When i first began using Microsoft Word, the default setting was American English and my text would be criss-crossed with angry red squiggles until i stopped swearing long enough to change the setting to UK English. So why is American English and UK English so different?
A big thank you to a fine English Language graduate for the below explanation.
Apparently is is all down to a chap called Noah Webster and his 1828 American Dictionary.Webster was an advocate of simplified spelling and the popularity of his dictionary dictated many of the spellings in U.S. usage.
The major changes included changing "our" to "or" (flavour/flavor), "re" to "er" (theatre/theater), "ce" to "se" (device/devise), "ogue" to "og" (catalogue/catalog) and "ise" to "ize" (realise/realize), plus an assortment of things like the use, or not, of hyphens, the double "l" replaced by a single 'l' on some occasions and vice versa on other occasions and the silent 'e' dropped from some US spellings (ageing/aging).
When you throw in the issue that some words are spelt completely differently (cheque, draught, liquorice, pyjamas, yoghurt) it is any wonder we can understand each other at all.
So there you go, it isn't a spelling mistake, it's just the English spelling and i am sticking with that excuse.
3 comments:
""ce" to "se" (device/devise)"
We have both words. "Device" is a noun, while "devise", pronounced [dee-vyze] is a verb.
"some words are spelt completely differently"
You mean "spelled", don't you? :-)
Yes they are. And in Canada, our spellings are much closer to the UK ones than the US ones.
But you sound smarter and more refined, so spell 'em anyway you like. When I read the "british" versions of words, I admit, I do the accent.
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