US into UK English Localisation
When a new client asks me to translate a text into English, one of the first questions I’ll usually ask them is, “which variant of English would you like me to use?”. Specifically, I need to know whether I’m writing in British or American English and where the text will be published. This question often takes people by surprise. Many non-English speakers assume that British and American English are so similar that it doesn’t really matter which one you use. They tend to think that texts written in American English will still be accessible to British audiences and vice versa, but is this really the case?
Particularly in the age of the internet, speakers of British English are becoming more accustomed to encountering unlocalised American content. Due to the prominence of Hollywood movies and American TV shows in the English-speaking world, British English speakers also tend to have a good understanding of American spoken slang. This can often lead people to assume that texts only need to be adapted when moving from a British to an American market. So, why is it that clients often want me to convert their US English texts into UK English?
Today, I’m going to talk about what I look for when localising a US text for a UK audience and why it’s so important to make these changes.
Spelling
Ironically, the word “localisation” itself has two possible spellings: either “localization” in US English or “localisation” in UK English. For the reasons I’ve already stated, most UK readers will recognise American spellings as American spellings – as opposed to incorrect spellings – but they will still notice them. Commonly used words, such as “color” instead of “colour” hit readers in the eye and immediately reveal that a text is unlocalised.
In certain scenarios this may not matter – if you’re primary concern is being understood, then you’ll still achieve that – but in some situations, it can make a real difference. In a marketing text, for example, unlocalised content can present the image that a company isn’t really invested in their UK audience. In an e-commerce scenario, customers might become reluctant to place orders, assuming that warehouses are located in the USA and that they’ll have to pay expensive import taxes. Basically, if you’re goal is to speak to your customers directly and establish a relationship based on trust, you stand a much better job of doing this with properly localised content. Spellings will give you away.
Measurements
If a text has been written in American English for a US market, any measurements will probably be in imperial units. While some British people still prefer to use imperial in certain circumstances, the UK as a whole officially uses the metric system. If measurements aren’t properly localised, then you’re forcing your reader to convert them for themselves. If this is a product description, for example, they may decide that they can’t be bothered and choose to shop elsewhere.
In certain contexts, price amounts may also need to be converted into a different currency. Once again, it’s about doing that extra bit of legwork to make life easier for the reader.
Grammar and Style
US English officially uses a different grammar system to UK English. Once again, although the differences are unlikely to cause major comprehension issues (but this remains a possibility) your readers will probably notice. They may also read certain phrases and think “that sounds American”. For the reasons already stated, this probably isn’t what you want if you’re trying to connect with a UK audience on a more intimate level.
It can be hard to pinpoint exactly why a particular sentence sounds American, because it often comes down to subtle stylistic differences. This is why it’s usually better to hire a native speaker to localise your content. For example, I recently came across the phrase “we sweat the details” in an American text I was trying to localise for a UK audience. Although I understand exactly what this means, it’s a phrase you’d never really hear a British person say. I decided to change it to “we pay close attention to detail” because it’s more idiomatic in the UK. This elevates the register slightly but, given the context, I felt like this was appropriate. As a localiser, I’m not always thinking about concrete grammar rules, but making changes based on my intuition and experiences using the language.
Tone
In terms of style, American writers often prefer a slightly more informal tone for professional and corporate texts than UK readers are accustomed to. Obviously, this is completely dependent on the context, but I often find that I have to elevate the register of a text slightly to make it suitable for a UK audience. Since language and culture are inextricably linked, localisers need to approach their work with a high level of cultural sensitivity. Certainly, in the world of marketing, this is really the key to a text performing well in the target culture and it’s probably the main argument for localising a text in the first place.
Although there are a lot of similarities between UK and US culture, in particular contexts, readers can have very different expectations, and non-English speakers aren’t always aware of this. Sometimes American marketing texts are written in a style that British readers would find too brash and pushy. It’s important to be aware of this when localising content so that you can make the relevant changes.
Terminology
Spellings and grammar aside, there are times when Americans simply use completely different vocabulary to speakers of British English. This is where most comprehension issues are likely to occur. Due to frequent exposure to American English, there are certain commonly used terms that the most British people will probably know, such as “sidewalk” instead of “pavement” and “elevator” instead of “lift”, but as you drift off into the more obscure, it’s possible that readers simply won’t understand what you’re trying to say if you don’t localise your terms. Even if they do understand, as mentioned before, they’ll recognise it as American and wonder why it hasn’t been adapted.
There are also times when there isn’t an equivalent word for something in UK English because the thing being described is too culturally specific to the USA. For example, I was recently localising a product description that referred to an item as, “perfect for tailgating”. The term “tailgating” is used to describe a party that takes place around the back of a truck and it’s so distinctly American that a British person might not even understand the reference, let along relate to it. To localise the term, I had to change the phrase to “perfect for barbecues”, because it was the closest equivalent we have in the UK.
To conclude, US into UK English localisation isn’t quite as straightforward as it possibly seems and it certainly isn’t unimportant. Even the changes that are mostly stylistic, such as spellings, grammar and tone, are worth making for the sake of making of readers feel that they are being properly addressed in their own language. Despite the familiarity a lot of British readers will have with American English, there is still the potential for loss of meaning if a text isn’t properly localised. This is certainly the case with measurements and culturally specific terminology. If your goal is to connect with your audience, then you need to have a solid understanding of precisely who your target reader is, so that you can address them directly and in the correct variant of the language they speak. After all, if you aren’t speaking to somebody specific, then you aren’t really speaking to anybody at all.