Terminology and Abbreviations of the ANPR Industry – Part III

US English – UK English – International English: Differences in Word Use and Spelling

Did you know that “number plates” are called “license plates” in American English? This is why when you approach a company with your automated license plate recognition (ANPR) solution, they most likely raise an eyebrow. But why is this distinction if both “number plate” and “license plate” mean the same?

In addition to the United Kingdom, many countries like South Africa, Australia, and India that used to be part of the British Empire use British English. Also, countries where English is taught at schools as a foreign language, tend to prefer the British variety. On the other hand, most English language media – ranging from TV series to music lyrics – means daily exposure to an American variety of English. Some vocabulary differences relevant to ANPR are shown in the chart below.

When you set the spellchecker while writing a document, you have to select the proofing language. There are multiple varieties of English on the list – from Australian English all the way to Zimbabwe English – as there are many spelling differences. See the table below for some US/UK orthographic differences.

^{Table 2: Some spelling differences between American and British English}

International English: British or American?

With differing standards and conventions, how do internet users and copywriters know which English to use? Style sheets advise writers: once you start using US spelling, stick to it. The same applies to UK spelling. It doesn’t look good on the printed page to see alternative spellings – like centre and center – within the same text. It makes a sloppy impression. Search engines, on the other hand, are said to automatically include spelling variations of any given search word – they even correct spelling mistakes.

The message to take home: when browsing the web, you can’t go wrong – as an author, it is best to be consistent.

Trade Show Culture, Social Sites, Magazines, Companies

Regional differences are blurred at international events like trade fairs, trade shows, and expos, functioning as the primary scenes of communication for stakeholders of the ANPR industry.

Discussion groups like ITS on LinkedIn create shared terminology serving as a common language for the industry. A company’s social media presence, for instance, Adaptive Recognition’s LinkedIn profile and updates, tells a lot about the company’s evolving technology and presence at international expos within the industry. Tech news published in magazines is also a communication channel. Although the publisher is headquartered in the UK, the magazine Intertraffic World, for instance, prefers ALPR to ANPR.

Conclusion

In summary, industry terminology evolves organically via exhibitions, online forums, and publications as well as channels of corporate communication.

As a way of closing this article, we suggest that you visit the previous articles in this series (Part 1 and Part 2) and test your knowledge of ANPR acronyms in the chart below.

^{Table 3: Abbreviations widely used in the ANPR industry}

Any questions or inquiries? We’re here to support you every step of the way: