# Quoting the British
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 19, 2003, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514 "2003-03-19T11:44:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Murasaki312a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murasaki312a)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/1 "2003-03-19T11:44:47Z")
When quoting people who use alternate spellings from ours, does one use the alternate spelling in the quote?
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/2 "2003-03-19T11:52:31Z")
Yes.
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/3 "2003-03-19T12:06:48Z")
Maybe.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/4 "2003-03-19T12:07:24Z")
Depends.
If you’re quoting spoken word, then you use local spelling. If you’re quoting something written, then general practice is to preserve the original spelling.
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### Author:  [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/5 "2003-03-19T12:08:48Z")
Um. Friedo, is there a difference in pronunciation for words (with the exception of accents) or would ye by thinking of Olde Englishe type pronunciation?
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### Author:  [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/6 "2003-03-19T12:09:49Z")
Dumb, dumb, dumb. I will learn to read one day. Sorry. Carry on.
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/7 "2003-03-19T12:16:01Z")
Here’s a couple of other threads about this:
[Linkeroonie 1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=125617&highlight=quot%2A)
[Linkeroonie 2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=110471&highlight=quot%2A)
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/8 "2003-03-19T12:17:44Z")
Yes, if you are quoting verbatim, then you should preserve spellinges etc, otherwise maybe not:
You said:
> [@](#):
>
> These items will be the same color
They are not.
You said these two items would be the same **colour** ; they are not
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### Author:  [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/9 "2003-03-19T12:20:34Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Murasaki312a \*
> When quoting people who use alternate spellings from ours, does one use the alternate spelling in the quote?
I think there may be a hidden assumption here.
Us Brits had the language first, so American English is the ‘alternate’ spelling! :eek:
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### Author:  [@DrNick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrNick)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/10 "2003-03-19T12:45:07Z")
Yeah guys, what’s with your spelling anyway:) ?
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### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/11 "2003-03-19T12:49:44Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*
> \*\*I think there may be a hidden assumption here.
> Us Brits had the language first, so American English is the ‘alternate’ spelling! :eek: \*\*
A common misconception. Both the current “standard” American and British Englishes developed from a common ancestor. The spelling and vocabulary used by this ancestor is noticeably different from that used of either of its descendants.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/12 "2003-03-19T12:50:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by glee \*
> \*\*I think there may be a hidden assumption here.
> Us Brits had the language first, so American English is the ‘alternate’ spelling! :eek: \*\*
I assume you’re joking; modern British English won’t be the same as it was when American English branched off; both languages are descendants of a common ancestor, that is all.
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### Author:  [@Murasaki312a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murasaki312a)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/13 "2003-03-19T18:05:48Z")
Thanks for the replies (the links were especially helpful). I didn’t really qualify which type of quote I meant, but I was asking about when someone speaks and then is quoted…I assumed that written quotes would remain as written…
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/14 "2003-03-19T22:03:28Z")
Written quotes of spoken words… hmmm, that is a bit more of a grey(gray;) ) area - If (say) I hear an American admire the tint of my wife’s hair, then (for some reason) I need to write a note to her about it, I will use ‘colour’ - my local spelling, even if I am _directly_ quoting - “He said ‘I like the colour of your wife’s hair’” - it would seem absurd for me to use the Americal spelling of the word as I never saw it written down and it sounds the same.
What I won’t do though, is translate whole word; if he had said that he nearly fell flat on his face on the _sidewalk_, I would probably not change it to _pavement_, unless perhaps I suspected that the person reading the quote was not familiar with the American word/usage.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/15 "2003-03-19T22:05:05Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*
> **…the Americal spelling…**
Typo; shoudl read **American** , of course.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quoting-the-british/162514/16 "2003-03-20T00:09:22Z")
If you are quoting in a formal setting, use the formation given in whatever style quide is specified. There are style guides for academics, for news writers, given out by publishers and many others.