Americans and foreign terms in novels

[athon]

I've talked to a few Australian authors who have sold in the US and the UK. Now, while European and UK countries usually aren't too bad, distributors in the US demand that literature written with Australian terms must be translated. Doonas must be 'quilts', utes 'pickups' etc.

In writing short stories for a US market, I must be aware of the words I use. However, I grew up on Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Greg Bear...a whole lot of American authors who regularly sell here - and I have no problem with Americanisms. I know it has a lot to do with market, and due to our smaller population it is not marketable to do a reprint of a US manuscript. As I said, it's the same in Europe and the UK, to some extent, but nowhere near as bad.

So is this an issue for Americans? Does it bother you to read a foreign novel, or see a foreign movie, which has unusual terms in it?

Athon

 

[UnrepentantSinner]

While I might not understand the reference directly I can usually pick it up in context. One of the first novels I ever had this issue with was The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. In general they don't bother me as long as context can help me figure out what the slang/terminology means.

I wonder if American slang is due to our slang being very casual or very technical and our economy of use for some words. Take truck for example. It can mean anything from a small pick-up truck (Ford Ranger, Mazda B-2000) to a semi-tractor trailer. It also refers to the part of a skateboard where the wheels attach to the board and to the top of a flagpole. On the other hand, I can't think of any widely used (read Nation wide) slang for "truck" that wouldn't be obvious to people not in the U.S.

 

[Bluegill]

I think I'd prefer that Australian-isms be left in a story. If the story is set in Australia or it has Australians speaking, the words should reflect that culture. I want to know the terms that are different, and for the story to reflect the culture it takes place in. If the entire language were different, then sure, it would need to be translated. But I think a glossary or footnotes in the American edition would suffice, if the definition is not obvious from context.

 

[athon]

I remember reading a book as a kid and wondering what the hell a 'turnpike' was. I think it was 'The Long Walk' by Stephen King.

I talked to a rep for a publisher recently who dealt with US distributers. They just won't touch a novel unless it has been fully 'Americanised'. I think they were downselling their own intelligence...at least I hope so.

Athon

 

[Hexxenhammer]

I don't want my books "Americanized". I'd much rather read it the original way. I order all my Harry Potter books from Amazon UK, and my wife orders some other English authors she reads from there.

 

[Michael Redman]

The reason for the one-sidedness is rather obvious, I think. The US is by far the largest English speaking country (with apologies to India) and produces, per capita, a far greater volume of entertainment products than the others, so the rest of the world is constantly inundated with American-English books, movies, TV, etc., while the relative exposure of Americans to, for example, Australian work is quite low.

Still, it’s going to be zero if it’s censored before publication. I would guess that some entertainment industry idiot makes these kind of decisions without really trying the material in the American market to see how it's perceived. They probably just gave two versions to a focus group, and asked then which was easier to understand.

 

[arcticpenguin]

I remember reading a book as a kid and wondering what the hell a 'turnpike' was. I think it was 'The Long Walk' by Stephen King.

One of the really popular authors, I'm not sure if it's King or someone else, frequently uses the term "macadam" to refer to the type of road surface most Americans would call "blacktop". This is a regional term from the Northeastern states.

Oh, and some of those Aussie terms are not only different from the U.S. terms, the same word in U.S. English has a different meaning. "Ute" for instance, is a Native North American tribe from the Utah region.

 

[Glory]

Usually I prefer to read slang and idioms from other countries as that is one of the ways I increase my vocbulary. There is one area that I have run into trouble though. Brittish street slang is virtually incomprhensible to me. I have committed one phrase to memory. I know that " Barney" means "Barney Rubble" which sounds like trouble. Hence, " We're in Barney" means "We're in trouble". An entire story using a liberal amount of this kind of slang would be unreadable to me.

Glory

 

[Azathoth]

'Foreign' phrases don't bother me at all; it adds to the reality of the setting. I think I've read enough British authors that I have a decent grasp of the lingo (though I don't read much very modern stuff, so I may not be au courant).

UnrepentantSinner's mention of Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe reminds me of my confusion (when younger) about 'torch' from one of the Narnia books. It seemed strange that they should have a flaming stick with them, but it certainly was being used to shed light, so I went with it until it was again referred to as an 'electric torch', which I had a hard time imagining.

The renaming of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the American audience really annoyed me, but I expect I don't even notice most of the changes in books which have already been made 'for me' by the publisher.
A more minor irritation was the insistence on a NADSAT glossary at the back of the American edition of A Clockwork Orange. Burgess did a masterful job of introducing the language in such a way that readers could pick it up on their own.

American publishers may have a dim view of the American public, but if they're actually reading books, I think they can be trusted with a few unfamiliar terms.