English English English: An Interesting Lesson

English is my first language. Yet, moving abroad has taught me so much more about the intricacies of the English language. Previously, I had naively believed that English was either British or American.

Canadian English is unique. Canada has combined both British and American English to create their own unique blend. Seemingly, the unspoken expectation of any newbie in their first job in Canada (for those of us with office roles at least), is that we are immediately and intimately aware of the acceptable Canadian preferences. We are also expected to be aware of any jargon or terminology which may be different. This can lead to some rather unintended and interesting communication differences, as well as the occasional headache.

This is one of those lessons I wish I had known in advance. For clarity, South African English is based on the British version. Naively, I had believed Canada, with its historic ties to England, to be the same.

The lesson learned:

Ensure that your resume or curriculum vitae, has been tailored using the correct version of English and the correct terminology for the country you are moving to. This can help you successfully land your first job in your new country and avoid unnecessary communication issues.

Although potential employers might be aware of the spelling differences, this is not always the case. Not everyone is open-minded enough to accept the different versions. Using the incorrect version can result in a potential employer just viewing the outsider as someone that lacks attention to detail and cannot spell.

In one of my first performance reviews in Canada, my superior told me in no uncertain terms, that I clearly cannot spell. My crime? I had repeatedly spelled words like realize and analyze with a “s” instead of a “z” (This would be the acceptable British spelling…Canada prefers the American spelling for these words. Until this point, I had not been aware of this preference). I thought this observation was both hilarious and quite overblown. My superior did not agree. Trust accountants to be nit-picky about details.

Being an expat, I’m happy to adapt, however, it is a process that takes time, and old habits die hard.

Terminology differences

Similarly, there may be differences in terminology or jargon. In accounting jargon, for example, we South Africans often refer to trade receivables as “debtors” and trade payables as “creditors.” This confused my Canadian colleagues to no end. For some reason, most Canadians believe a “debtor” to be a payable loan rather than receivable.

Point in fact, an old South African colleague, who also relocated to Canada, was offered a position in the “Debtors department” by a Canadian employer. Days after starting, they called me all confused. Their new employer had placed them in the opposite department to the one they expected to be in.

There may be similar differences in other industries.

Suggested action points for those starting out:

• Find individuals with a similar background in the country you are planning to move to and ask if they would be willing to do an informational interview. These can be most helpful in learning about your new country. A good question to add to the list would simply be any notable differences in jargon that you should be aware of.
  
  
• Spend some time getting familiar with the acceptable English version of the country you are moving to. There are multiple online resources that are most useful and quite in-depth in their observations.
  
  
• If you are using Word, set the editor to the correct English version. Review —> Language – Language Preferences

Final comments

Do you have any similar tales to tell? We would love to hear your stories.