[ SECRET POST #3002 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3002 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


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04.


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05.
[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye/Transformers: Robots in Disguise]


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06.


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10.
[Gary Barlow, Take That]


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11.
[Sherlock Holmes]


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14.
[Criminal Minds/Law and Order: SVU]


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15.
[Gekkan shoujo Nozaki-kun]


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16.
[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (episode: Prom Night)]


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17.
[Breaking Bad]


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18.
[Night Shift]


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19.
[Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Colbert]


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20.
[clockwise from bottom left: Dinosaur Comics, Romantically Apocalyptic, Homestuck, Nedroid, Sfeer Theory, Bite Me!]


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21.
[Dragon Age]









Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 066 secrets from Secret Submission Post #429.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I think it depends on what you're defining as Brit/Ameripicking.

Bitching at someone for using spelling variants (colour vs. color, etc.) in fanfic is pretty much overkill. If they're using them consistently, then there's no reason other than "Omg this is different to meeeee!" that would affect the understanding of the story. Doubly so if the characters aren't even British or American in their original canon (fantasy-settings and so on).

If someone, like an example above, says an American character is going to Tesco instead of Wal-Mart (assuming that they're not actually going to one of the short-lived and unsuccessful Tesco franchises that tried to open in -- I think -- California because that's a plot point), then that's different. That affects the authenticity of the story in a way that affects the reader.

Losing you a little with the translation part though. Correcting Brit/Ameripicking (whether you think it's arrogant or nitpicky or not) isn't translating. It's applying different cultural references. If a story set in a certain country is translated from that country's language, then it's still going to be using that country's cultural/geographical references.

[(Anonymous)]

The process of localization is part of the translation process, so British books being Americanized count as a translation, same for the opposite. Maybe that's what OP means?

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

I've never known an American book be Anglicized. If it's set in the US then it's using US terms/locations/references. There's a presumption in the media that we'll recognize American references (stores, brands etc.) without the need to change it.

Do British books really get Americanized to the point where they change the terms (like above, "Mom" for "Mum", etc.) and locations?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm reading an American book at the moment, a crime novel that was republished over here in a British edition.

The punctuation has been changed to the British style. Otherwise, it still uses American spelling and cultural references: "color", "trash can" and so on.

I heard that Harry Potter was republished in the US with American spelling, but don't know if that was an urban myth as that just seems weird. Although that's a book for children so it's a slightly different case.

[vethica]

Am American, can confirm. Harry Potter was very localized in the early books.

[(Anonymous)]

So did a very British Harry Potter in that edition talk about his "mom" and dad?

If the OP has grown up with that sort of thing, it's more understandable why even the concept of Britpicking would fill them with confusion.

[vethica]

I think "mom" was used for "mum" in the first printing or so until Rowling put her foot down ("Molly Weasley is not a mom"). Stuff like "jumper" -> "sweater" and "trainers" -> "sneakers" was still going on several books in, though.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

That's always been my experience too. I personally wouldn't even notice the switch in punctuation styles, because I read so widely that by now I just adjust automatically. Like "color" etc., " " vs. ' ' isn't exactly something that makes me stop reading because I don't understand.

Changing that much of a book that's in the same language just smacks of unnecessary dumbing down. Are we really saying that given the context, American kids can't grasp that "Mum" is the same as "Mom"? I heard that they changed the titles because they (the US publishers) thought that US kids wouldn't know enough about mythology to understand things like "Philosopher's Stone", which is also pretty insulting if it's true.

[(Anonymous)]

They did. The assumption was that "philosopher's stone" wouldn't translate as something magical to the mind of an American child, and without the context of "philosopher's stone" being a magical item, philosopher would = boring, whereas sorcerer would = exciting.