Can we use British English trends and American English trends (such as spelling, or turns of phrase) in different sentences in the one topic?
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2You want to follow a trend, in on topic, as "a" two sentences? I am really sorry, but I cannot parse your question as either BrE, AmE, InE, AuE or any other English dialect I am aware of. Can you please clarify what you want to know?– oerkelensJul 9, 2014 at 7:43
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yea sure... I'm asking that, in a single paragraph/one topic, can we use half context in BrE and another half in AmE?– MonicaJul 9, 2014 at 8:13
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Hopefully my edit incorporates that request. Feel free to make the question say something else if I've misinterpreted.– Andrew Leach ♦Jul 9, 2014 at 8:23
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Many Thanks Andrew, for your help, well correction in my question...:-) it will definitely helpful for me– MonicaJul 9, 2014 at 8:31
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1Though spelling in some cases tends to be categorisable as 'BrE' or 'AmE', it's probable that there is as much variation between the recommendations of two US style guides say as between a UK one and a US one. 'We' should use the style preferred by the people paying us / awarding us our degree. When in Rome ... If we're freelance, 'we' can choose our style (though it would be considerate not to be too outlandish if we're going to attempt to communicate). And we should point out clearly where we 'improve' quotations.– Edwin AshworthJul 9, 2014 at 9:36
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1 Answer
It is usually not recommended to mix up different dialects of a language in one text.
If you are describing different characters that speak different dialects, of course, their speech can be in the appropriate dialect.
Apart from that (direct speech), every style guide I have ever seen recommends that first and foremost, you must be consistent in your writing, spelling and style.
So you do not write "capitalization" once, and then "capitalisation".
And if you start mixing up idiom from different dialects in one text, you will only create confusion.
answered Jul 9, 2014 at 8:30
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In my college one of my friend discussed a topic by using BrE and AmE turns of phrase, so i got doubt...– MonicaJul 9, 2014 at 8:39
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2@Monica: Note that the 'logical rule' of agreement with collective nouns (sometimes called the 'British rule') does NOT force a plural verb onto say 'team' in every circumstance. I'd say 'The team was founded in 1914' but 'The team were glad when the match ended at just 7 - 1'. It is decided for me by whether I'm considering the (unitary) institution, or the members of the team (in a well-understood synecdoche). Jul 9, 2014 at 9:43
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2I don't like the term 'BrE' here as many Americans prefer to use logical concord, and many Brits wouldn't know whether to use 'more than one of the passengers was killed' or 'more than one of the passengers were killed'. But it's not 'no need to use a plural verb' when using logical concord so much as 'you need to think about which you need in each individual case'. Jul 9, 2014 at 9:55