English is a common language for communication with international clients. But which English? American English and British English. Many businesses are now adopting International English to communicate effectively with a wide international audience….

Thank you for such a thoughtful response. You know, I think all cultural groups react in similar ways. But a pure Brit in the middle of an American town and he will get funny looks. When a man from southern France comes to Paris, he will hear more than a few comments on how he speaks.

I also think there is a much bigger generation factor today too… due to the web. I would expect these reactions to smooth out somewhat in time. Oh, I doubt they will disappear, but I do think things will me different in both the US and the UK when the oldest generations die off on both sides.

That’s off topic though – I do think International English is an option to consider for anyone who wants to do international. This gives companies a wider reach and the ability to decide where to localize their marketing first. It would also help to deal with language localizations costs. Most businesses need to adjust their marketing to fit local markets once they have real experience. This can double the cost if you jump in immediately.

Speaking as a native British English speaker I can say that if marketing to a British audience, I have definitely detected that some English people are offended by Americanisms. I sense that many English people rightly or wrongly see the American version of the language as a bastardisation of the original.

The way American’s use the English language is very different both in terms of vocabulary and the way that things are expressed. American language seems to pride itself on efficiency of language and communication, it is very direct whereas the British tend to pride themselves on use of a richer vocabulary (I think owing to age of the British culture and where we draw our language from) and perhaps actively seek to twist and ‘be clever’ with the language.

I think we have a long heritage in this. I suspect that because America has had to assimilate so many cultures so quickly using the common tongue of English, the efficiency and directness of the American tongue is a major feature in the two approaches.

I think American English is fine in a B2B environment and amongst more educated audiences, we’re used to it, but if we go to consumer markets, American English is unlikely to be as succesful as drawing directly on a prose that has been written by an English person… Unless of course we’re trying to sell America or something that is very American in it’s brand identity.

Having worked in US driven markets such as software, I have personally adopted a lot of Americanisms into my own natural speech and I fail to recognise that they are there. However friends frequently pick up on those Americanisms in my speech and frankly it doesn’t get a good reception – I can only really get away with it when working with people who have a similar background and who are more deeply engaged with the American tongue and language.
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