Is Britpicking in HP fics still a thing?
Jun. 8th, 2025 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vickyduckyI’ve been away from the HP fandom for a long time, but back in the day Britpicking was a quite emotive subject, and I was wondering, Is anyone bothered anymore?
I’ll be honest, I prefer the HP characters to use English idiom (or Scottish or Welsh or Irish as appropriate), just as when I used to read figure skating RPF I expected the Americans not to talk about pavements etc. I learned over the years not to be an arsehole about it and just appreciate an author’s work (or not) on its other merits, but I still find it slightly jarring. Of course English young people ( my son included) use lots of Americanisms nowadays (movie, mail, etc) so maybe it’s just me being an old fart. Ho hum.
I’ll be honest, I prefer the HP characters to use English idiom (or Scottish or Welsh or Irish as appropriate), just as when I used to read figure skating RPF I expected the Americans not to talk about pavements etc. I learned over the years not to be an arsehole about it and just appreciate an author’s work (or not) on its other merits, but I still find it slightly jarring. Of course English young people ( my son included) use lots of Americanisms nowadays (movie, mail, etc) so maybe it’s just me being an old fart. Ho hum.
Thoughts
Date: 2025-06-08 06:34 pm (UTC)People who care a lot about linguistics, enjoy British culture, are bicultural, want to practice different dialects, and/or want to make their work as precise as possible are more likely to Britpick if possible.
People who write fanfic just for fun, don't want to tangle in perfectionism, read the "Americanized" editions of canon, or can't find a Britpicker are more likely to skip it.
Me, I grew up watching PBS which had a lot of BBC content, so if a friend says, "The bags are in the boot," I know where to look.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-09 05:06 pm (UTC)