British English and American English, which is more appropriate?

1. 83

   accofrancoposted 15 years ago

   British English and American English, which is more appropriate? For instance, an Englishman spells metre as "metre" while an American spells it as "meter".And often my pc's spell check marks it incorrect when i spell it as "metre",is this right? Please i want to know and to learn.

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2. 77

   Lissieposted 15 years ago

   It doesnt really matter - just be consistent within a hub -

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   1. 83

      accofrancoposted 15 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks mam...

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3. 0

   Wadey101mposted 15 years ago

   The spellings are different, but the words still look the same, so as Lissie said, it doesn't really matter, just be consistent. Try changing your PC's dictionary to your preferred language to stop those annoying red underlines.

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   1. 0

      blograngposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      all are true ,
      
      if someone has difficulty in one ,
      it can use another ,
      
      but presently,
      american english is on top.

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4. 60

   Julahaposted 15 years ago

   You also have the option of Indian English.
   
   In spelling it prefers the s forms in words like organise, but the distinguishing difference is in the use of a lot words derived from Hindi and other Indian languages.
   
   It also has some peculiar sentence constructions which the British and American grammarians castigate as wrong, but is used by even by the better educated Indians.
   
   It is a vibrant variety of English with a lot of writers and even more speakers.

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   1. 83

      accofrancoposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      That sounds great, but i think it's not a standard English i guess because even my country Nigeria have its own English(pigin English).For instance,if i want to say "what is happening?" it goes this way; "wetin dey happen?", and i guess other countries have theirs too.Thanks for the info.

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5. 81

   Rik Ravadoposted 15 years ago

   I come from the UK and write in 'English' English but I tend to use American words as well in order to satisfy the search engines.  For example, if I'm writing about job hunting I talk about a CV (England) or resume (US). 
   
   I tend to write for an American audience if I'm after AdSense traffic because more American's read my Hubs than other nationalities including the British.

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6. 68

   brad4lposted 15 years ago

   Personally, I find that I prefer the English spelling of some words, such as theatre, over the American version.
   
   Although as others have said, I think consistency is the main concern.
   
   
   
   Excellent point, I do the same thing when possible, which is to write to your audience.

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7. 57

   MobileGeekposted 15 years ago

   I think the how appropriate one form of English is is like asking what the best dish in a restaurant is: It all depends where you are. In work, I communicate in British English, as that is the main language used here, and if I were to use Americanised spellings of words, people receiving my emails would make assumptions as to my nationality, the same way as if I were communicating verbally and used "aluminum" over "aluminium", for example. However, in some web communities I am a part of, I do tend to use Americanised spellings of things, as quite often I am the minority in those situations.

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8. 65

   crinkleposted 15 years ago

   I'm Filipino and we're much more exposed to American English. Most of us don't even see any difference between American and/or British English.
   
   But I feel that it doesn't really matter. Whatever you're comfortable with is better, I suppose. As long as you get the message through, and project the right emotion or assertion, should it be necessary.

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9. 76

   JamaGeneeposted 15 years ago

   In comments on hubs, I tend to go back and forth.  For instance, if I know the author is from the UK, I use Brit English and spelling instead of American.

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10. 79

    LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

    I don't think it matters, but I do think you should pick one and stick to it, within one hub.
    
    I write in British English, because that's what comes naturally to me. If people don't like the colour of my humour, or ploughing through my neighbourhood, that's their problem (-:

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