& 
Guests
Lorraine
EricaI was never particularly interested in languages at school. French O level was mandatory, but I dropped German and Latin like hot potatoes at age thirteen in favor of sciences. So I never thought I’d be able to boast being bi-lingual. OK I’m not in the ranks of Roger Federer being talented enough to deliver an acceptance speech in two languages at the French Open (I wished) but when it comes to UK English and US English I’m holding my own.
Essentially we all speak English, but as I attempt to ‘translate’ The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms for publication as a UK edition I’m finding it more work than you would expect. Right there in the title is problem #1. In North America we’re ‘Moms’. In England we’re ‘Mums’. Having lived in Canada for ten years where I had my two little ones and wrote The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms I am accustomed to being ‘Mom’. But I was born and raised in England, so my mum is ‘Mum’. And now we are settling back in to life in England I’m also now transferring to ‘Mum’. Of course, in the book translation I can tackle the whole mom vs. mum issue with a simple ‘find and replace’ in Word, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
In Canada I would change my little guy’s diaper, dress him in sweater and pants in his favorite color (gray?) and take him to the pediatrician for his shots; pushing the stroller on the sidewalk. In England I would change his nappy, dress him in jumper and trousers in his favourite colour (grey?) and take him to the paediatrician for his vaccinations; pushing the pram on the pavement. We didn’t use a soother so that saved one additional complication of having to remember the dummy.
Cookies are biscuits. Candies are sweets. Chips are crisps; fries are chips. But that’s all junk food and as there’s none of that in my household those differences don’t pose a problem. OK, I lie.
Ladybugs are ladybirds and Zees are Zeds. We are deprived of dear old Sesame Street here in the UK and the only explanation I’ve been given is that it might cause confusion with kids learning their alphabet. I don’t buy this excuse as there are plenty of other poorer quality exports where our delicate British ears are exposed to the blasphemy of the letter Zee. Personally I think the Brits should swallow their pride and adopt Zee: Zed frankly destroys The Alphabet Song which no longer rhymes.
And then there’s the grammar. No that’s not the North American word for grandma – I’m talking punctuation. Appalled at my ineptitude when it comes to grammatically correct writing and in an effort to self-improve, I purchased Lynne Truss’s fabulous book Eats Shoots and Leaves, only to discover that even acceptable punctuation differs on either side of the Atlantic. Luckily there are angels in the guise of editors who painstakingly correct your prose, probably as they roll around the floor laughing at your lack of command of the English language(s).
I’m writing this post mainly to ask readers to excuse me as I flip-flop between the two versions of English and hope it doesn’t confuse y’all as much as it’s confused me. It would make my life a whole heap easier if we were all mums …. or moms. I don’t care which, but can’t we agree to pick one and run with it?
Filed under: Motherhood Tagged: | Eats Shoots and Leaves, English Language, Family, Lynne Truss, Mom, Mum, Parenting
I’m an English mum and were quite accustomed to it.Many of the telly programmes her are American and I have never given it another thought.I was brought up on Sesame Street.We actually thought American kids could only count up to 12 because of the pinball sequence they showed.
Vive la difference, as they may or may not say in France! And I don’t think it’s just the spelling. Mum says something so different to me than Mom. The latter makes me think of cookies and apple pie (too much Brady Bunch as a child; I lived abroad for a while), crazy trick or treat decorations and candy. I have a Kiwi sister in law and it makes me laugh each time when she talks about ‘chups’ instead of ‘chips’!
Its the difference that make it so great!
I am 100% an English Mum, but belong to a Church which I think of as American (I’m LDS), spend most of my time talking to American’s/Canadian’s and can no longer tell the difference between an English accent and American accent in TV programmes!
So you are excused, as long as you will allow me to occasionally slip into borrowed Americanisms…
[...] Divided By Our Common Language [...]
I’m so used to reading US/Canadian blogs that I don’t bat an eyelid when those different spellings and words are used. In fact, as the husband learned US English well before we’d ever met, I’m used to them being used in conversation at home too. In fact, I should probably even admit to having picked some up myself.
I admit that I really dislike seeing the word ‘Mom’ for ‘Mum’ on British blogs – whenever I read the word ‘Mom’ I hear an American drawl in my head, which doesn’t suit a British blog. After all, the different spellings do represent the different pronunciations of the word in two different parts of the world. At least (being northern) ‘Mum’ with a strong ‘u’ sound reflects the pronunciation in my part of the world, which ‘Mom’ certainly doesn’t. I don’t mind diversification. Like regional accents and dialect, the differences make the world a more interesting place, even if it’s more troublesome for editors!