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Hallo.

Many requests seem to relate specifically to US society, e.g. retirement planning or home renovation need reference to specific local conditions or rules, so that as a UK writer I know I usually haven't got the right background to write the article. But when the request is not society-specific, is it wise to use US spellings and punctuation anyway? I was surprised to be asked to put in a full stop after Mr and Mrs for one article, as that isn't UK usage. Could requesters be asked to say whether they prefer UK or US English?

This seems to be a nice friendly and helpful site: if only one of my articles would sell!

I can't say I have any credibility to answer your question, but I wouldn't mind seeing a guideline about the differences between UK and U.S. writing.

Wikipedia has a fairly lengthy page on the matter; it's accurate as far as I can tell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_a ... ifferences

Given that the American dialect has overcome the British dialect in international influence in recent decades, I would suggest using the American dialect when in doubt about the target market if for no reason other than the probability is greater that the read will be an American English speaker than a British English speaker. However, if you're unsure of your American English, then it'd be safer to stick to British English.

Or you can throw it all out the window and try Australian English, but then no one would know what you're talking about.

SJHillman wrote:Wikipedia has a fairly lengthy page on the matter; it's accurate as far as I can tell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_a ... ifferences

Given that the American dialect has overcome the British dialect in international influence in recent decades, I would suggest using the American dialect when in doubt about the target market if for no reason other than the probability is greater that the read will be an American English speaker than a British English speaker. However, if you're unsure of your American English, then it'd be safer to stick to British English.

Or you can throw it all out the window and try Australian English, but then no one would know what you're talking about.

LOL! Love it!

Thanks for the resource. I will definitely check it out.