Well knock me over with a feather. Again, my darling.
In discussing Octordle Free Game, I mentioned offhand, after OMBRE was one of the eight words and I thought this unfair, that Brittanica was a British publication, and sometimes what words they thought were common were rather English rather than American.* VICAR, on the puzzle before being a good example. Americans who read a lot of British material know the word, and it is used occasionally - by Anglicans, notably - here in the states. My wife very confidently told me that Encyclopaedia Brittanica is an American publication, published in New York. I scoffed, but rather tentatively, because this is exactly the sort of thing that librarians know while the rest of us assume that anything that has Britain in its title and even uses the "æ" for encyclopedia is quite obviously British.
Not only is Brittanica published in America, it has been published here since 1901.That means the famous 1911 version, the 11th Edition in 29 volumes, which was so highly regarded that bookcases with hinged glass fronts were designed for it specifically - which you can still find (we have one, right next to me, though in terrible condition) - is American. It hardly seems possible. As much as I favor my own nation's reputation in all things, this does seem an unfair incursion.
*BTW, this was not in reference to ombre, which Tracy assures me is a color (colour?) description, but more a passing reference. Ha, ha, Reference. Little inside joke there.
My recollection was that it started as a project of the post-union Scottish Enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteAnd I became most familiar with it when I was lodging in the home of a British expat family who were big proponents of it (or at least vehemently in support of the micropedia/macropedia format) when I compared it unfavorably to "American" encyclopedias such as World Book.
Anyway, I now wonder -- with the rotating schedule of cleaning-up and updating, if the many editors still favor British article authors in trying to maintain currency. Is it designed more for an American audience? Or consciously or unconsciously aimed at all of the "anglosphere"? –– in which case, avoiding Americanisms might make it seem more natural to the crores of readers abroad, while less so to the lakhs of readers domestically.