Last week, I felt I might be transitioning to a Brit. While out with a guy on my team, I asked him if I could “put my rucksack in his boot”. Of course for my Texan friends, I was asking if I could put my backpack in his trunk. I giggled a bit at the ability to actually ask this question.
I have been having a bit of an identity crisis lately. Virtually 90% of my communications on email are with British people. While it is all English, it is quite different that American English as mentioned in a previous post. However, it isn’t just the words now that I am more aware of, it is the spelling.
Here’s a little example:
British English:
My favourite neighbour whose young boy has been ill of late has gone to her paediatrician. They immediately recognised that he needed surgery and rushed him off to theatres. The doctor adviced that he would need long term treatment.
Now in Texan:
My favorite neighbor whose little boy has been sick lately took him to the pediatrician. They immediately recognized that he needed surgery and rushed him off to the OR. The doctor advised that he would need long term treatment.
So the delimma is this. I work with all these nice British people, one of whom informed me last week she thought I just didn’t have good spelling (not realizing/realising the differences between English and British…). It would be quite easy to change my spell check in Outlook to British English, but for some reason, it feels like I am giving up my American roots. I’m here based on my American experiences, so why turn my back on that? BUT to not change it, most of the folks here think I am lacking… What to do, what to do?
For now, I shall continue to be a US English speller. I hope I can stick it out for the remainder of our stay in the UK.
While this is a silly and fun thought to even worry about, I simply have to add: What a lucky world I live in for this to be a “problem” that even requires thought!
I had this problem when I moved to the deep south for a little while. While in Alabama, I caught myself using their grammar and dialect – it is almost as if you conform because you want to speak to them in/on their own terms. But I too felt as if I were losing my identity. That being said, when I moved to North Dakota from Oklahoma, I decided I wasn't going to change for them. I got teased a little and heckled for my southern draw and dialect but by the time I left, people said they were going to miss that most about me. Stick it out and stay genuine, Texan friend. I know it is tough in a professional setting. Maybe you will get some of those Brit's to start using, "Ya'll."