works both ways. fics with english characters full of Americanisms. Like 'he walked a couple of blocks' - err no he didn't! Argh!!!! and whats more, even authors who are aware of the Americanisms and remove them seem to constantly miss the blocks thing.. makes me so crazy!
LOL... I bet we annoy the hell out of the Harry Potter fandom! I couldn't imagine trying to do it.
Someone else brought up that they didn't know Americans don't use the term 'bloody'. You know, that makes sense. Just like I didn't know about not using 'blocks'. LOL.
I guess as long as there's a vast amount of people from everywhere, there will always be this issue. Like Steph said in another comment, I'd have an American read through it if it's not my native tongue. Same for someone from the USa writing english characters. I think that would solve all the problems. *shrugs*
Well it gets doubly confusing for me as I'm Irish so writing in an English fandom, although the language is broadly similar, there are always slang terms that slip me up, or indeed terms that have completely different meanings. Words that are currently in vogue one place but hopelessly dated in another. And that's before you get to specific localities because the way someone speaks in London will be different to Liverpool and Dublin is practically a whole other language, never mind how different age groups will use words.
And it's always the tricky task of not overdoing it, because you can destroy a fic completely by being too heavy with the vernacular.
But its always amusing to read the products and brands that people put in their fic. because you can tell an awful lot about the author merely by seeing what whiskey/whisky she/he has characters drinking...it's the major giveaway every single time!
But yes Beta please, for the love of god! (although betas generally can't catch everything but they certainly can't make it any worse!)
[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<i.works>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]
<i.works both ways. fics with english characters full of Americanisms. Like 'he walked a couple of blocks' - err no he didn't! Argh!!!!</i>
lol QAF is my only fandom ever and I asked whether this was an issue in reverse in the HP or other fandoms. :) I don't get the blocks reference. What should be said?
I do notice sometimes that "road" is used in QAF fic when "street" would be the obvious American choice. We, of course, do have roads here and use the word, but sometimes the way it's used in fic is a dead giveaway that the story was written by a non-American writer.
well you'd never ever use the term block. block as a word confuses me cause i always thought it referred specifically to cities like New york with a grid-layout but i see it used a general measurement of distence? Would that be right?
The closest thing to it I suppose would be up the road/down the road/around the corner
as in the 'The shop was just around the corner' vs 'the shop was two blocks away' but really it doesn't have a specific equivalent.
I think more often than not, it's not so much the use of the specific word but the cultural meanings it implies that are the big giveaways. As in the blocks thing, because Europeans in general don't measure distence like that, with the same exactness I think. And the grilled-cheese sandwich thing (called 'cheese on toast' or a 'cheese toastie' but never ever grilled cheese!) it is often used in particular contexts as a sort of perennial comfort food but it doesn't really have the same kind of meaning on the other side of the Atlantic. (I'm pretty sure I'm not making any sense at all! Sorry! LOL)
block as a word confuses me cause i always thought it referred specifically to cities like New york with a grid-layout but i see it used a general measurement of distence? Would that be right?
This is very interesting! I had no idea block wasn't commonly used as a reference point for indicating place. Yes, it's used a general place-locator as opposed to any exact measurement of distance; i.e., there is no standard foot/meter measurement that equals a block. If you're standing at the edge of a street, the block is the space until the next street, regardless of how long the distance is. Basically, it's corner to corner. So, to me, if I was told the address I was looking for was "two blocks up, turn right and it's almost at the end of the block," that would be a very specific instruction to me to go walk two streets north, turn and walk one street east and the address I was looking for would be almost to the next street corner, even though the distance in feet/meters wouldn't be consistent from city to city (or even area of town to area of town).
Oh, yeah. A grilled cheese and some canned Campbell's tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort food lunches or dinners. Especially if you're sick or it's really cold outside. :)
I think we're generally a lot vaguer with our directions. but yeah if someone asked me for directions, it would be either in terms of landmarks ie. walk until you get to x and then turn left. or straight ahed and it's the third turn on the right. If i tried to give directions in terms of blocks I'd get someone hopelessly lost, possibly because roads are so 'curved' and converge into so many other roads and with so many laneways it would be absolutely impossible.
Clearly it's a whole different language of communication. Numerous occasions I've been stopped by American tourists in town looking for directions, who look hopelessly baffled when i try to explain, and then when they try to clarify by asking me how many blocks, I then get confused. It is a hopeless business.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 10:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 12:38 pm (UTC)Someone else brought up that they didn't know Americans don't use the term 'bloody'. You know, that makes sense. Just like I didn't know about not using 'blocks'. LOL.
I guess as long as there's a vast amount of people from everywhere, there will always be this issue. Like Steph said in another comment, I'd have an American read through it if it's not my native tongue. Same for someone from the USa writing english characters. I think that would solve all the problems. *shrugs*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 04:37 pm (UTC)And it's always the tricky task of not overdoing it, because you can destroy a fic completely by being too heavy with the vernacular.
But its always amusing to read the products and brands that people put in their fic. because you can tell an awful lot about the author merely by seeing what whiskey/whisky she/he has characters drinking...it's the major giveaway every single time!
But yes Beta please, for the love of god! (although betas generally can't catch everything but they certainly can't make it any worse!)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 04:03 pm (UTC)lol QAF is my only fandom ever and I asked whether this was an issue in reverse in the HP or other fandoms. :) I don't get the blocks reference. What should be said?
I do notice sometimes that "road" is used in QAF fic when "street" would be the obvious American choice. We, of course, do have roads here and use the word, but sometimes the way it's used in fic is a dead giveaway that the story was written by a non-American writer.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 04:25 pm (UTC)The closest thing to it I suppose would be up the road/down the road/around the corner
as in the 'The shop was just around the corner' vs 'the shop was two blocks away' but really it doesn't have a specific equivalent.
I think more often than not, it's not so much the use of the specific word but the cultural meanings it implies that are the big giveaways. As in the blocks thing, because Europeans in general don't measure distence like that, with the same exactness I think. And the grilled-cheese sandwich thing (called 'cheese on toast' or a 'cheese toastie' but never ever grilled cheese!) it is often used in particular contexts as a sort of perennial comfort food but it doesn't really have the same kind of meaning on the other side of the Atlantic. (I'm pretty sure I'm not making any sense at all! Sorry! LOL)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 05:51 pm (UTC)This is very interesting! I had no idea block wasn't commonly used as a reference point for indicating place. Yes, it's used a general place-locator as opposed to any exact measurement of distance; i.e., there is no standard foot/meter measurement that equals a block. If you're standing at the edge of a street, the block is the space until the next street, regardless of how long the distance is. Basically, it's corner to corner. So, to me, if I was told the address I was looking for was "two blocks up, turn right and it's almost at the end of the block," that would be a very specific instruction to me to go walk two streets north, turn and walk one street east and the address I was looking for would be almost to the next street corner, even though the distance in feet/meters wouldn't be consistent from city to city (or even area of town to area of town).
Oh, yeah. A grilled cheese and some canned Campbell's tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort food lunches or dinners. Especially if you're sick or it's really cold outside. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 07:01 pm (UTC)I think we're generally a lot vaguer with our directions. but yeah if someone asked me for directions, it would be either in terms of landmarks ie. walk until you get to x and then turn left. or straight ahed and it's the third turn on the right. If i tried to give directions in terms of blocks I'd get someone hopelessly lost, possibly because roads are so 'curved' and converge into so many other roads and with so many laneways it would be absolutely impossible.
Clearly it's a whole different language of communication. Numerous occasions I've been stopped by American tourists in town looking for directions, who look hopelessly baffled when i try to explain, and then when they try to clarify by asking me how many blocks, I then get confused. It is a hopeless business.