Re: Converting American English to British English

["Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com>]

David Neeley wrote:

> Best practices for localization or translation should always include
> a person whose primary language and cultural experience is of native
> familiarity. No list of differences can be exhaustive, and as you
> know technical docs are often very specialized and beyond the ken of
> the lists such as you have alluded to.

We don't know what sort of documents we're talking
about -- which is why I put the question to the original
poster. If we're talking about ordinary Windows software
applications, for example, the same vocabulary applies
in England and the US.

British English is not a foreign language (the opinions of
some Brits to the contrary notwithstanding.

I agree, as I wrote, with the wisdom of using a  human
editor for cultural issues, or for health and safety issues.
But  unless we're telepathetic, we don't know whether
such issues are involved in this case --  which, again, is
why I asked the question.

The editor needs to be familiar with the target language
and culture, but need not be a native speaker.
For example, an  American-born friend of mine has
lived and worked in a European country for over
twenty years, and is well qualified to translate
in both directions between English and the local
language.

Likewise, many American-born editors are steeped in British
society and culture.

What I don't see is the need for a human editor to
deal with mechanical issues like spelling and vocabulary
in matters *not* related to the cultural factors I mentioned.
Things like spanner/wrench and lift/elevator can be
handled by any competent writer using a word list.
-- 
Michael West