Write or Wrong?

“Do you recognise this person?”

As an American editor I may be too quick to correct recognise in a transcript to read, “recognize.” I know this because spellcheck told me! 

That clears things up – doesn’t it? Thank goodness! However, it’s not that simple.

In some countries, “recognise” is a correct spelling of the word that we spell as “recognize.”  They both mean the same thing.  They are just spelled differently.

There is a branch in applied linguistics that studies global English (also called World English or International English). In a nutshell, this field examines the various forms of English in the world and what influences their individual styles. I tend to look at this through the lens of postcolonialism – since that is a large component of my studies as an English major. In particular, how have territorial acquisitions by western territories such as France, Britain and the United States impact English usage in the non-western world?

Of course, my immediate conclusion (assumed, not researched) is that Great Britain laid the foundation of World English. As it relates to the United States of America, the founding fathers of New England were Brits, who wanted to exercise freedom from religion imposed under the Queen’s rule. That is where British English was transplanted to the United States. Over time, Americans have modified both written and spoken English.

That is my simplest explanation for how International English was born in this country. I won’t venture into other territories that England (as well as France and Spain) colonized in the world. You can read details of those in the global English link here. That is enough background information to move on to the importance of understanding the impact of international English in the age of the internet.

On the worldwide web we communicate with people from all over the world. When we communicate with them (email or as virtual clients), we must be mindful of the different types of international English. These terms encompass differences among Britain, Canada and the United States only. Therefore, review the link on global English, and read about South African English; Indian English; and West Indian English to get a sense of those English styles as well.

Why does any of this matter? In my opinion, too many Americans consider their English as the correct English without recognising (respecting?) acceptable differences in Global English spellings. Print the variation list, and keep it handy for occasions when you are exchanging with people from across the globe. They are not necessarily wrong, and we are not necessarily write!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 11:02 pm and is filed under Global English, Spelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.