally mediated, so I don't think it's wise for you to cast your judgement on my personal take on this issue as you did.

 

I am sorry if I was unclear. I don't mean to say that I think your reason to adapt to American English is not a good reason for you. Like you said, it's not for me to judge whether or not you made a "good" decision. I was directing this to the professors who are asking students to adapt. My meaning is that I don't think that the argument "You chose to come to the US, so why would you make an exception of yourself while in the US?" is a valid argument to make to foreign students in the United States. It should be solely up to the student what they choose to do, and professors should stay out of it.

 

To an extent, yes. But what about if you have to write your dissertation in American English (as I'm required to)? In that case, refusing to write in American English through your whole PhD program seems like a disrespectful thing to do, especially if it has been brought to your attention in a considerate way by profs...

 

To me, cultural respect would indeed involve respecting the style guides of whatever publication you write for. As I said above, I write in American English for all American journals and conferences where the style guide requires American English. If there was a requirement for my dissertation, I would do so as well. But my program does not have such a requirement. And, if I was editing work started by someone else, I would always preserve the original author's style. I certainly would never edit another person's work for different English unless I was editing to conform to a specific style guide.

 

At my school, there is no requirement or style guide for homework, term papers or dissertations. I agree that it is incorrect for a student to not use American English if the course policy states an official style guide. However, if there is no requirement, there is nothing wrong with choosing to not use American English. (And to be clear, there is nothing wrong with choosing American English either). 

 

Edited to add: That is, in my opinion, cultural respect extends to following the guidelines and regulations of the schools in your new country, and maybe even going beyond that if you want to. But just because a student chooses to stick to their own dialect unless required to does not mean they are being disrespectful. 

Edited June 26, 2015 by TakeruK

[Eigen]

Just to add, I'm american but about half of the articles I've published have been in UK based journals. 

 

Accordingly, all of those manuscripts have had to be written in british english as would be appropriate. 

[St Andrews Lynx]

There are some American phrasings that I first thought was just "bad English"! In American English you can write "the students protested tuition fee increases", but in British English it would be correct to say "the students protested against tuition fee increases". Likewise, "I'll write you tomorrow" would more typically be "I'll write to you tomorrow" in British English. 

 

For all personal correspondence and informal group presentations/documents I just use British English. When TAing I try to keep everything in American English (students get confused when I tell them to dispose of their waste in "the bin"...but that's another story). The same goes for more formal presentations that I'm putting on for people outwith my research group. 

[quirkycase]

To an extent, yes. But what about if you have to write your dissertation in American English (as I'm required to)? In that case, refusing to write in American English through your whole PhD program seems like a disrespectful thing to do, especially if it has been brought to your attention in a considerate way by profs...

 

Requirements are a bit of a different story.  I agree that it would be disrespectful to ignore a requirement of the school/program, as by enrolling you are agreeing to follow the policies set forth.  My comment was more in regards to situations in which there is no such requirement.  In a situation where it might be encouraged but not officially required, not switching over does not seem disrespectful to me at all.

[maelia8]

When TAing I try to keep everything in American English (students get confused when I tell them to dispose of their waste in "the bin"...but that's another story). 

 

Attempting to teach in BE when you speak AE (or vice versa) is one of the hardest things ever. I taught English abroad for two years and was required to teach my high school pupils BE, and it was so hard for me to auto-correct everything I wrote on the board during lectures. I initially would mark BE word order on the kid's papers as mistakes, and it took me a long time to recognize which "mistakes" were really just BE that I wasn't familiar with. (Ex: I haven't got the book vs. I don't have the book, calling grades "marks," using "ought" etc.). I also had it drilled into me to call students "pupils" because students refers exclusively to those at university in the country I was in. Imagine my amazement when I was led into a classroom of what my BE-trained co-teacher called "sixth form" kids, expecting 12-year olds, and got a bunch of 17-year olds!