One of the services I offer is editing for English fluency. Although it may seem irrelevant – you’re reading this, so you speak English, right? – editing services for English fluency can add tremendous value to a piece of work.
In this article, I’ll explain why you might like to have a professional writer look over your work and assist you with various tweaks to make it seem more impressive to an audience.
Does everyone need English fluency editing services?
Absolutely not! If you’re confident in your work, then please, carry on!
English fluency editing services are more likely to be relevant to anyone whose first language isn’t English or who needs help with writing.
If you feel you’d like assistance with your work, that’s quite alright! I’ve worked with people on things such as business proposals to help the document sound more professional.
If you’ve been a student of English literacy and regularly read books, there’s probably very little I can do to add to your work. However, if you’d like to get in touch anyway for a second pair of eyes, please feel free!
Why do English fluency editing services make a difference?
There’s an argument to say that English is a language of snobbery and that it shouldn’t matter how one presents their work. “Use your own expression and whatever language you like!” – they say.
I’m all for self-expression and creating content in your own way and language! Please, go ahead! However, most websites looking to reach a broad range of financially-available viewers will write in English.
Making a good first impression is vital. There are certain standards these customers will look for. The game must be played.
The English language and its complexity
That’s where English fluency comes in. English is, by far, the most extensive language in the world, with officially over 1,000,000 distinct words in its vocabulary. The next largest, Cantonese, has around half that amount.
The English language has grown to be so extensive from the rich history of the Land of Angles (England) – war, peace, foreign invaders, multiculturalism (centuries old), regional dialects, the Anglosphere (America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the English-speaking section of South Africa) and gifted writers, translators and poets such as William Shakespeare, William Tyndale and Roald Dahl who quite literally made words up when they couldn’t find an appropriate one already in existence.
That was a long sentence. Sorry.
One of the main reasons it’s so massive is the ease with which foreign words are adopted into the language.
English is primarily a mix of Old French and Old Norse (the Viking language), with many words also coming from the native Celtic languages and Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Even today, words are lifted from other languages all the time.
One of my favourite examples is the word ‘yoghurt’ (British spelling), which comes from Turkish and was first described in English in 1625 by a traveller, Samuel Purchas. By the 1800s, there were all sorts of spellings for the strange food people hadn’t thought to make before. As the yoghurt market began to take off in the UK in the mid-1900s, the spelling became standardised, but it was different in other English-speaking countries (for example, ‘yogurt’ in North America).
Why mention all this? Well, the better a person can express themselves in a wide range of easy-to-understand vocabulary, the more engaged a reader is likely to be. Going too far and using 13-letter words in a 100-word-long sentence (my long one above was only 75…) will instantly switch someone off.
It’s about finding the right balance.
Because English is so vast, that’s challenging. This is why English writers are in such demand worldwide and why English fluency editing services might help you.
Contact Ben Kitchen for English editing services
Overall, English fluency editing services are about adding value through simple techniques. Reordering sentences, switching vocabulary, ordering paragraphs, matching the content to the audience, and so on.
If you’re unsure whether or not you need some assistance, do feel free to get in touch anyway.
If your work already reads well, I’ll let you know. I only charge for work where I can help, and I won’t ever make any unnecessary changes! You can be sure of a trustworthy and reliable service.
All enquiries are treated with the utmost confidentiality.
For more information about editing services, follow this link. I work on an hourly rate rather than charging on a per-word basis, as I’ve found this is a fairer way to add value.
If you’d like to get in touch to request editing services, I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me using the form below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Thanks for reading!