Forum: english.stackexchange.com
Tags: <american-english><british-english><writing><dialects>
Title: Which variant of English should I use when my target audience is the world?
Question: I know that all variants of English ( American English ,  British English , etc.) can be generally  understood by everybody who knows any of the English variants. However, there are some regionalisms that can lead to ambiguity.   What are the things I must be aware of when the target audience (of my writing: book, blog, etc.) is the world?

Answers:
sents: text: If your target audience is the world, then you target not only people with a knowledge of American English, British English, and so on, but also people like myself, to whom English is not a mother tongue but a foreign language.
text: If reaching these people is important to you, then you might want to write in a relatively simple English, avoiding not only regionalisms, but also: Idioms
text: that are hard to understand; e.g., some sayings are not trivial or use unusual vocabulary.
text: As an example, I'd say that “a bitter pill to swallow” is rather straightforward to decipher, even if you have never encountered it before.
text: “An axe to grind”, on the other hand, is harder, probably because it refers to a situation that you is not part of daily life (for most of us) anymore!
text: Vocabulary that is out of the ordinary; for example, even though the many words describing different ways to hit or strike (something or someone) express different nuances, “hit” or “strike” is easier to read than “batter” or “thwack” or “clobber”.
text: Overall, providing a lot of context, and writing simple, concise sentences will help make your point clearer (and not only to “foreigners”).
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/3479/F'x
score: 59
sents: text: I would suggest writing in the version of English you are most comfortable with.
text: That's what you'll communicate in most clearly, and everyone else will understand it from that domain.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/2303/Robusto
score: 27
sents: text: English is broad church (British English bias intended :).
text: My preference in many circumstances would be to not unnecessarily burden yourself with removing any regional colour from your English writing.
text: Seeking to do so will eventually only make English into a more generic and less expressive language.
text: If the writing is online you can always make a helpful hyperlink or two.
text: It's important to be easily understood, but that's not the only important thing.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/3713/Christopher Edwards
score: 15
sents: text: The answer to this is included in Postel 's Law : “be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others” .
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/5731/UserID
score: 9
sents: text: My suggestion: go with what you are comfortable with.
text: For example, I'm an avid blogger, and I like writing, and I use British English (with a touch of our own Caribbean slang and other things) as my style/mood requires.
text: You need to be more concerned about using correct grammar and universally correct spelling ( there are some differences between American and British English, but those are not universal spelling/grammatical errors/issues ), than about whether you use American/British/Canadian/Martian English :).
text: In fact, you could more tend to find yourself in trouble should you try to adapt to the variant of English that you are not accustomed to.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/3576/RolandiXor
score: 3
sents: text: I once researched how the English Wikipedia handles this, because I figured it must be a real issue for them, too.
text: (On a much larger scale than for you — no offense.
text: :))
text: It seems like they are pretty laissez-faire on it.
text: Basically, their Manual of Style says: [...]
text: the English Wikipedia prefers no major national variety of the language.
text: They're just trying to stay consistent inside an article, and to focus on one national variety when there are 'Strong national ties to a topic'.
text: Not sure how much this is really helping you, but I thought it was an interesting (and for me surprising) approach.
text: I expected them to focus on one variety, but I think I started my research when I realized that I had just read two article using different spelling varieties.
answer_details: author: english.stackexchange.com/users/1257/hheimbuerger
score: 3

Summary of the answers:
If your target audience is "the world" then this will include people for whom English is a second language. As a result, you may want to write in relatively simple English and avoid regionalisms. Some people would suggest that you should write in the version of English that you are most comfortable with as that's what you'll communicate in most clearly.
The suggestion is to use the language most comfortable. Try also to tailor language to target audience, but ensure grammar and spelling is correct. There is a suggestion of keeping local dialectic forms and be aware that even famous blog sites such as Wikipedia seem to mainly focus on consistency.
If your target audience is "the world" then this will include people for whom English is a second language. As a result, you may want to write in relatively simple English and avoid regionalisms. Some people would suggest that you should write in the version of English that you are most comfortable with as that's what you'll communicate in most clearly.
Attempt to write in relatively simple English and avoid regionalisms if possible.
While it is important to be easily understood, that is not the only important thing. It is recommended to write in the version of English you are most comfortable with. Correct grammar and universally correct spelling may be more important issues than whether you use American/British/Canadian English. 
The most important thing when writing in English is to be understood and use correct grammar and spelling. Regional variations are less important and you should write in the form that you feel most comfortable with. Furthermore, if your target audience is "the world", then you may wish to take into consideration the levels of comprehension of non-native speakers.