The rule (Rich, Monday 20 April 2026 evening):
- “i want to change Inherit v2 and Inheritkit to use international english please - update all documents and claude.md files where relevant”
- Flavour confirmed as option (a): US-style spellings (not Oxford hybrid).
- Scope clarified shortly after: “we don’t need to rewrite existing documents to international english - we just need to write any new docs in international english”
Precise scope: forward-looking only
- NEW INHERIT v2 + InheritKit writing from Monday 20 April 2026 onwards → International English (US-style)
- Existing INHERIT v2 + InheritKit docs (Option G v1.7, scorecards, roadmap, dev-plan-overview, case-study scorecard, explainer transcript, DADE positioning, FHIR monetisation analysis, ideas from today) → stay as-is, do NOT bulk-convert. They will drift toward US-style naturally as they are edited in future rounds; no retroactive campaign.
- New edits to existing INHERIT v2 + InheritKit docs → edits themselves written in International English; don’t fix the surrounding British prose (creates inconsistency, but the forward direction is locked in).
- Targeted governance edits (e.g., refining a single rule in an existing doc) are fine — those are governance, not rewriting.
Scope: what gets International English (US-style) for NEW writing
- Mega-spec
2026-04-20-inherit-v2-critique-ready-spec.md(written autonomously in a fresh session) - Any new INHERIT v2 + InheritKit architecture spec, scorecard, roadmap, marketing doc, DADE/Ecosystem positioning doc, InheritKit SDK doc
- Commit messages for NEW INHERIT v2 + InheritKit work
- NDA pitch-pack updates aimed at international / AI-vendor audiences
Scope: what stays British English (default)
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md§2 master rule — British English stays default; INHERIT v2 + InheritKit is the carve-out- All existing docs regardless of topic — no retroactive conversion
- Other TT brand docs: IW, MFI, LL, OpenInherit brand/marketing (UK-facing)
- Cross-brand docs:
brand-architecture.md,partner-model.md - UK-facing partnership targeting:
partners-by-type-ew-sco-ire.md,inherit-target-firms-by-city.md - Memories,
richard-tasks.md, internal admin repos
US-style spelling rules (for new writing):
| British | US (use) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ise | -ize | realize, organize, recognize, utilize, emphasize, prioritize |
| -isation | -ization | organization, specialization, standardization |
| -our | -or | color, behavior, favor, honor, labor, neighbor |
| -re | -er | center, meter, theater, fiber |
| licence (noun) | license | license (both noun + verb) |
| defence / offence | defense / offense | |
| programme | program | (computer programs) |
| analogue | analog | |
| -lled, -lling | -led, -ling | labeled, traveling, modeling |
| grey | gray | |
| enrol, fulfil, instalment | enroll, fulfill, installment | |
| cheque (money) | check | |
| whilst | while | |
| amongst | among | |
| learnt, spelt, dreamt, burnt (verb) | learned, spelled, dreamed, burned | |
| practise (verb) | practice | (US = practice both) |
| manoeuvre | maneuver | |
| sceptic | skeptic | |
| judgement | judgment | (prose) |
What stays unchanged (regardless of flavour):
- Weekday-prefixed prose dates (“Monday 20 April 2026”) — readability rule, not regional
- Proper nouns, brand names, specific firm names
- UK statute + case names verbatim: “Administration of Estates Act”, “Wills Act”, “Inheritance Tax”
- UK-specific regulated roles: “solicitor”, “barrister”, “practitioner”
- URLs, filesystem paths, code blocks
- Rich’s quoted directives in
origin:fields (he writes British — preserve verbatim)
Revised R3.25 for critique-ready-spec-design.md
Before: British English + weekday-prefixed prose dates.
After: International English (US-style) for NEW INHERIT v2 + InheritKit writing; British English default for other TT brand material and for all existing content. Weekday-prefixed prose dates apply everywhere (readability rule). [2026-04-20, feedback_international_english_for_inherit_v2.md]
Why the forward-only discipline
- Rich’s principle: no gratuitous rewriting of existing work. If the existing doc is readable and the Rich-directive is captured as a forward rule, bulk conversion is wasted effort.
- As docs naturally turn over (v1.7 → v1.8 → v2.0 rewrites), the International English discipline settles in organically.
- Cost-benefit: the new mega-spec is the first high-value International-English artefact. Bulk-converting 16 existing docs to get them all aligned ≠ the right cost/benefit; write the NEW output in the right style and let time do the rest.
Why International English for NEW INHERIT v2 + InheritKit writing (at all)
- INHERIT v2’s positioning is international + ISO-track (target 2028-2030).
- AI-vendor commercial tier targets OpenAI/Anthropic/Google/Meta/xAI — all US-based.
- Spec bodies (IETF/W3C/OASIS/ISO/JTC 1) default to US English. British English in spec/commercial contexts looks parochial.
- InheritWills + MFI + LL + OpenInherit public positioning are UK consumer / UK practitioner brands — British English signals “UK-native” which is a commercial asset there.
- Separating the discipline at the customer-contact surface means each audience sees the right register.
How to apply going forward
- When writing a NEW INHERIT v2 or InheritKit doc, start in International English from the first word.
- When editing an EXISTING British-English INHERIT v2 doc, write the edit itself in International English. Don’t fix surrounding British prose. Mixed-register during the transition is acceptable.
- When writing a NEW non-INHERIT-v2 doc (IW, MFI, LL, OpenInherit, brand-architecture, etc.), stay British English.
- When in doubt about which flavour a new doc should use, look at the audience: UK (solicitors, partners, regulators) = British; international (AI vendors, ISO/OASIS, developers, academic) = US-style.
- Commit messages inherit the flavour of the underlying work.