Originally hailing from the UK I just had to reblog this great post on the differences between UK and US spelling
I was writing a short piece in Microsoft Word and a squiggly line appeared. I knew the word was spelled correctly but Microsoft was telling me otherwise. I quickly realized Word was trying to make my character American. No! Word, my character is British and his vocabulary shan’t be spelt differently.
So what type of spelling should you choose? Well, if you do not have a specific style guide that specifies what you should be using, I recommend knowing your audience and staying consistent. If your audience is mainly American, you may come off trite if you are using the British spelling; or, if you are looking to write for a broader community of people than I recommend using the UK spelling. Whatever you choose to use, it’s best to stay consistent.
Top 15 of my Favorite Vs. Spellings
UK to US
- Aluminium → Aluminum
- Artefact → Artifact
- Colour →…
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Well, this is certainly a very coulourful post. I’m somewhat honoured that Chris thought of posting this. I hadn’t realised this was an issue before. Travelling around wordpress I do not see this subject often. I suppose it could become quite humourous in any given situation. 🙂
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I agree. I hadn’t realised it was a problem. It is not as if I get red lines under half of my words when posting, or that people ask questions like ‘what is a mac’? There must be some humourous situations arise, misunderstandings and so forth. Chips, my love?
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Just have the lorry drop off a load of courgette and chips I will be your meat.
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Mmmm fresh meat! I have yours here waiting too.
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Only the British would make a word like diarrhea longer and more painful looking.
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I suppose we like the words that we use to be representative of the thing that they are naming. As we all know diarrhoea can be terribly painful and drawn out
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True. I guess that’s why a cake gets the name Spotted Dick.
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And of course the excellent chocolate log, although I am not sure if that is more descriptive of it before, or after, consumpti
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It makes me doubt my spelling ability when i get a squiggly line under a word i know for sure is spelt right. It’s awful. I was a top speller at school and now i probably write half the time in UK spelling and half the time in US spelling and don’t even realise!
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I know that squiggly red line well. In fact I doubt my spelling in a lot of places, like WP, if I do not see a squiggly line. I have begun to expect it and worry if I do not see it. Heaven forbid I spell words with the US spelling.
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