American English vs English English

[SliceOfDog]

I'm coming across a few examples in writing the Podcast where I need to make a choice between American English and English English. Most recent examples are Farenheit vs Celsius and sunscreen/block vs suncream (Don't ask why I need that in a SciFi/Furry podcast. I just do)
The point is, I really need to stick to one or the other, and being a Brit but knowing we most likely have many more American listeners, I propose we stick to the American versions of words. I won't in bits where I'm literally being me, of course, but in scripted bits.
Any problems with that? I realise we're getting a fair few British members now.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

Generally i think we're less put out hearing Americanisms than they are hearing Commonwealth phrasing, 'cos we get more exposure to their media than they do ours. Though hearing them in a British accent may be a little odd.

[SliceOfDog]

Generally i think we're less put out hearing Americanisms than they are hearing Commonwealth phrasing, 'cos we get more exposure to their media than they do ours. Though hearing them in a British accent may be a little odd.

XD A good point, but don't worry. I'm trying to avoid heavily British-accented characters. The script I'm writing at the moment is for another voice actor, who is American and the part is meant to sound American. However, it will follow just after me doing a Trevor McDonald impression (Again... you don't really need to know why >_> ) so it may sound a little odd.

[Daryn]

I don't have a problem with that. I understand both terms, and I think most people do, but focusing on US English might be better in general.

[Dusty]

I don't think it really matters. Your narration of stories makes them sound like HG Wells novels so that always a plus! This wasn't brought up by our syntax discussion was it?

[redtail]

I wouldn't worry about the accent. American listeners might take the British accent to make the whole thing sount more sophisticated, which... kinda works in the context of sci-fi.

I would give measurements both Metric and Imperial whenever possible, 'cuz most yanks don't have a clue what a kilometer is or a how hot 20` C is.

[Gusto-Pastel]

It's really up to who's talking at the time. If you're writing a part for an American, have them say it with American English. If you're writing a part for yourself, have a backbone and say it in British English. Although on the point of measurements, I'd err on the side of metric/SI, because a) it's the preferred system by the scientific community for reasons of simplicity and efficiency, and b) it's universal, while the Imperial system has next to no acceptance outside Britain, the USA and the former colonies, and even then, outside the US it's increasingly frowned upon.

[Slate]

I'm from and am currently living within the U.S. Personally, I say go with metric for reasons already stated. Besides, odds are most of the people who will listen to the podcast will have at least a basic grasp of the metric system. I mean, for an American, it isn't hard to figure out that one football (American) field is pretty close to 1/10 of a Klick.

And I also agree that the various idioms of speech should be written according to the cultural background of who will be speaking them. I mean, it would sound weird, to me, if I heard an American speaker using British idioms, it would sound out of place. And while normally I would suggest the American speak fake a British accent, that person would only be able to convince other Americans. Let's face it, no American can fool a Brit when it comes to faking an accent =P