#americanize

It started in California

The foundations for what we know as Chinese food were laid in the mid-1800s, when a huge influx of Chinese immigrants came to California during the Gold Rush, mostly from Canton (today known as Guangzhou). The newcomers started opening restaurants, and eventually began settling elsewhere thanks to the railroad expansion. That resulted in the establishment of Chinatowns all over the place (never forget, Jack Nicholson!).

Hipsters contributed to its Americanization In the 1920s, Chinese food started to catch on among the bohemians (who sometimes ate the food before it was cool... and burned the roofs of their mouths). It wasn't until after World War II that it started to become more mainstream. Chinese chefs would often have two menus: one for Chinese people and one for Americans... but as its popularity grew, the American-tailored menu came to dominate.

Its divergence was fueled by America's canned food industry The reason the Americanized menu was so popular? It used super-sweet, syrupy sauces as opposed to traditional ones, mostly due to the cheap, widespread availability of canned fruits like pineapple and cherries, the use of which ended up creating an entirely new type of cuisine Americans couldn't get enough of. Chefs didn't skimp on the sugar and salt, and the public didn't skimp on the eating. It was a good arrangement.

Most menus feature dishes that aren't present in China at all Chop suey is an almost entirely American invention. It was born in California and translates to "odds and ends" -- basically, it was a bunch of foods thrown together in a pinch, and ended up becoming one of the most popular dishes of all time. General Tso would be pissed!

It's a mix of Chinese, Japanese, American, Italian... pretty much everything, kinda The fortune cookie's recipe, for example, was based on a traditional Japanese cracker, which was then used by Chinese restaurants... for an American appetite. Crab rangoon was first served by a French dude running a Polynesian restaurant in San Francisco in the 1950s. He also would go on to invent the Mai Tai. He is the most heroic Frenchman in history.

Credit to: 

Bob Baffert’s Americanize worked 4 furlongs in :48:00.

Relly Annette-Baker: NOOOOOPE. You definitely don’t have to. I didn’t before submitting. HOWEVER, my mentor was American and I am English. In the end, I decided to just go for US English in my Pitch Wars revisions because Word was throwing a fit every time I opened her notes. Also bear in mind the difference in setting out manuscripts — i.e. “double speech marks” for speaking in the US ‘Single’ in the UK. The main thing is being consistent.

Kat Hinkel: For me, I am an American author writing a book that takes place in the UK and my characters are English—when I subbed to PW, I used US spellings, but UK slang and word choices. (My mentor and I discussed what I should do to submit to agents. We kept the US spellings and grammar.)

I think just be consistent. If your book is set in England, then I think you can go with English spelling. But if you are setting the book in the US with American characters, use American spelling.

Lisa Houghton: I’d say it’s up to you. I had to de-Canadianize my manuscript for my mentor, but I write romance where most of the characters are in the US. You could do it before, or wait and see if your mentor asks for it, but it really depends on genre and preference.

Michael Mammay: I don’t think you have to do it for PW. I think at some point, though, you’ll have to decide if you want to do it for your agent search if you’re querying in the US. And I’m fairly sure your future publisher will have thoughts on the matter as well.

Kat Hinkel: Yes! The Publisher will have the final word.

Phil Hickes: I’d say definitely NO. If for no other reason than to avoid homogenizing the English language. If spellings need changing for market reasons then you can cross that bridge when you come to it.

Jenny Ells Chou: I’m an American and several of my characters are European. I always used American spelling but British vocabulary when appropriate. Torch for flashlight for example.

Lyndsay Ely: Your publisher will decide which to use, or whether to create multiple versions for sale in different places.

Jo Hathaway: I’m Canadian and used British spelling in my MS. No one mentioned it. I also got an American agent with it. I think that’s definitely an issue for much later down the road, though I’m not entirely sure how it happens…