Software languge options - why does English always need a 'US' next to it?

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Because Canada isn't a country.

Can't tell if joking or just very stupid.

And here I thought I didn't need to add "/sarcasm" for this one...

 

[ph0b0s123]

I should point out that German is also spoken in Switzerland. (As is french & Italian), and Spanish is spoken in several countries as well.

Putting a German flag next to German language options makes a similar statement to using a US flag with English, except that English didn't originate in America, which makes the presumption seem a little more galling than it would otherwise be.

(Though I suppose using a mexican flag with Spanish would have the same implications.)

I would have though having German against a German Flag as a language option would be fair as the hint about the country of origin is in the name of the language. I.E German comes from Germany right?

English oddly comes from this place called England, not rocket science.

And I don't think that the difference between US and UK English is anything much otherwise we would need some subtitles when watching the plethora of US shows on UK TV. I don't believe UK shows need subtitles or dubbing when being shown in the US either.

The keyboard layout stuff is a completely separate thing and not what I am taking about. Picking keyboard layout is usually completely seperate to picking a language option (and definitely needs, and always has had, the differentiation due to the different layout US vs UK).

"(Though I suppose using a mexican flag with Spanish would have the same implications.)" That analogy hits the nail on the head.

 

[ph0b0s123]

Well, you're in lucky, because I just have a magical thingamajig that allows you to peek into alternate dimensions in which things are slighly different! I'll tune it off the dimension where every woman has marginally larger breasts and tune it to the dimension where US English is just called English.

Oh what a coincidence! It appears that your alternate version in that alternate dimension has just created a new thread on the Escapist (ension). Let's see what you posted:

One for the brits here. Does it ever annoy you that when you install a new piece of software that one of the languages in it is English but it's always with American grammar and spelling? As if when we see the word English we are supposed to assume it means US English, as opposed to, you know, English English.

Now I know I will get my back side handed to me as this is a mainly US populated forum. And I know that the US is the biggest market in the world with the largest population of English speakers, blah, blah.

But would it be that confusing for Americans to work out how to write their product in British English? I mean, it wouldn't be that different, and if people had real problems with it they might maybe ship it with US English as an option, so we'd at least know what kind of English we would be reading... But then again I suppose if you wrote US English that would probably mean Spanish now, right.....

Uncanny!

Also in that dimension you have slighly larger breasts. Go figure.

Like it, expect the part "US English that would probably mean Spanish now, right......" does not work as the joke was that (I though) the most conman American first language is now Spanish. People have to understand though the difference in posting a rant rather than something I though would be interesting to discuss.

So maybe if I want to be annoyed at anything it is that on Steam it did not have US English against the US Flag. And no I am not bothered that people have not put in the resources to make a UK English option. Not that bothered that most English I am exposed to in entertainment is Americanised, not a big problem.

 

[Nazz3]

I guess because US has a much larger population than UK.

 

[MikailCaboose]

Spelling changes (color vs. colour, honor vs. honour), plus other mild differences that I'm sure exist. It's like why there needs to me a Spanish (Mexicano) and a Spanish (Española)

 

[thylasos]

So that in anything with a text interface Britons or Americans don't get infuriated by the lack of/ an unnecessary 'u' in various words and so on?

About half the anglophone world uses commonwealth spelling, the other half has learnt the US system. It seems a fair compromise.

 

[Ken Sapp]

This webpage might be quite interesting to those in this thread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences

And that is one reason why I have no wish to be an English Major.

 

[HigherTomorrow]

and they lived where?

I would assume they lived in Continental Europe.

 

[staika]

It's there for convenience, seeing as there are some words that are spelled differently in the US and the UK, mostly its used to keep away those damn squiggly lines that appear and tell you that you have failed at spelling and at life.

 

[FamoFunk]

I've always seen "english (UK)" and "English (US)"

If I, as a Brit, only had the option for the US one, I'd obviously pick it, a few letters may be missing/different, but at lest I can still read it and understand it.

 

[TiloXofXTanto]

I'm going to be honest, I can't recall ever seeing a 'US' English option without a 'UK' English option, but it's not like the Brits invented English, either. The Anglo-Saxons did.

...The Anglo-Saxons are the ancestors of the current people of England, they settled there after pushing most of the "original English" (I'll admit, I only really half know who those people were) out.

Even though the Anglo-Saxons did originate from the mainland, they weren't Anglo-Saxons until they arrived in England, why? because the Anglo-Saxons are the result of two Germanic tribes and one Danish tribe mixing together (the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes).

Plus, they didn't invent it, it was a joint effort between the Romans, the Normans, the Nordic, the Germans, the Gaelic and Cornish speaking people in the British isles, the Greeks, and the Feudalistic structure of Britain that made about 12 different dialects appear, and other languages that have contributed individual words that I can't think of right now.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Spoiler: stuff said previously

I should point out that German is also spoken in Switzerland. (As is french & Italian), and Spanish is spoken in several countries as well.

Putting a German flag next to German language options makes a similar statement to using a US flag with English, except that English didn't originate in America, which makes the presumption seem a little more galling than it would otherwise be.

(Though I suppose using a mexican flag with Spanish would have the same implications.)

English oddly comes from this place called England, not rocket science.

And I don't think that the difference between US and UK English is anything much otherwise we would need some subtitles when watching the plethora of US shows on UK TV. I don't believe UK shows need subtitles or dubbing when being shown in the US either.

No, it's not enough of a difference to need subtitles, but I can bet people don't always understand the subtleties of various culture-specific references.
That doesn't mean we need a specific localisation, but it does show that ignoring it altogether isn't that obvious either.
Aside from which, unlike say, a film or TV series, games frequently contain large amounts of written text.
And if there's one thing I know, it's that there's a lot of people that obsess over spelling differences between the US and UK...

Not a particularly important reason, but a reason nonetheless. XD

 

[derdeutschmachine]

as an American I can say this... American english is a bastardized version of the language, however companies know we've one of the largest economys worldwide so therefore they will tend to pander to our sad sad way of speaking.

 

[Chemical Alia]

US English is usually listed when the product is from North America or uses US English spelling. The opposite is usually true with products from the UK and Europe, as the tend to prefer UK spelling. No great conspiracy to undermine the value of the English language, sorry.

Sometimes when I'm at an ATM, a Mexican flag pops up for the Spanish option, rather than the flag of Spain. And I doubt anyone is upset by this, despite Mexico not having invented the Spanish language.

I'll never understand why some people get so upset by these small differences.

Besides, most software has an option for both UK,US, and a half dozen others.

 

[Liquid Ocelot]

Uh, because there are two options, and you're blind. One says US-English, the other says UK or Canadian English. Two different dialects.

 

[manythings]

-snip-

The short-short version of the story is that a guy named Webster created an American dictionary that would remove all the "unnecessary" components (the U in colour, that kind of thing) of english and give americans a language divorced from england's languistic rules. So my understanding is he deeply regretted it till the end of his life because language forms organically in those ways and he just kind of hacked pieces off it.

 

[ph0b0s123]

I'm going to be honest, I can't recall ever seeing a 'US' English option without a 'UK' English option, but it's not like the Brits invented English, either. The Anglo-Saxons did.

...The Anglo-Saxons are the ancestors of the current people of England, they settled there after pushing most of the "original English" (I'll admit, I only really half know who those people were) out.

Even though the Anglo-Saxons did originate from the mainland, they weren't Anglo-Saxons until they arrived in England, why? because the Anglo-Saxons are the result of two Germanic tribes and one Danish tribe mixing together (the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes).

Plus, they didn't invent it, it was a joint effort between the Romans, the Normans, the Nordic, the Germans, the Gaelic and Cornish speaking people in the British isles, the Greeks, and the Feudalistic structure of Britain that made about 12 different dialects appear, and other languages that have contributed individual words that I can't think of right now.

That's the story of Old English, the English we speak today did not come about until the injection of French terms after 1066.

Uh, because there are two options, and you're blind. One says US-English, the other says UK or Canadian English. Two different dialects.

No, there aren't always two options and you are ignorant... The Steam example I quoted for example.

Sometimes when I'm at an ATM, a Mexican flag pops up for the Spanish option, rather than the flag of Spain. And I doubt anyone is upset by this, despite Mexico not having invented the Spanish language.

Until that ATM software is exported to Spain. Then there would be some raised eyebrows...

Aside from which, unlike say, a film or TV series, games frequently contain large amounts of written text.

I wonder if books written by American authors have to be changed to UK English before being sold in the UK.

 

[TiloXofXTanto]

snip

That's the story of Old English, the English we speak today did not come about until the injection of French terms after 1066.

No, I was referring to the creation of the Anglo-saxons in my first and second paragraphs, not the language. The third paragraph is where I explained the actual "invention" of the English language. (albeit, without a timeline)

(the Normans were French, the Nordic are Vikings, the 12 dialects thing was slightly exaggerated)

 

[Woodsey]

I dunno, I always skip right past it and on to Engrish (KJI edition). Everything is spoken and written like Kim Jong Il is doing it.