: Re: Is it ok to use "aluminium" in an otherwise American English text? I am not an American English native (I'm actually a German native speaker) but, when I write, I use the American style of

@Holmes449

Vote Up Vote Down

In a non-scientific text (or in a scientific text, for that matter,) you should really keep it consistent. If you're otherwise using British English, then 'Aluminium' will look perfectly normal, just like 'colour' or 'metre.' However, if you're writing in American English, it will look weird, just as 'colour' or 'metre' would in an otherwise-American text.

Unless you have some reason why the use of this spelling should actually be important to your story, using a spelling that is not consistent with the rest of your text will look jarring and will distract your reader from the story.

Of course, if you actually want the distinction to be important in your story, then that's another matter. In that case, you can have your characters draw attention to the difference and have them discuss the use of one variety over the other.

As a side note, mentioning that this spelling is 'only' used in the USA and Canada really doesn't help the argument much, as the same argument could be made for all of American English. And, even if being used against all of AmE, it's still a poor argument in light of the fact that around 40% of all English speakers and over two thirds of all native English speakers worldwide speak the American variety. Both the American spellings and the British ones are used by very large percentages of English speakers, so trying to dismiss either one is kind of silly. Just pick one or the other and then be consistent unless there's a good reason for the spelling to deviate from the accepted one in the dialect of your text.

(0)

Login to post a comment!