Like most people who work freelance, I get my share of work from clients in other countries.
Compared to a lot of languages, English is pretty standard among native speakers – sure, there are different accents, and some words are different, and the spelling varies – but the differences between, say, New Zealand English and American English aren’t as pronounced as some versions of languages such as German.
But it is important to get it right when you’re copywriting for audiences other than your own. The last thing you want is for the business you’re writing for to come across as being not quite up with the play among their own target market.
British English is easy for me. New Zealand English is often a bit of a hybrid between British and American (the spelling is the same as British, but American words have a tendency to creep in), but is closest to British in terms of spelling and most grammar. As well, I was brought up by British parents, with a British extended family, and have lived in England twice, so that makes it easy for me!
As for working for US-based clients, that’s a bit more challenging. I have to be careful with spelling words like colour/color, and choosing words like sidewalk/pavement and holiday/vacation. But it’s not that hard. Set the spell checker to US English and that takes care of most of the spelling; as for the tone, I read it through (silently) in an American accent to check that nothing feels wrong. An American copywriter once asked me what my internal American accent sounded like; I think he was imagining a cowboy-style drawl. It’s not as interesting as that, just the standard American accent that’s typically used in movies and the rest of the media.
That said, I’ve found that US-based clients are pretty understanding about the odd little mistake, given that they know full well they’re working with a Kiwi.
And if in doubt, I’ll pull up a competitor’s website from the same country to make sure it doesn’t sound just plain wrong.
