| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | UK English, US English or Standard English? Thread poster: Marisol Rios (X)
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Marisol Rios (X)
Local time: 04:13
English to Spanish
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Hello. I am a Mexican expert translator who usually translates official documents or school documents from Spanish into English. Right now, I'm translating a transcript for a boy who wants to make a post-graduate degree in the UK so that made me wonder:
Would it be better if I used British forms -say things like behaviour instead of behavior, organisation instead of organisation- over US forms or does it come to using "standard English"? Which leads to next question: what would stan... See more Hello. I am a Mexican expert translator who usually translates official documents or school documents from Spanish into English. Right now, I'm translating a transcript for a boy who wants to make a post-graduate degree in the UK so that made me wonder:
Would it be better if I used British forms -say things like behaviour instead of behavior, organisation instead of organisation- over US forms or does it come to using "standard English"? Which leads to next question: what would standard English be?
It would be very useful to know this since I can be asked to do translations which will go into other English-speaking countries rather than the US or the UK.
Thank you very much for your feedback. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Write for your reader | Apr 7, 2012 |
I think that in general it's a good idea to write for the person who will be reading the document. Set your language to English UK and use dd/mm/yyyy date formats.
| | | | | Translate it in the language you know best. | Apr 7, 2012 |
I believe that everyone in the UK understands both UK and US English. I am British and I only translate into UK English yet I perfectly understand the English spoken in other English-speaking countries.
What you need to avoid is mixing Englishes. Whatever English you choose, make sure you keep to it throughout the whole document. The difference between US/UK English is much more complicated than the occasional changes in spelling. In the case you're referring to, you have to take ... See more I believe that everyone in the UK understands both UK and US English. I am British and I only translate into UK English yet I perfectly understand the English spoken in other English-speaking countries.
What you need to avoid is mixing Englishes. Whatever English you choose, make sure you keep to it throughout the whole document. The difference between US/UK English is much more complicated than the occasional changes in spelling. In the case you're referring to, you have to take into account the educational systems, which I think are completely different in each country: grades vs marks; high school vs grammar school, etc.
By the way, I don't think people "make" post-graduate degrees; they "do" or "study" them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Marisol Rios (X)
Local time: 04:13
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you very much for your advice | Apr 7, 2012 |
jlrsnyder wrote:
I think that in general it's a good idea to write for the person who will be reading the document. Set your language to English UK and use dd/mm/yyyy date formats.
Thank you very much for your advice,
Maricles
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:13
Spanish to English
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| Chalk and cheese | Apr 8, 2012 |
jlrsnyder wrote:
I think that in general it's a good idea to write for the person who will be reading the document. Set your language to English UK and use dd/mm/yyyy date formats.
I agree, target audience is paramount. "The customer is always right"
Generally speaking, I tend to assume that most texts translated into English in Mexico are aimed at the US and will favour US style and vocab. In fact, (I'm a UK English speaker) one of my clients now does a lot of business in Mexico so I have started using the "z" forms in "ization/-ized" etc, as I know a lot of US English speakers find the "s" forms jarring, whereas other spelling variations (such as consonant doubling) are more readily overlooked.
Next month my client wants some material translated into US English and I'll get a US native speaker to check my final draft as standard procedure, since I can handle the spelling differences but the vocabulary area is a potential minefield (only yesterday did I find out that in the US the # keypad symbol is often called "pound key" when I only ever knew it as the "hash" sign )...
At the end of the day, I think the best course when in doubt is to seek a second opinion, because there are so many differences. It will be interesting to see what fellow prozers have to say on this subject.
NB: In the case of a CV or academic record for the UK, I think that although some terms will vary, they are generally mutually understood on both sides of the pond, so I wouldn't worry about it too much and simply run a UK spellcheck on the final draft.
[Edited at 2012-04-08 07:40 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:13
Spanish to English
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| Watch out for the "zee" again | Apr 8, 2012 |
Helena Chavarria wrote:
I believe that everyone in the UK understands both UK and US English...
What you need to avoid is mixing Englishes. Whatever English you choose, make sure you keep to it throughout the whole document. The difference between US/UK English is much more complicated than the occasional changes in spelling.
Very true, and not mixing them is especially important in scientific or other professional journals. For example, whereas UK English spelling accepts both "-ization" and "-isation", US English only uses the former. The result is that an MS Office UK English spellchecker doesn't detect if both forms appear in a text, whereas the US spellcheck zaps all the "s" forms, and I've seen editors reject drafts because of this.
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 11:13
French to English
| off-topic but... | Apr 8, 2012 |
neilmac wrote:
only yesterday did I find out that in the US the # keypad symbol is often called "pound key" when I only ever knew it as the "hash" sign )...
if # is a pound key...
please someone tell me what they call £ in the US !
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:13
French to English
| Standard English | Apr 8, 2012 |
Maricles wrote:
what would standard English be?
Nobody's answered this question! It's a very good question.
Unfortunately there's no such thing as standard English. So as many others have pointed out, it's best to use the form of English of the person the document is being translated for.
If ever there's any doubt, I think it's best to aim for US English, in that, thanks to Hollywood, it is understood the world over, whereas people in the US are far less aware of other forms of English
(I remember getting really mad in a EN-FR translation class, I was the only Brit, and we usually translated articles from Time. The day we had a translation from the Guardian, a guy from San Fransisco started asking why we had to translate drivel full of spelling mistakes by an author who couldn't possibly be a native speaker since he didn't know it was "have gotten" rather than "have got". The teacher was rather surprised at my outburst, I was usually the quiet one)
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Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
Italian to English
| No standard English | Apr 8, 2012 |
Texte Style wrote:
If ever there's any doubt, I think it's best to aim for US English, in that, thanks to Hollywood, it is understood the world over, whereas people in the US are far less aware of other forms of English
I can't let this pass without comment.
While the U.S. may have two thirds of the world's native English speakers, it has only a quarter of those who use English on a regular basis. The remaining three quarters are principally the citizens of former British colonies, where Americanisms have had only a limited impact.
Most of the translations I handle (principally for European clients) use English as a lingua franca for use by people of numerous nationalities. I always ask about the intended readership and requests for U.S. English are extremely rare.
Which is not to say that certificates etc. in U.S. English would cause any problem for applicants to British Universities.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:13
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Doing what comes naturally | Apr 8, 2012 |
Russell Jones wrote:
....Which is not to say that certificates etc. in U.S. English would cause any problem for applicants to British Universities.
Indeed not, and if the documentation is translated into American English that would not cause any problems. What would be *worse* would be if an attempt was made to translate it into British English by a translator to whom British English doesn't come naturally.
American English and British English are superficially very similar but in fact they differ widely when it comes to context, nuance, allusion etc. Whilst American English speakers have no major problems understanding British English and vice-versa, they're certain to go off the rails if they try to write or speak in the other idiom.
I'd stay with American English if that's what you're comfortable with. Don't worry about it.
| | | | Marina Steinbach
United States
Local time: 05:13
Member (2011)
English to German
| Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 07:13
Portuguese to English
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In memoriam
This has solved a mystery for me.
When I make my international calls to the UK (to avoid Tele(a)fónica's sky-high prices) I use special discount cards, and they say "enter your code followed by the pound key". I could only assume that it was "#", as the "*" would be star or something - but still can't see the connection with "pound".
Incidentally, in Brazil the # symbol is called "jogo da velha" which means "noughts and crosses" (or "tic-tac-toe" as Mr Obama and compan... See more This has solved a mystery for me.
When I make my international calls to the UK (to avoid Tele(a)fónica's sky-high prices) I use special discount cards, and they say "enter your code followed by the pound key". I could only assume that it was "#", as the "*" would be star or something - but still can't see the connection with "pound".
Incidentally, in Brazil the # symbol is called "jogo da velha" which means "noughts and crosses" (or "tic-tac-toe" as Mr Obama and company would call it the other side of the Pond). This association is much more logical. ▲ Collapse
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Cécile A.-C.
United States
Local time: 05:13
Member (2010)
Portuguese to French
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| That is true for any language variant ... | Apr 9, 2012 |
such as French (Canada, Belgium, Swiss, from different countries in Africa) or Spanish (Spain and South America) or Portuguese (Portugal and Bresil or Africa). Translate for the specific audience keeping in mind that it's understood by all readers of the language.
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 11:13
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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What is standard English?
In the UK we have the standards from Oxford University, an institution which receives government funds.
In the US we have several different private companies putting out their versions of the language. The best seller in the past has been Webster's (now Merriam-Webster) and has had the greatest influence on differentiating U.S. English from U.K. English. Their most prominent contribution has been replacing the "s" with the "z" under the theor... See more What is standard English?
In the UK we have the standards from Oxford University, an institution which receives government funds.
In the US we have several different private companies putting out their versions of the language. The best seller in the past has been Webster's (now Merriam-Webster) and has had the greatest influence on differentiating U.S. English from U.K. English. Their most prominent contribution has been replacing the "s" with the "z" under the theory that one day we will have a fully phonetic written language.
So you might say that the U.S. standards are based on whoever can sell the most grammar books and dictionaries, while U.K. standards come from government funded institutions.
When we get into Eurosprack we'll have a U.K. based lingua franca with a few weird rules thrown in to pacify other non-English speakers in the Zone (such as the plural of euro still being euro).
Choose carefully as you write.
[Edited at 2012-04-09 14:51 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 05:13
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
| Consistency and audience | Apr 9, 2012 |
As others have said, there is no such thing as "Standard" English. The important thing is to be consistent - i.e., don't mix US and UK English in the same document.
Just as important is the locale of the audience, and this can be more detailed than UK/US. For example, in Canada there are no "tyres" (they are US "tires") but the US "labor" is incorrect, it should be the UK "labour". While it may seem like a detail, locals will spot the inconsistency immediately.
At th... See more As others have said, there is no such thing as "Standard" English. The important thing is to be consistent - i.e., don't mix US and UK English in the same document.
Just as important is the locale of the audience, and this can be more detailed than UK/US. For example, in Canada there are no "tyres" (they are US "tires") but the US "labor" is incorrect, it should be the UK "labour". While it may seem like a detail, locals will spot the inconsistency immediately.
At the same time, I'm not aware of any Canadian English "standards" body, yet they are there, nonetheless. ▲ Collapse
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