As a Brit, I grew up writing with proper British English and idiom. In the early part of my communications career, I learned that “correct” English could be baffling to colleagues from other countries. Writing for American companies, I learned that “u” is often superfluous and that “fanny” is, in fact, a perfectly fine word to use in company. Now I find myself writing for a Brilliant Ink client with employees and customers all over the world and I’m enjoying sampling the different flavors of English that form the raw materials of the articles I write.The client is based in the States, as are most of the employees, so I take input from Taiwan or Indonesia or Germany and transmute it into fluent American but the question is -- should I? Is “American” the best language for the job?Let’s consider what that job is. With all communication, the aim is to clearly share a message or an idea between different people. With employee communications, we’re also trying to build a consistent corporate image and foster collaboration towards shared goals. Consistency is important but were I to swap in the odd piece of local colour or, say, refer to my mum instead of my mom, native English speakers from any part of the world would hardly be troubled. Colleagues who have learned to speak English as a second or third language might at first be puzzled by different spellings but would look to the context for help.And context, rather than spelling and grammar rules, is really at the heart of writing for a global audience. The expressions and idioms we use are rooted in local cultures; Familiar proverbs from childhood, sporting terms, and celebrity references pepper our daily speech but rarely travel well.Cultural assumptions underlie everything we write. The real challenge--and the most fun-- in writing for a global audience is creating a business voice that is clear and actionable without being bland and characterless no matter the brand of English we use.-- Alison Harrison, Communications Strategist