“…rumors”? You’re in Canada, not south of the border; where’s the u? Bleh! *tongue extended, fist shaken at US browser spell checker*
As a writer and editor, Nhoj’s comment about my previous post inevitably got my back up [and annoyance at my Mac's automatic spell-check update to coincide with my updated location ie North-America]. But I also had to back up my defence. Canada is lumped into the “North-American” bag after all in regards to my computer’s archaic Geography Lessons in Variances of English, so it is no wonder foreign writers like myself become confused as to what to accept with our old, dear friend, Mr Spell Check. I notice some literature in Canada is influenced by the US spelling by not only the missing ‘u’ but the usage of ‘z’ instead of ‘s’ in wordz like recognize and organize.
That’s weird, the s instead of z thing is a sort of French-ism (as is the u in colour, etc). I’d have thought French influence on English would be quite prevalent in Canada, given the other half of the population? Huh…
Wow, Nhoj, you are giving my spell check a run for its money. He has a point, and instead of backing up my excuses, I had to back up my thinking. I knew my continental drift meant drifting from British-English to US-English – but should it? The British is influenced by French spellings and words (ie autumn v fall, spelling of aeroplane v airplane), due to history and geography. Should it not be the same in Canada as well, given that its a Commonwealth country and the bi-lingualty is a major factor: it is required in some provinces that street signs must be in English and French, food packaging Canada-wide is in both languages, many provinces have immersion and French-speaking only schools, legislative assemblies are conducted in French, Francophone services – the list goes on.
My role at a Canadian publishing house means I experience firsthand how processes and deadlines are affected by the French-speaking population, which accounts for over 30% of the readership [which is almost that of the country]. Though it means 50% more production costs and time to wait for and create French translations of every article. But my 6-week-fresh perspective also means I experience the US spelling of certain words in Canadian correspondence. Is the US market, which accounts for less than the French-speaking market, seemingly more aligned with the English-speaking Canadian market than the national counterparts through this “common(wealth)” language only? And vice versa. Canadians often remark about the (understandable) influx of US media, which would inevitably have them more aligned to the US spelling than the European spelling. Unless you live in New Brunswick or Quebec, I’ve been told the French language doesn’t necessarily impact on the English speakers.
Being transferred from my Australian company to the Ontario branch, I am often asked for comparisons within publishing. Now, Aussies may be lazy laid-back, but the atmosphere is certainly not as hectic. I attribute this to the extra pressure of French translation, and the coordination of the French team in Montreal. While it seems the French doesn’t influence national spelling, it does impact greatly on the Canadian publishing processes. Of course, this is amazing to a just-arrived Aussie, whose country is quite geographically isolated from drastically different cultures that influence anything, let along something as niche as legal publishing processes. [We do not count New Zealand btw. Our accents are completely different, they're like "Where's the car?" and we're like "Where's the car?"]
I am oft asked why I chose Canada for my working holiday, despite my original goal of Spain. Notwithstanding Spain’s 21% unemployment rate and Europe’s brink of economic collapse, as a writer it was a good idea to keep within the language in which I am proficient [somewhat] – the words on a page is my butter on my bread. I wondered whether an English-speaking country would be ‘too easy’, but Canada is providing me with a non-English speaking insight into the world of English writing. However you recognize which flavour of English is the center of your universe – it’s good to see the differences [and mistakes] in a very grey area of practice .
Misspell English, not French. Order your orderfs.
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