American and British English spelling differences 2053693 225730139 2008-07-15T03:14:42Z SchfiftyThree 556700 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/76.214.131.10|76.214.131.10]] to last version by JackLumber (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{selfref|For guidelines on dialects and spelling in the English Language version of Wikipedia, see [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English|Wikipedia:Manual of Style]].}} {{Redirect|Spelling differences||:Category:Language comparison}} {{American and British English differences}} '''American and British English spelling differences''' are one aspect of [[American and British English differences]]. In the early 18th century, [[English spelling]] was not standardized. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential [[dictionary|dictionaries]]. Current [[British English]] spellings follow, for the most part, those of [[Samuel Johnson]]'s ''[[A Dictionary of the English Language|Dictionary of the English Language]]'' (1755). Many of the now characteristic [[American English]] spellings were introduced, although for the most part not created, by [[Noah Webster]] in his ''[[An American Dictionary of the English Language]]'' of 1828. Webster was a strong proponent of [[spelling reform]] for reasons both [[Philology|philological]] and nationalistic. Many spelling changes proposed in the US by Webster himself, and in the early 20th century by the [[Simplified Spelling Board]], never caught on. Among the advocates of spelling reform in [[England]], the influences of those who preferred the [[Norman Conquest of England|Norman]] (or [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]]) spellings of certain words proved decisive. Subsequent spelling adjustments in the UK had little effect on present-day US spelling, and vice versa. While in many cases American English deviated in the 19th century from mainstream British spelling, on the other hand it has also often retained older forms. The spelling systems of [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries, for the most part, closely resemble the British system. In Canada, however, while most spelling is "British", many "American" spellings are also used. Additional information on Canadian and Australian spelling is provided throughout the article. == Spelling and pronunciation == In a few cases, [[lexeme|essentially the same word]] has a different spelling which reflects a different pronunciation. As well as the miscellaneous cases listed in the following table, the past tenses of some [[List of English irregular verbs|irregular verbs]] differ in both spelling and pronunciation, as with ''smelt'' (mainly UK) versus ''smelled'' (mainly US): see [[American and British English differences#Verb morphology|American and British English differences: Verb morphology]]. {|class="wikitable sortable" ! [[UK]] !! [[US]] !! class="unsortable" | Notes |-- valign="top" |[[wikt:aeroplane|aeroplane]] || [[wikt:airplane|airplane]] || ''Aeroplane'', originally a French loanword, is the older spelling. According to the OED,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''airplane'', Draft revision March 2008; ''airplane'' is labelled "chiefly North American."</ref> "''[a]irplane'' became the standard U.S. term (replacing ''aeroplane'') after it was adopted by the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] in 1916. Although A. Lloyd Jones recommended its adoption by the BBC in 1928, it has until recently been no more than an occasional form in British English." In the British National Corpus,<ref>[http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/x.asp British National Corpus]. Retrieved [[1 April]] [[2008]].</ref> ''aeroplane'' outnumbers ''airplane'' by more than 7:1. The case is similar for UK ''[[aerodrome]]''<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerodrome Merriam-Webster online], ''aerodrome''. Retrieved [[1 April]] [[2008]].</ref> and US ''airdrome'',<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''airdrome''.</ref> although both of these forms are now obsolescent. The prefixes ''aero-'' and ''air-'' both mean ''air'', and each of the two forms is found in numerous words, including many relating to aeroplanes and aviation. Thus, for example, the first appears in ''[[aeronautics]]'', ''[[aerostatics]]'' and ''[[aerodynamics]]'', and so on, while the second occurs (invariably) in ''[[aircraft]]'', ''[[airport]]'', ''[[airliner]]'', ''[[airmail]]'', etc. In Canada, ''Airplane'' is used more commonly than ''aeroplane'', although ''aeroplane'' is not unknown, especially in parts of French Canada (the current French term is, however, ''avion'' — ''aéroplane'' designating in French the [[fixed wing aircraft|plane]] ancestor). Both Canada and Australia use ''aerodrome'' as a technical term. |-- valign="top" |[[wikt:aluminium|aluminium]] || [[wikt:aluminum|aluminum]] || The spelling ''[[aluminium]]'' is the international standard in the sciences ([[IUPAC]]). The American spelling is nonetheless used by many American scientists. [[Humphry Davy]], the element's discoverer, first proposed the name ''alumium'', and then later ''aluminum''. The name ''aluminium'' was finally adopted to conform with the ''-ium'' ending of metallic elements.<ref>[http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/elem/al.html History & Etymology of Aluminium]</ref> Canada as US, Australia as UK. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:arse|arse]] || [[wikt:ass|ass]] || In vulgar senses "[[buttocks]]" ("[[anus]]"/"[[wretch]]"); unrelated sense "[[donkey]]"/"idiot" is ''[[ass]]'' in both. Both forms are found in Canada and Australia. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:barmy|barmy]] || [[wikt:balmy|balmy]] || In sense "slightly insane", "crazy", "foolish",<ref>Peters, p. 63.</ref> which has limited currency in American English. Both forms originated in 19th century England from other senses: ''barmy'' meant "frothing [as of beer]"; ''balmy'' means "warm and soft [as of weather]". British ''barmy'' is generally misheard in North America as ''balmy''. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:behove|behove]] || [[wikt:behoove|behoove]] || |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:bogeyman|bogeyman]] || [[wikt:boogeyman|boogeyman]] || The spoken form is pronounced {{IPAEng|ˈboʊgiːˌmæn}} ("BOH-ghi-man") in the UK, so that the US form, [[wikt:boogeyman|boogeyman]], is reminiscent of 1970s [[disco dancing]] to the UK ear.{{clarifyme|post-text=—[[American and British English spelling differences#Bogeyman/boogeyman|talk]]}} |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:carburettor|carburettor]] || [[wikt:carburetor|carburetor]] || British pronunciation {{IPAEng|ˌkɑːbəˈɹɛtə(ɹ)}}; US {{IPAEng|ˈkɑɹbəˌɹeɪtɚ}}. Canada spelling and pronunciation as US. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:charivari|charivari]] || [[wikt:shivaree|shivaree]], [[wikt:charivari|charivari]] || In the US, where both terms are mainly regional,<ref>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. [http://www.bartleby.com/61/27/S0352700.html]</ref> ''charivari'' is usually pronounced as ''shivaree'', which is also found in Canada and [[Cornwall]],<ref>OED, ''shivaree''</ref> and is a corruption of the French word. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:coupé|coupé]] || [[wikt:coupe|coupe]] || For a two-door car; the horse-drawn carriage is ''coupé'' in both; unrelated "cup"/"bowl" is always ''coupe''. In the US, the E is accented when used as a foreign word. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:eyrie|eyrie]] || [[wikt:aerie|aerie]] || Rhyme with ''weary'' and ''hairy'' respectively. Both spellings and pronunciations occur in the US. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:fillet|fillet]] || [[wikt:fillet|fillet]], [[wikt:filet|filet]] || Meat or fish. Pronounced the French way (approximately) in the US, even if the word is spelled fillet. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:furore|furore]] || [[wikt:furor|furor]] || ''Furore'' is a late 18th-century Italian loan that replaced the Latinate form in the UK in the following century,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''furore''.</ref> and is usually pronounced with a voiced ''e''. Canada as US, Australia has both.<ref>Peters, p. 221.</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:grotty|grotty]] || [[wikt:grody|grody]] || [[clipping (morphology)|Clippings]] of ''grotesque''; both are slang terms from the 1960s.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''Grotty; Grody''</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:haulier|haulier]] || [[wikt:hauler|hauler]] || Haulage contractor; ''haulier'' is the older spelling.<ref>Peters, p. 242</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:moustache|moustache]] || [[wikt:mustache|mustache]] || In the US, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary, the British spelling is an also-ran, yet the pronunciation with second-syllable stress is a common variant. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:mum|mum]](my) || [[wikt:mom|mom]](my) || Mother. ''Mom'' is sporadically regionally found in the UK ([[West Midlands English]]); some British dialects have ''mam'',<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''mom'' and ''mam''</ref> and this is often used in Irish and Welsh English. In the US region of New England, especially in the case of the [[Boston accent]], the British pronunciation of ''mum'' is often retained, while it is still spelt ''mom''. Canada has ''mom'' and ''mum''; in Australia, ''mum'' is used. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:naivety|naivety]] || [[wikt:naiveté|naiveté]], [[wikt:naïveté|naïveté]] || The American forms are from French, ending {{IPA|[-'eɪ]}}; the British form is nativised, ending {{IPA|[-i]}}. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:pernickety|pernickety]] || [[wikt:persnickety|persnickety]] || ''Persnickety'' is a late 19th-century North American alteration of the Scottish word ''pernickety''.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''persnickety''</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:quin|quin]] || [[wikt:quint|quint]] || Abbreviations of ''[[quintuplet]]''. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:scallywag|scallywag]] || [[wikt:scalawag|scalawag]] || In the US (where the word originated, as ''scalawag''),<ref>Peters, p. 487</ref> ''scallywag'' is not unknown.<ref>In ''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', ''scalawag'' is lemmatized without alternative, while ''scallawag'' and ''scallywag'' are defined by cross-reference to it; all of them are marked as originally American.</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:snigger|snigger]] || [[wikt:snicker|snicker]] || According to major dictionaries, both forms can occur in both dialects, although ''snigger'' can cause offense in the US due to the similarity to ''[[wikt:nigger|nigger]]''. |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:speciality|speciality]] || [[wikt:specialty|specialty]] || In British English the standard usage is ''speciality'', but ''specialty'' occurs in the field of [[medicine]],<ref>See, for example, the November 2006 [[British Medical Association|BMA]] document entitled [http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFselectionspecialtytraining/$FILE/SelectionSpecialtyTraining.pdf Selection for Specialty Training]</ref> and also as a legal term for a [[contract]] under seal. In Canada, ''specialty'' prevails; in Australia both are current.<ref>Peters, p. 510.</ref> |-- valign="top" | [[wikt:titbit|titbit]] || [[wikt:tidbit|tidbit]] || |} ==Latin-derived spellings== ===''-our'', ''-or''=== Most words ending in unstressed ''-our'' in the United Kingdom (''e.g.'', ''[[wikt:colour|colour]]'', ''[[wikt:flavour|flavour]]'', ''[[wikt:honour|honour]]'', ''[[wikt:armour|armour]]'', [[wikt:rumour|rumour]]) end in ''-or'' in the United States (''i.e.'', ''[[wikt:color|color]]'', ''[[wikt:flavor|flavor]]'', ''[[wikt:honor|honor]]'', ''[[wikt:armor|armor]]'', [[wikt:rumor|rumor]]). Where the vowel is [[vowel reduction in English|unreduced]], this does not occur: ''contour'', ''paramour'', ''troubadour'', are spelled thus everywhere. Most words of this category derive from Latin non-agent nouns having nominative ''-or''; the first such borrowings into English were from early [[Old French]] and the ending was ''-or'' or ''-ur''.<ref>Webster's Third, p. 24a.</ref> After the [[Norman Conquest]], the termination became ''-our'' in [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]] in an attempt to represent the Old French pronunciation of words ending in ''-or'',<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''colour, color''.</ref> though ''color'' has been used occasionally in English since the fifteenth century.<ref name="SOED_1987">{{cite book |editor=Onions, CT |title=The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary |origyear=1933 |accessdate=2008-04-09 |edition=Third Edition (1933) with corrections (1975) |year=1987 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |language=English |isbn=0 19 861126 9 |pages=370}}</ref> The ''-our'' ending was not only retained in English borrowings from [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]], but also applied to earlier French borrowings.<ref>Webster's Third, p. 24a.</ref> After the [[Renaissance]], some such borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original ''-or'' termination; many words once ending in ''-our'' (for example, ''chancellour'' and ''governour'') now end in ''-or'' everywhere. Many words of the ''-our/-or'' group do not have a Latin counterpart; for example, ''armo(u)r'', ''behavio(u)r'', ''harbo(u)r'', ''neighbo(u)r''; also ''[[Arbor (garden)#Arbour|arbo(u)r]]'' meaning "shelter", though senses "[[tree]]" and "[[tool]]" are always ''[[arbor]]'', a [[false cognate]] of the other word. Some 16th and early 17th century British scholars indeed insisted that ''-or'' be used for words of Latin origin (e.g. ''color''<ref name="SOED_1987" />) and ''-our'' for French loans; but in many cases the etymology was not completely clear, and therefore some scholars advocated ''-or'' only and others ''-our'' only.<ref>Peters, p. 397.</ref> Webster's 1828 dictionary featured only ''-or'' and is generally given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the US. By contrast, Dr Johnson's 1755 dictionary used the ''-our'' spelling for all words still so spelled in Britain, as well as for ''emperour'', ''errour'', ''governour'', ''horrour'', ''tenour'', ''terrour'', and ''tremour'', where the ''u'' has since been dropped. Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform, but selected the version best-derived, as he saw it, from among the variations in his sources: he favoured French over Latin spellings because, as he put it, "the French generally supplied us."<ref>Johnson 1755 — preface</ref> Those English speakers who began to move across the Atlantic would have taken these habits with them and [[H L Mencken]] makes the point that, "''honor'' appears in the Declaration of Independence, but it seems to have got there rather by accident than by design. In Jefferson’s original draft it is spelled ''honour''. "<ref>{{cite book | last = Mencken | first = H L | authorlink = H L Mencken | coauthors = | title = The American Language | publisher = Knopf | date = 1919 | location = New York | pages = | url = http://www.bartleby.com/185/32.html | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> Examples such as ''[[wikt:color|color]]'', ''[[wikt:flavor|flavor]]'', ''[[wikt:behavior|behavior]]'', ''[[wikt:harbor|harbor]]'', or ''[[wikt:neighbor|neighbor]]'' scarcely appear in the Old Bailey's court records from the 17th and 18th century, whereas examples of their ''-our'' counterparts are numbered in thousands.<ref>{{cite web | last = Staff | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674–1913 | work = | publisher = Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield | date = | url = http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-19}}</ref> One notable exception is ''honor'': ''honor'' and ''honour'' were equally frequent down to the 17th century,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''honour, honor''.</ref> ''Honor'' still is, in the UK, the normal spelling as a person's name. '''Derivatives and inflected forms'''. In derivatives and inflected forms of the ''-our/or'' words, in British usage the ''u'' is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable to English words (''[[wikt:neighbourhood|neighbourhood]]'', ''[[wikt:humourless|humourless]]'', ''[[wikt:savoury|savoury]]'') and suffixes of Greek or Latin origin that have been naturalized (''[[wikt:favourite|favourite]]'', ''[[wikt:honourable|honourable]]'', ''[[wikt:behaviourism|behaviourism]]''); before Latin suffixes that are not freely attachable to English words, the ''u'' can be dropped (''[[wikt:honorific|honorific]]'', ''[[wikt:honorist|honorist]]'', ''[[wikt:vigorous|vigorous]]'', ''[[wikt:humorous|humorous]]'', ''[[wikt:laborious|laborious]]'', ''[[wikt:invigorate|invigorate]]''), can be either dropped or retained (''colo(u)ration'', ''colo(u)rize''), or can be retained (''[[wikt:colourist|colourist]]'').<ref>Webster's Third, p. 24a.</ref> In American usage, derivatives and inflected forms are built by simply adding the suffix in all environments (''[[wikt:favorite|favorite]]'', ''[[Basic taste#Savouriness|savory]]'', etc.) since the ''u'' is absent to begin with. '''Exceptions'''. American usage in most cases retains the ''u'' in the word ''[[wikt:glamour|glamour]]'', which comes from Scots, not Latin or French; ''[[wikt:saviour|saviour]]'' is a common variant of ''[[wikt:savior|savior]]'' in the US. The British spelling is very common for "honour" (and "favour") on [[wedding invitation]]s in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |title=Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to the New Manners for the '90s: A Complete Guide to Etiquette |first=Letitia |last=Baldrige |authorlink=Letitia Baldrige |date=1990 |publisher=Rawson |pages=p.214 |isbn=0-892-56320-6 }}</ref> The [[Space Shuttle Endeavour|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'']] has a ''u'' as it is named after [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]'s ship, [[HM Bark Endeavour|HMS ''Endeavour'']]. The name of the herb ''[[savory (herb)|savory]]'' is thus spelled everywhere, although the probably related adjective ''savo(u)ry'', like ''savour'', has a ''u'' in the UK. ''Honor'' (the name) and ''arbor'' (the tool) have ''-or'' in Britain, as mentioned above. As a general noun, ''[[rigour]]'' ({{IPAEng|ˈrɪgə(ɹ)}}) has a ''u'' in the UK; the medical term ''[[rigor (medicine)|rigor]]'' (often {{IPAEng|ˈraɪgɔː(ɹ)}}) does not. '''Commonwealth usage'''. Commonwealth countries normally follow British usage. In Canada ''-or'' endings are not uncommon, particularly in the [[Prairie Provinces]], though they are rarer in Eastern Canada.<ref>Peters, p. 397.</ref> In Australia, ''-or'' terminations enjoyed some use in the 19th century, and now are sporadically found in some regions,<ref>Peters, p. 397.</ref> usually in local and regional newspapers, though ''-our'' is almost universal. The name of the [[Australian Labor Party]], founded in 1891, is a remnant of this trend. ===''-re'', ''-er''=== In British usage, some words of French, Latin, or Greek origin end with a consonant followed by ''-re'', with the ''-re'' unstressed and pronounced {{IPA|/ə(ɹ)/}}. Most of these words have the ending ''-er'' in the US. The difference is most common for words ending ''-bre'' or ''-tre'': British spellings ''[[theatre]]'', ''[[goitre]]'', ''[[litre]]'', ''[[lustre]]'', ''[[mitre]]'', ''[[nitre]]'', ''reconnoitre'', ''[[saltpetre]]'', ''spectre'', ''[[center (disambiguation)|centre]]'', ''[[titer|titre]]''; ''[[caliber|calibre]]'', ''[[fiber|fibre]]'', ''[[sabre]]'', and ''sombre'' all have ''-er'' in American spelling. The ending ''-cre'', as in ''acre'', ''lucre'', ''massacre'', ''mediocre'', is preserved in American English, to indicate the ''c'' is pronounced {{IPA|/k/}} rather than {{IPA|/s/}}. After other consonants, there are not many ''-re'' endings even in British English: ''[[louver|louvre]]'', ''[[manoeuvre]]'' after ''-v-''; ''[[meagre]]'', ''ogre'' after ''-g-''; ''[[euchre]]'', ''[[ochre]]'', ''[[sepulchre]]'' after ''-ch-''. In the US, ''ogre'' and ''euchre'' are standard; ''manoeuvre'' and ''sepulchre'' are usually ''maneuver'' and ''sepulcher''; and the other ''-re'' forms listed are variants of the equivalent ''-er'' form. The ''e'' preceding the ''r'' is retained in US derived forms of nouns and verbs, for example, ''fibers'', ''reconnoitered'', ''centering'', which are, naturally, ''fibres'', ''reconnoitred'' and ''centring'' respectively in British usage. It is dropped for other inflections, for example, ''central'', ''fibrous'', ''spectral''. However such dropping cannot be regarded as proof of an ''-re'' British spelling: for example, ''entry'' derives from ''enter'', which has not been spelled ''entre'' for centuries. The difference relates only to root words; ''-er'' rather than ''-re'' is universal as a suffix for agentive (''reader'', ''winner'') and comparative (''louder'', ''nicer'') forms. One consequence is the British distinction of ''[[meter]]'' for a [[measuring instrument]] from ''[[metre]]'' for [[metre|the unit of measurement]]. However, while [[Meter (poetry)|poetic metre]] is often ''-re'', [[pentameter]], [[hexameter]], etc. are always ''-er''. '''Exceptions.''' Many other words have ''-er'' in British English. These include Germanic words like ''anger'', ''mother'', ''timber'', ''water'',<ref>Although ''acre'' was spelled ''æcer'' in Old English and ''aker'' in [[Middle English]], the ''acre'' spelling of [[Middle French]] was introduced in the 15th Century. Similarly, ''loover'' was respelled in the 17th Century by influence of the unrelated [[Louvre]]. (see OED, s.v. ''acre'' and ''louvre'')</ref> and Romance words like ''danger'', ''quarter'', ''river''. Some ''-er'' words, like many ''-re'' words, have a [[cognate]] in [[Modern French]] spelled with ''-re'': among these are ''chapter'', ''December'', ''diameter'', ''disaster'', ''enter'', ''letter'', ''member'', ''minister'', ''monster'', ''number'', ''oyster'', ''powder'', ''proper'', ''sober'', ''tender'', ''filter''. ''[[Theater]]'' is the prevailing American spelling and is used by [http://www.kennedy-center.org/ America's national theater] as well as major American newspapers such as [http://theater.nytimes.com/pages/theater/index.html the New York Times (theater section)] to refer to both the dramatic arts as well as to buildings where performances take place; yet ''theatre'' is also current (especially in the Northeastern United States), witness [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and ''[http://www.newyorker.com The New Yorker]''. Some places in the United States have "Centre" [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SpellingVarieties/British&American.htm] )in their names (i.e. [[Rockville Centre]], [[New York]]), named both before and after spelling reform, and there are very occasional uses of "Center" in the UK. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}. For British ''accoutre(ment)'', US practice varies: Merriam-Webster favours the ''-re'' spelling,<ref> [http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=accouter accoutre]</ref> American Heritage the ''-er'' spelling.<ref> [http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/A0044600.html accouter]</ref> More recent French [[loanword]]s retain an ''-re'' spelling in American English. These are not exceptions when a French-style pronunciation is used ({{IPA|/ɹ(ə)/}} rather than {{IPA|/ɚ/}}), as with ''double-entendre'', ''genre'', or ''oeuvre''. However, the unstressed {{IPA|/ɚ/}} pronunciation of an ''-er'' ending is used more or less frequently with some words, including ''cadre'', ''macabre'', ''maître d''', [[Notre Dame]], ''[[piastre]]'', and ''timbre''. '''Commonwealth usage'''.<ref>Peters, p. 461.</ref> The ''-re'' endings are standard throughout the Commonwealth. The ''-er'' spellings are recognized, as minor variants, only in Canada. ===''-ce'', ''-se''=== Nouns ending in ''-ce'' with ''-se'' verb forms: American English and British English both retain the noun/verb distinction in ''[[advice]]'' / ''[[advise]]'' and ''device'' / ''[[devise]]'', but American English has abandoned the distinction with ''[[licence]]'' / ''[[license]]'' and ''practice'' / ''practise'' (where the two words in each pair are [[homophone]]s) that British spelling retains. American English uses ''practice'' and ''license'' for both meanings. Also, American English has kept the Anglo-French spelling for ''[[defense]]'' and ''[[offense]]'', which are usually ''[[defence]]'' and ''[[offence]]'' in British English; similarly there are the American ''[[pretense]]'' and British ''[[pretence]]''; but derivatives such as ''[[defensive]]'', ''[[offensive]]'', and ''[[pretension]]'' are always thus spelled in both systems. ===''-xion'', ''-ction''=== The spellings ''[[connection|connexion]]'', ''[[inflection|inflexion]]'', ''[[deflection|deflexion]]'', ''[[reflection|reflexion]]'', ''[[genuflexion]]'' are now somewhat rare in everyday British usage, but are not used at all in the US: the more common ''connection'', ''inflection'', ''deflection'', ''reflection'', ''genuflection'' have almost become the standard internationally. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' the older spellings are more etymologically conservative, since these four words actually derive from Latin forms in ''-xio-''. The US usage derives from [[Noah Webster|Webster]] who discarded ''-xion'' in favour of ''-ction'' for analogy with such verbs as ''connect''.<ref>1989 ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]:connexion, connection.''</ref> ''Connexion'' has found preference again amongst recent British government initiatives such as [[Connexions]] (the national careers and training scheme for school early leavers). Until the early 1980s, ''[[The Times]]'' of [[London]] also used ''connexion'' as part of its house style.<ref>{{cite book |last=Howard |first=Philip |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The State of the Language — English Observed |year=1984 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |isbn= }}</ref> It is still used in legal texts and British [[Methodism]] retains the eighteenth century spelling ''connexion'' to describe its national organization, for historical reasons. In both forms, ''complexion'' (which comes from the stem ''complex'') is standard and ''complection'' is not.<ref>{{Citation | first = | last = | author-link = | first2 = | last2 = | author2-link = | editor-last = | editor-first = | editor2-last = | editor2-first = | contribution = | contribution-url = | title =The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:complection | year =2000 | pages = | place =New York | publisher =Houghton Mifflin | url =http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=col61&query=complection&x=0&y=0 | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-12}}</ref> However, the adjective ''complected'' (as in "dark-complected"), although sometimes objected to, can be used as an alternative to ''complexioned'' in the US,<ref>{{Citation | first = | last = | author-link = | first2 = | last2 = | author2-link = | editor-last = | editor-first = | | editor2-first = | contribution = | contribution-url = | title =The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:complected | year =2000 | pages = | place =New York | publisher =Houghton Mifflin | url =http://www.bartleby.com/61/86/C0528600.html | doi = | accessdate = 2007-05-12}}</ref> but is quite unknown in this sense in the UK, although there is an extremely rare usage to mean ''complicated'' (''OED''). Note, however, that ''crucifiction'' is an error in either form of English; ''[[crucifixion]]'' is the correct spelling. ==Greek-derived spellings== ===''-ise'', ''-ize''=== American spelling accepts only ''-ize'' endings in most cases, such as ''[[organize]]'', ''[[recognize]]'', and ''[[realize]]''. British usage accepts both ''-ize'' and the more French-looking ''-ise'' (''[[organise]]'', ''[[recognise]]'', ''[[realise]]''). The ''-ize'' spelling is preferred by some authoritative British sources including the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' — which, until recently, did not list the ''-ise'' form of many words, even as an alternative — and ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage]]''. The OED firmly deprecates this usage, stating, "[T]he suffix…, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr[eek] ''-ιζειν'', L[atin] ''-izāre''; and, as the pronunciation is also with ''z'', there is no reason why in English the special French spelling in ''-iser'' should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic."<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''-ize''.</ref> Noah Webster rejected ''-ise'' for the same reasons.<ref>Hargraves, p. 22.</ref> Despite these denouncements, however, the ''-ize'' spelling is now rarely used in the UK in the mass media and newspapers, and is often incorrectly regarded as an Americanism<ref>{{cite web |date=2006 | url = http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk | title = ''Are spellings like 'privatize' and 'organize' Americanisms?'' | publisher = AskOxford.com }} </ref>. The ''-ise'' form is used by the British government and is more prevalent in common usage within the UK today; the ratio between ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' stands at 3:2 in the [[British National Corpus]].<ref>Peters, p. 298</ref> The [[Oxford spelling|OED spelling]] (which can be indicated by the registered [[IANA language tag]] '''en-GB-oed'''), and thus ''-ize'', is used in many British-based academic publications, such as ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the ''[[Biochemical Journal]]'' and ''[[The Times Literary Supplement]]''. In Australia and New Zealand ''-ise'' spellings strongly prevail; the Australian ''[[Macquarie Dictionary]]'', among other sources, gives the ''-ise'' spelling first. The ''-ise'' form is preferred in Australian English at a ratio of about 3:1 according to the ''Macquarie Dictionary''. Conversely, Canadian usage is essentially like American.<ref>Peters, p. 298.</ref> Worldwide, ''-ize'' endings prevail in scientific writing and are commonly used by many international organisations<!-- (such as the [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] and the [[WHO]]). The [[European Union]] uses ''ise'' in their English language publications, though the [[EU]] may, even on a [http://europa.eu/abc/eurojargon/index_en.htm single page], show "organized" but "publicise" as well…-->. The same pattern applies to derivatives and [[inflection]]s such as ''[[colonisation]]''/''[[colonization]]''. Some verbs ending in ''-ize'' or ''-ise'' do not derive from Greek ''-ιζειν'', and their endings are therefore not interchangeable; some verbs take the ''-z-'' form exclusively, for instance ''capsize'', ''seize'' (except in the legal phrase ''to be [[seised]] of''/''to stand seised to''), ''size'' and ''prize'' (only in the "appraise" sense), whereas others take only ''-s-'': ''[[advertise]]'', ''[[advise]]'', ''[[apprise]]'', ''[[arise]]'', ''[[chastise]]'', ''[[circumcise]]'', ''[[incise]]'', ''[[excise]]'', ''[[comprise]]'', ''[[compromise]]'', ''[[demise]]'', ''[[despise]]'', ''[[devise]]'', ''[[disguise]]'', ''[[exercise]]'', ''[[franchise]]'', ''[[improvise]]'', ''[[merchandise]]'', ''[[revise]]'', ''[[supervise]]'', ''[[surmise]]'', ''[[surprise]]'', and ''[[televise]]''. Finally, the verb ''[[prise]]'' (meaning to force or lever) is spelt ''prize'' in the US<ref>“prize.” ''Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.'' Merriam-Webster, 2002. Also, “prize.” ''Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.''</ref> and ''[[prise]]'' everywhere else,<ref>According to ''Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.'': ''prise'' is “chiefly Brit var of PRIZE”.</ref> including Canada,<ref>Peters, p. 441</ref> although in North American English ''pry'' (a back-formation from or alteration of ''prise'') is often used in its place.<ref>Peters, p. 446.</ref> ====''-yse'', ''-yze''==== The distribution of ''-yse'' and ''-yze'' endings, as in ''analyse'' / ''analyze'', is different: the former is British, the latter American. Thus, UK ''[[analyse]]'', ''[[catalyse]]'', ''[[hydrolyse]]'', ''[[paralyse]]''; US ''[[analyze]]'', ''[[catalyze]]'', ''[[hydrolyze]]'', ''[[paralyze]]''. However, ''analyse'' was commonly spelled ''analyze'' from the first — the spelling preferred by Samuel Johnson; the word, which came probably from French ''analyser'', on Greek analogy would have been ''analysize'', from French ''analysiser'', from which ''analyser'' was formed by [[haplology]].<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''analyse, -ze, v.'' [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50007899?query_type=word&queryword=analyse&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=2&search_id=7gvQ-NMAtlc-2599&hilite=50007899]. Retrieved </ref> In Canada, ''-yze'' prevails; in Australia, ''-yse'' stands alone. Unlike ''-ise/-ize'', neither of the endings has any resemblance to the Greek original ending. The Greek verb from which the word ''λύσις'' (lysis) (and thus all its compound words) derives, is ''λύειν'' (lyein). ===''-ogue'', ''-og''=== Some words of Greek origin, a few of which derive from Greek ''λόγος'', can end either in ''-ogue'' or in ''-og'': ''analog(ue)'', ''catalog(ue)'', ''dialog(ue)'', ''demagog(ue)'', ''pedagog(ue)'', ''monolog(ue)'', ''homolog(ue)'', etc. In the UK (and generally in the Commonwealth), the ''-ogue'' endings are the standard. In the US, ''catalog'' has a slight edge over ''catalogue''<ref>Both the [http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary] and [[American Heritage Dictionary]] have ''catalog'' as the main [[headword]] and ''catalogue'' as an equal variant.</ref> (note the inflected forms, ''cataloged'' and ''cataloging'' vs. ''catalogued'' and ''cataloguing''); ''analog'' is standard for the adjective, but both ''analogue'' and ''analog'' are current for the noun; in all other cases the ''-gue'' endings strongly prevail,<ref>Peters, p. 236.</ref> except for such expressions as ''[[dialog box]]'' in computing, which are also used in the UK. Finally, in Canada and Australia as well as the US ''analog'' has currency as a technical term<ref>Peters, p. 36.</ref> (e.g. in electronics, as in "analog computer" and many video game consoles might have an ''analog stick''). ===Simplification of ''ae'' (''æ'') and ''oe'' (''œ'') === Many words are written with ''ae'' or ''oe'' in British English, but a single ''e'' in American English. The sound in question is {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (or unstressed {{IPA|/ə/}}). Examples (with non-American letter in '''bold'''): ''[[anemia|an'''a'''emia]]'', ''[[anesthesia|an'''a'''esthesia]]'', ''[[cesium|c'''a'''esium]]'', ''[[diarrhea|diarrh'''o'''ea]]'', ''[[gynecology|gyn'''a'''ecology]]'', ''[[hemophilia|h'''a'''emophilia]]'', ''[[leukemia|leuk'''a'''emia]]'', ''[[esophagus|'''o'''esophagus]]'', ''[[estrogen|'''o'''estrogen]]'', ''[[orthopedic|orthop'''a'''edic]]'', ''[[pediatric|p'''a'''ediatric]]''. Words where British usage varies include ''[[encyclopedia|encyclop'''a'''edia]]'', ''[[fetus|f'''o'''etus]]'' (though the British medical community deems this variant unacceptable for the purposes of journal articles and the like, since the Latin spelling is actually ''[[fetus]]''), ''[[homeopathy|hom'''o'''eopathy]]'', ''[[medieval|medi'''a'''eval]]''. In American usage, ''[[aesthetics]]'' and ''[[archaeology]]'' prevail over ''[[esthetics]]'' and ''[[archeology]]'',<ref>Peters, p. 20.</ref> while ''[[oenology]]'' is a minor variant of ''[[enology]]''. The [[History of the Greek language#Ancient Greek dialects|Ancient Greek]] [[diphthong]]s &lt;αι&gt; and &lt;οι&gt; were [[transliteration|transliterated]] into [[Latin]] as [[Æ|<ae>]] and [[Œ|<oe>]]. The [[ligature (typography)|ligature]]s æ and œ were introduced when the sounds became [[monophthong]]s, and later applied to words not of Greek origin, in both Latin (for example, ''cœli'') and French (for example, ''œuvre''). In English, which has imported words from all three languages, it is now usual to replace ''Æ/æ'' with ''Ae/ae'' and ''Œ/œ'' with ''Oe/oe''. In many cases, the digraph has been reduced to a single ''e'' in all varieties of English: for example, '''''o'''economics'', ''pr'''a'''emium'', and '''''a'''enigma''.<ref>Webster's Third, p. 23a.</ref> In others, it is retained in all varieties: for example, ''[[Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]'', and usually ''subpoena''.<ref> {{cite book |title=The Columbia Guide to Standard American English |chapter=subpoena, subpena (n., v.) |isbn=0231069898 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/68/ |chapterurl=http://www.bartleby.com/68/6/5806.html |accessdate=2007-11-08 |first=Kenneth G. |last=Wilson |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=1993 |location=[[New York City|New York]] }} </ref> This is especially true of names: ''[[Caesar (disambiguation)|Caesar]]'', ''[[Oedipus]]'', ''Phoebe'', etc. There is no reduction of [[Latin declension#First declension|Latin -ae plurals]] (e.g. ''larv'''ae'''''); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from the Greek-style ligature: for example, ''[[maelstrom]]'', ''toe''. British ''[[fixed-wing aircraft|aeroplane]]'' is an instance (compare other ''aero-'' words such as ''[[aerosol]]''). The now chiefly North American ''airplane'' is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled on ''[[airship]]'' and ''aircraft''. ''Airplane'' dates from 1907,<ref>Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, ''airplane''.</ref> at which time ''aero-'' was trisyllabic, often written ''aëro-''. '''Commonwealth usage'''. In Canada, ''e'' is usually preferred over ''oe'' and often over ''ae'' as well; in Australia and elsewhere, the spellings with just ''e'' are increasingly used.<ref>Peters, p. 20, p. 389.</ref> ''Manoeuvre'' is the only spelling in Australia and the most common one in Canada, where ''maneuver'' and ''manoeuver'' are also sometimes found.<ref>Peters, p. 338.</ref> In Canada, ''oe'' and ''ae'' are used occasionally in the academic and science communities. Internationally, the American spelling is closer to the way most languages spell such words; for instance, almost all [[Romance language]]s (which tend to have more [[phonemic]] spelling) lack the ''ae'' and ''oe'' spellings (a notable exception is [[French language|French]]), as do [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and others, while [[Dutch language|Dutch]] uses them ("ae" is rare and "oe" is the normal representation of the sound {{IPA2|u}}, while written "u" represents either the sound ''y'' or ''{{IPA|ʏ}}'' in IPA). [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Norwegian Language|Norwegian]] retain the original ligatures. [[German language|German]], through [[Umlaut (diacritic)|umlaut]]s, retains its equivalent of the ligature, for when written without the umlaut, words resemble the British usage (i.e. ''ä'' becomes ''ae'' and ''ö'' becomes ''oe''). Similarly, [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] uses "é" as a replacement for "ae" (although it becomes "e" sometimes), and the special character "ő" (sometimes "ö") for "oe". ==Compounds and hyphens== British English often prefers hyphenated compounds, such as ''[[counter-attack]]'', whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, so ''[[counterattack]]'' is much more common. Many dictionaries do not point out such differences. Canadian and Australian usage is mixed, although Commonwealth writers generally hyphenate compounds of the form noun plus phrase (such as ''[[editor-in-chief]]'').<ref>Peters, p. 258</ref> * ''any more'' or ''anymore'': In sense "any longer", the single-word form is usual in North America and Australia but unusual in the UK, at least in formal writing.<ref>Peters, p. 41.</ref> Other senses always have the two-word form; thus Americans distinguish "I couldn't love you anymore [so I left you]" from "I couldn't love you any more [than I already do]". * ''for ever'' or ''forever'': Traditional British usage makes a distinction between ''for ever'', meaning for eternity (or a very long time), as in "I have been waiting for you for ever", and ''forever'', meaning continually, always, as in "They are forever arguing".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''for ever''.</ref> In contemporary British usage, however, ''forever'' prevails in the "for eternity" sense as well,<ref>[http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/forever AskOxford: forever]. Retrieved [[24 June]] [[2008]]. Cf. Peters, p. 214.</ref> in spite of several style guides maintaining the distinction.<ref>For example, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986724.ece The Times], [http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,,184825,00.html The Guardian], [http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=738537 The Economist]. Retrieved [[24 June]] [[2008]].</ref> American writers usually use ''forever'' in all senses. ==Doubled consonants== ===Doubled in British English=== The final consonant of an English word is sometimes doubled when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. Generally this occurs only when the word's final syllable ends with a single vowel followed by a single consonant, and the syllable is stressed; but in British English, a final ''-l'' is often doubled even when the final syllable is unstressed.<ref>Peters, p. 309.</ref> This exception is no longer usual in American English, apparently because of Noah Webster.<ref>Cf. Oxford English Dictionary, ''traveller, traveler''.</ref> The ''-ll-'' spellings are nonetheless still regarded as acceptable variants by both Merriam-Webster Collegiate and American Heritage dictionaries. * The British English doubling is required for all inflections (''-ed'', ''-ing'', ''-er'', ''-est'') and for noun suffixes ''-er'', ''-or''. Therefore, British ''counsellor'', ''cruellest'', ''modelling'', ''quarrelled'', ''signalling'', ''traveller''; American usually ''counselor'', ''cruelest'', ''modeling'', ''quarreled'', ''signaling'', ''traveler''. **''parallel'' keeps a single ''-l-'' in British English, as in American English (''paralleling'', ''unparalleled''), to avoid a cluster ''-llell-''. ** Words with two vowels before ''l'' are covered where the first either acts as a consonant (Br ''equalling'', ''initialled''; US usually ''equaling'', ''initialed'') or belongs to a separate syllable (Br ''fu•el•ling'', ''di•alled''; US usually ''fu•el•ing'' ''di•aled'') *** The distinction applies to ''victualler''/''victualer'' in spite of the irregular pronunciation {{IPAEng|ˈvɪtlə(ɹ)}} *** British ''woollen'' is a further exception (US ''woolen''); also, ''wooly'' is accepted in America though ''woolly'' dominates in both.<ref>Peters, p. 581</ref> * Endings ''-ize''/''-ise'', ''-ism'', ''-ist'', ''-ish'' usually do not double the ''l'' in British English: ''normalise'', ''dualism'', ''novelist'', ''devilish'' **Exceptions: ''tranquillise''; ''duellist'', ''medallist'', ''panellist'', sometimes ''triallist'' *For ''-ous'', British English has a single ''l'' in ''scandalous'' and ''perilous'', but two in ''marvellous'' and ''libellous''. * For ''-ee'', British English has ''libellee''. * For ''-age'' British English has ''[[pupillage]]'' but ''[[vassal]]age''. * American English has unstressed ''-ll-'', as in the UK, in some words where the root has ''-l''. These are cases where the alteration occurs in the source language, often Latin. (Examples: ''bimetallism'', ''cancellation'', ''chancellor'', ''crystallize'', ''excellent'', ''tonsillitis'') * But both dialects have ''compelled'', ''excelling'', ''propelled'', ''rebelling'' (notice the stress difference); ''revealing'', ''fooling'' (double vowel before the l); ''hurling'' (consonant before the l). * Canadian and Australian English largely follow British usage.<ref>Peters, p. 309.</ref> Among consonants other than ''l'', practice varies for some words, such as where the final syllable has [[secondary stress]] or an unreduced vowel. In the US, the spellings ''kidnaped'' and ''worshiped'', introduced by the [[Chicago Tribune]] in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/chicago2.php |title=Errant Spelling: Moves for simplification turn Inglish into another langwaj |publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=1997-06-08 |pages=Section 3A page 14 |accessdate=2007-03-17 |first=Eric |last=Zorn }}</ref> are common alongside ''kidnapped'' and ''worshipped'', the only standard British spellings. Miscellaneous: * British ''calliper'' or ''caliper''; American ''caliper''. * British ''jewellery''; American ''jewelry''. The standard pronunciations (UK {{IPAEng|ˈdʒuː(ə)lri}}, US {{IPAEng|ˈdʒu(ə)lri}})<ref>''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'', [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=42648&ph=on jewellery UK, US jewelry]</ref> do not reflect this difference. According to Fowler, ''jewelry'' used to be the "rhetorical and poetic" spelling in the UK. Canada has both, but ''jewellery'' is most used. Likewise, Commonwealth (including Canada) has ''jeweller'' and US has ''jeweler'' for a jewel(le)ry retailer. ===Doubled in American English=== Conversely, there are words where British writers prefer a single ''l'' and Americans usually use a double ''l''. These include ''wil(l)ful'', ''skil(l)ful'', ''thral(l)dom'', ''appal(l)'', ''fulfil(l)'', ''fulfil(l)ment'', ''enrol(l)ment'', ''instal(l)ment''. In the UK ''ll'' is used occasionally in ''distil(l)'', ''instil(l)'', ''enrol(l)'' and ''enthral(l)ment'', and often in ''enthral(l)''. Former spellings ''instal'', ''fulness'', and ''dulness'' are now rare.<ref>Peters, p. 283</ref> The Scottish ''[[tolbooth]]'' is cognate with ''[[toll booth]]'', but has a specific distinct sense. The preceding words have monosyllabic cognates always written with ''-ll'': ''will'', ''skill'', ''thrall'', ''pall'', ''fill'', ''roll'', ''stall'', ''still''. Comparable cases where a single ''l'' occurs in American English include ''full''→''useful'', ''handful''; ''all''→''almighty'', ''altogether''; ''null''→''annul'', ''annulment''; ''till''→''until''; ''well''→''welfare'', ''welcome''; ''chill''→''chilblain''; and others where the connection is less transparent. Note that British ''fulfil'' and American ''fulfill'' are never ''fullfill'' or ''fullfil''. Dr Johnson wavered on this issue; his dictionary of 1755 lemmatizes ''distil'' and ''instill'', ''downhil'' and ''uphill''.<ref>Peters, p. 501.</ref> ==Dropped e== British English sometimes keeps silent ''e'' when adding suffixes where American English does not. * British prefers ''ageing'',<ref>Peters, p. 22.</ref> American usually ''aging'' (compare ''raging'', ''ageism''). UK often ''routeing'';<ref>Peters, p. 480. Also [[National Routeing Guide]]</ref> US usually ''routing'' (for ''route''; ''rout'' makes ''routing'' everywhere). Both systems retain the silent ''e'' in ''dyeing'', ''singeing'', ''swingeing'', to distinguish from ''dying'', ''singing'', ''swinging''. In contrast, ''bathe'' and the British ''bath'' both form ''bathing''. UK often ''whingeing'', US less so; ''whinge'' is chiefly British. Both systems vary for ''tinge'' and ''twinge''; both prefer ''cringing'', ''hinging'', ''lunging'', ''syringing''. * Before ''-able'', UK prefers ''likeable'', ''liveable'', ''rateable'', ''saleable'', ''sizeable'', ''unshakeable'',<ref>[[British National Corpus]]</ref> where US prefers to drop the ''-e''; <!-- borderline: ''tradeable'', ''smokeable'', ''driveable'', ''shareable'' --> but UK as US prefers ''breathable'', ''curable'', ''datable'', ''lovable'', ''movable'', ''notable'', ''provable'', ''quotable'', ''scalable'', ''solvable'', ''usable'',<ref>[[British National Corpus]]</ref> and those where the root is polysyllabic, like ''believable'' or ''decidable''. Both systems retain the silent ''e'' when necessary to preserve a soft ''c'', ''ch'', or ''g'', as in ''traceable'', ''cacheable'', ''changeable''; both retain ''e'' after ''-dge'', as in ''knowledgeable'', ''unbridgeable''. * Both ''abridgment'' and the more regular ''abridgement'' are current in the US, only the latter in the UK.<ref>Peters, p. 7</ref> Similarly for ''lodg(e)ment''. Both ''judgment'' and ''judgement'' can be found everywhere, although the former strongly prevails in the US and the latter prevails in the UK<ref>Peters, p. 303.</ref> except in law, where ''judgment'' is standard. Similarly for ''abridgment''. Both prefer ''[[fledgling]]'' to ''fledgeling'', but ''[[ridgeling]]'' to ''ridgling''. *The informal Briticisms ''[[wikt:en:moreish|moreish]] (causing a desire for more of something)'' and ''[[wikt:en:blokeish|blokeish]]''<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/blokeish?view=uk |title=[[Concise Oxford English Dictionary|Concise OED]] |chapter=blokeish |accessdate=2007-04-10}}</ref> usually retain ''e''; more established words like ''slavish'' and ''bluish'' usually do not. ==Different spellings, different connotations== * '''''artefact'' or ''artifact''''': In British usage, ''artefact'' is the main spelling and ''artifact'' a minor variant.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''artefact''.</ref> In American English, ''artifact'' is the usual spelling. Canadians prefer ''artifact'' and Australians ''artefact'', according to their respective dictionaries.<ref>Peters, p. 49.</ref> * '''''dependant'' or ''dependent''''': British dictionaries distinguish between ''dependent'' (adjective) and ''dependant'' (noun). In the US, ''dependent'' is usual for both noun and adjective, notwithstanding that ''dependant'' is also an acceptable variant for the noun form in the US.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dependant Merriam-Webster Online.] (Accessed [[December 30]], [[2007]])</ref> * '''''disc'' or ''disk''''': Traditionally, ''disc'' used to be British and ''disk'' American. Both spellings are etymologically sound (Greek ''diskos'', Latin ''discus''), although ''disk'' is earlier. <!--Needs to be cleaned up & expanded-->In computing, ''disc'' is used for optical discs (e.g. a CD, [[Compact Disc]]; [[DVD]], Digital Versatile/Video Disc) while ''disk'' is used for products using magnetic storage (e.g. floppy disk and hard disk; short for diskette).<ref>{{cite web | last =Howarth | first =Lynne C | authorlink = | coauthors = and others | title ="Executive summary" from review of "International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources" | work = | publisher =American Library Association | date =[[1999-06-14]] | url =http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/aacrer/tf-harm21.htm | format = | doi = | accessdate =2007-04-30 }}</ref> For this limited application, these spellings are used in both the US and the Commonwealth. * '''''enquiry'' or ''inquiry''''':<ref>Peters, p. 282.</ref> According to Fowler, ''inquiry'' should be used in relation to a formal inquest, and ''enquiry'' to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; the OED, on the other hand, lists ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' as equal alternatives, in that order. Some British dictionaries, such as ''Chambers 21st Century Dictionary'' [http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry], present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but prefer ''inquiry'' for the "formal inquest" sense. In the US, only ''inquiry'' is commonly used. In Australia, ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' are often interchangeable, but ''inquiry'' prevails in writing. Both are current in Canada, where ''enquiry'' is often associated with scholarly or intellectual research. * '''''ensure'' or ''insure''''': In the UK (and Australia), the word ''ensure'' (to make sure, to make certain) has a distinct meaning from the word ''insure'' (often followed by ''against'' &ndash; to guarantee or protect against, typically by means of an "insurance policy"). The distinction is only about a century old,<ref>Peters, p. 285</ref> and this helps explain why in (North) America ''ensure'' is just a variant of ''insure'', more often than not. According to Merriam-Webster's usage notes, ''ensure'' and ''insure'' “are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or [making] inevitable of an outcome, but ''ensure'' may imply a virtual guarantee <the government has ''ensured'' the safety of the refugees>, while ''insure'' sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand <careful planning should ''insure'' the success of the party><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ensure Merriam-Webster Online.] (Accessed [[December 30]], [[2007]])</ref> * '''''matt'' or ''matte''''': In the UK, ''matt'' refers to a non-glossy surface, and ''matte'' to the [[matte (filmmaking)|motion-picture technique]]; in the US, ''matte'' covers both.<ref>Peters, p. 340.</ref> * '''''programme'' or ''program''''': The British ''programme'' is a 19th-century French version of ''program'', which first appeared in Scotland in the 17th century and is the only spelling found in the US. The OED entry, written around 1908 and listing both spellings, said ''program'' was preferable, since it conformed to the usual representation of the Greek as in ''anagram'', ''diagram'', ''telegram'' etc. In British English, ''program'' is the common spelling for computer programs<!-- towards the end of the 20th century, but ''programme'' is now frequent in this sense and increasingly used by newspapers and magazines. For-->, but for other meanings ''programme'' is used. In Australia, ''program'' has been endorsed by government style for all senses since the 1960s,<ref>Peters, p. 443.</ref> although ''programme'' is also common; see also the name of ''[[The Micallef Program#Name changes|The Micallef Program(me)]]''. In Canada, ''program'' prevails, and the [[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]] makes no meaning-based distinction between it and ''programme''; many Canadian government documents use ''programme'' in all senses of the word also to match the spelling of the French equivalent.<ref>Peters, p. 443.</ref> Compare also ''meter/metre'', for which an older English written distinction between etymologically related forms with different meanings once existed, but was obviated in the regularization of American spellings. ==Acronyms and abbreviations== [[Proper noun|Proper name]]s formed as [[acronym#Nomenclature|proper acronym]]s are often rendered in [[title case]] by Commonwealth writers, but usually as [[upper case]] by Americans: for example, ''[[NASA|Nasa / NASA]]'' or ''[[UNICEF|Unicef / UNICEF]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,,184844,00.html |title=The Guardian Stylebook |first=David |last=Marsh |publisher=Atlantic Books |date=[[July 14]] 2004 |accessdate=2007-04-09 |isbn=1843549913 |quote=acronyms: take initial cap: Aids, [[Individual Savings Account|Isa]], [[Ipsos MORI|Mori]], Nato }}</ref> This does not apply to most [[initialism]]s, such as ''[[United States of America|USA]]'' or ''[[HTML]]''; though it is occasionally done for some, such as PC ([[Policing in the United Kingdom|Police Constable]]).<ref>See for example {{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6513829.stm |title=Pc bitten on face in Tube attack |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |date=2007-03-31 |accessdate=2007-04-09}}</ref> [[Contraction (grammar)|Contraction]]s, where the final letter is present, are often written in British English without stops/periods (''Mr'', ''Mrs'', ''Dr'', ''St''). [[Abbreviation]]s where the final letter is not present generally do take stops/periods (such as ''vol.'', ''etc.'', ''ed.''); British English shares this convention with French: ''Mlle'', ''Mme'', ''Dr'', ''Ste'', but ''M.'' for ''Monsieur''. In American English, abbreviations like ''St.'', ''Mr.'', ''Mrs.'', and ''Dr.'' always require stops/periods. ==Miscellaneous spelling differences== {|class="wikitable sortable" ! UK !! US !! class="unsortable"|Remarks |-- valign="top" |adze || adze, adz || |-- valign="top" |annexe || annex || To ''annex'' is the verb in both British and American usage; however, when speaking of ''an annex(e)'' – the noun referring to an extension of a main building, not military conquest, which would be ''annexation''–, it is usually spelled with an ''-e'' at the end in the UK, but in the US it is not. |-- valign="top" |axe || ax, axe || Both noun and verb. The two-letter form is more etymologically conservative (the word comes from [[Old English]] ''æx''). |-- valign="top" |camomile, chamomile || chamomile, camomile || In the UK, according to the OED, "the spelling ''cha-'' is chiefly in pharmacy, after Latin; that with ''ca-'' is literary and popular". In the US ''chamomile'' dominates in all senses. |-- valign="top" |cheque || check || In [[bank]]ing. Hence ''pay cheque'' and ''paycheck''. Accordingly, the North American term for what is elsewhere known as a ''current account'' or ''cheque account'' is spelled ''chequing account'' in Canada and ''checking account'' in the US. Some US financial institutions, notably [[American Express]], prefer ''cheque''. |-- valign="top" |chequer || checker || As in ''chequerboard''/''checkerboard'', ''chequered''/''checkered flag'', etc. Canada as US.<ref>Peters, p. 104.</ref> |-- valign="top" |cosy || cozy || In all senses (adjective, noun, verb). |-- valign="top" |cipher, cypher|| cipher || Both spellings are quite old. |-- valign="top" |doughnut|| doughnut, donut || In the US, both are used with ''donut'' indicated as a variant of ''doughnut''.<ref> [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/donut ''Merriam-Webster Online''.] (Accessed [[January 1]], [[2008]])</ref> In the UK, ''donut'' is indicated as a US variant for ''doughnut.''<ref>[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=23452&dict=CALD ''Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary''.] (Accessed [[1 January]] [[2008]])</ref> |-- valign="top" |draught || draft || The UK usually uses ''draft'' for all senses as a verb;<ref> {{cite book |chapterurl=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/draught |title=[[Concise Oxford English Dictionary|Concise OED]] |chapter=draught |accessdate=2007-04-01 }} </ref> for a preliminary version of a document; for an order of payment ([[bank draft]]), and for [[military conscription]] (although this last meaning is not as common as in American English). It uses ''draught'' for drink from a cask ([[draught beer]]); for animals used for pulling heavy loads ([[draught horse]]); for a current of air; for [[Draft (hull)|a ship's minimum depth of water to float]]; and for the game ''[[draughts]]'', known as ''checkers'' in the US. It uses either ''draught'' or ''draft'' for a plan or sketch (but almost always ''draughtsman'' in this sense; a ''draftsman'' drafts legal documents). The US uses ''draft'' in all these cases (although in regard to drinks, ''draught'' is sometimes found<!-- one might say "affected for connotative marketing effect"-->). Canada uses both systems; in Australia, ''draft'' is used for technical drawings, is accepted for the "current of air" meaning, and is preferred by professionals in the nautical sense.<ref>Peters, p. 165.</ref> The pronunciation is always the same for all meanings within a dialect (RP {{IPA|/drɑ:ft/}}, General American {{IPA|/dræft/}}). The spelling ''draught'' is older; ''draft'' appeared first in the late 16th century.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''draught''.</ref> |-- valign="top" |gauntlet || gauntlet, gantlet || When meaning "ordeal", in the phrase ''[[running the gauntlet|running the ga(u)ntlet]]'', some American [[style guide]]s favor ''gantlet''.<ref> {{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Modern American Usage |first=Bryan A. |last=Garner |page=p.313 |isbn=0195078535 |location=[[New York City|New York]] |date=1998 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|OUP]] }} </ref> This spelling is unused in Britain<ref> {{cite book |chapterurl=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gauntlet_2?view=uk |title=Concise OED |chapter=gauntlet<sup>2</sup> }}</ref> and less usual in America than ''gauntlet''. The word is an alteration of earlier ''gantlope'' by [[folk etymology]] with [[gauntlet (gloves)|gauntlet ("armored glove")]], always spelled thus. |-- |glycerine || glycerin, glycerine || Scientists use the term [[glycerol]]. |-- valign="top" |grey || gray || ''Grey'' became the established British spelling in the 20th century, ''[[List_of_Latin_phrases_%28P%E2%80%93Z%29#P|pace]]'' Dr. Johnson and others,<ref>Peters, p. 235</ref> and is but a minor variant in American English, according to dictionaries. Canadians tend to prefer ''grey''. Non-cognate ''[[greyhound]]'' is never ''grayhound''. |-- valign="top" |jail, gaol || jail || In the UK, ''gaol'' and ''gaoler'' are used, apart from literary usage, chiefly to describe a mediaeval building and guard. |-- valign="top" |kerb || curb || For the noun designating the edge of a roadway (or the edge of a [UK] pavement/[US] sidewalk/[Australia] footpath). ''Curb'' is the older spelling, and in the UK as in the US is still the proper spelling for the verb meaning ''restrain''.<ref>[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081856.html tiscali.reference]. Retrieved on [[2007-03-10]].</ref> Canada as US. |-- valign="top" |liquorice || licorice || ''Licorice'' prevails in Canada and is common in Australia, but is rarely found in the UK; ''liquorice'', which has a [[folk etymology]] cognate with ''liquor'',<ref>{{cite book | last =Ernout | first =Alfred | authorlink =:fr:Alfred Ernout | coauthors =[[:fr:Antoine Meillet|Meillet, Antoine]] | title =Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine | publisher =Klincksieck |date=2001 | location =Paris | pages =p362 | url = | doi = | id = ISBN 2252033592 }}</ref> is all but nonexistent in the US. ("chiefly British", according to dictionaries).<ref>Peters, p. 321.</ref> |-- |mollusc || mollusk, mollusc || The related adjective is normally ''molluscan'' in both. |-- |mould || mold || In all senses of the word. In Canada both have wide currency.<ref>Peters, p. 360</ref> |-- |moult || molt || |-- |neurone, neuron || neuron || |-- valign="top" |omelette || omelet, omelette || ''Omelette'' prevails in Canada and Australia. The shorter spelling is older, despite the etymology (French ''omelette'').<ref>Peters, p. 392.</ref> |-- valign="top" |-- | phoney || phony || Originally an Americanism, this word made its appearance in Britain during the [[Phoney War]].<ref> Oxford English Dictionary, ''phoney, phony''</ref> |-- valign="top" |-- | pyjamas || pajamas || Pronounced {{IPA|/-'dʒɑːməz/}} in the UK, {{IPA|/-'dʒɑməz/}} or {{IPA|/-'dʒæməz/}} in the US. Canada has both.<ref>Peters, p. 449.</ref> |-- |per cent || percent || |-- valign="top" |plough || plow || Both date back to Middle English; the OED records several dozen variants. In the UK, ''plough'' has been the standard spelling for about three centuries.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''plough, plow''.</ref> Although ''plow'' was Webster's pick, ''plough'' continued to have currency in the US, as the entry in ''Webster's Third'' (1961) implies; newer dictionaries label ''plough'' "chiefly British". The word ''snowplough''/''snowplow'', originally an Americanism, predates Webster's reform and was first recorded as ''snow plough''. Canada has both ''plough'' and ''plow'',<ref>Peters, p. 230.</ref> although ''snowplough'' is much rarer than ''snowplow''. |-- valign="top" |rack and ruin || wrack and ruin || Several words "rack" and "wrack" have been conflated, with both spellings thus accepted as variants for senses connected to torture (orig. ''[[rack (torture)|rack]]'') and ruin (orig. ''wrack'', cf. ''wreck'')<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980420 Maven's word of the day: rack/wrack]</ref> In "(w)rack and ruin", the W-less variant is now prevalent in the UK but not the US.<ref>[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=65102&dict=CALD Cald Rack]</ref> |-- valign="top" |sceptic (-al, -ism) || skeptic (-al, -ism) || The American spelling, akin to Greek, preferred by Fowler, and used by many Canadians, is the earlier form.<ref>Peters, p. 502.</ref> ''Sceptic'' also pre-dates the settlement of the US and follows the French ''sceptique'' and Latin ''scepticus''. In the mid-18th century Dr Johnson's dictionary listed ''skeptic'' without comment or alternative but this form has never been popular in the UK;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''sceptic, skeptic''.</ref> ''sceptic'', an equal variant in ''Webster's Third'' (1961), has now become "chiefly British". Australians generally follow British usage. All are pronounced with a hard "c", though in French the letter is effectively silent and so confusible with ''septique''. |-- valign="top" |storey || story || Level of a building. Note also the differing plural, ''storeys'' vs ''stories'' respectively. |-- valign="top" |sulphur || sulphur, sulfur || ''Sulfur'' is the international standard in the sciences (IUPAC), and is supported by the UK's [[Royal Society of Chemistry|RSC]].<ref>[http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=AN9921700001&JournalCode=AN Royal Society of Chemistry 1992 policy change]</ref> ''Sulphur'' was preferred by Johnson, is still used by British and Irish scientists and is still actively taught in British and Irish schools, prevails in Canada and Australia, and is also found in some American place names (e.g., [[Sulphur Springs, Texas]] and [[Sulphur, Louisiana]]). AmE usage guides suggest ''sulfur'' for technical usage, and both ''sulphur'' and ''sulfur'' in common usage.<ref>“The spelling ''sulfur'' predominates in United States technical usage, while both ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' are common in general usage. British usage tends to favor ''sulphur'' for all applications. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from ''sulfur''.” Usage Note, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulphur ''Merriam-Webster Online'']. (Accessed [[January 1]], [[2008]])</ref><ref>The contrasting spellings of the chemical elements '''Al''' and '''S''' mean that the American spelling ''aluminum sulfide'' becomes ''aluminum sulphide'' in Canada, and as ''aluminium sulphide'' in older UK usage.</ref> |-- valign="top" |tyre || tire || The outer lining of a wheel, which contacts the road or rail and may be metal or rubber. Canada as US. ''Tire'' is the older spelling, but both were used in the 15th and 16th centuries (for a metal tire); ''tire'' became the settled spelling in the 17th century but ''tyre'' was revived in the UK in the 19th century for pneumatic tyres, possibly because it was used in some patent documents,<ref>Peters, p. 553.</ref> though many continued to use ''tire'' for the iron variety. [[The Times]] newspaper was still using ''tire'' as late as 1905. |-- valign="top" |vice || vise || The [[vise (tool)|two-jaw tool]]. Americans (and Canadians) retain a medieval distinction between ''vise'' (the tool) and ''vice'' (the sin and the Latin prefix meaning "deputy"), both of which are ''vice'' in the UK (and Australia).<ref>Peters, p. 556.</ref> |-- valign="top" |yoghurt, yogurt || yogurt || ''Yoghurt'' is an ''also''-ran in the US, as ''yoghourt'' is in the UK. Although Oxford Dictionaries have always preferred ''yogurt'', in current British usage ''yoghurt'' seems to be preferred. In Canada ''yogurt'' prevails, despite the Canadian Oxford preferring ''yogourt'', which has the advantage of being bilingual, English and French.<ref>Peters, p. 587. ''Yogourt'' is an accepted variant in French of the more normal [[Standard French]] ''yaourt''.</ref> Australia as the UK. Whatever the spelling, the word has different pronunciations in the UK {{IPA|/jɒ-/}} (or {{IPA|/jəʊ-/}}) and the US. {{IPA|/joʊ-/}}. Australia as US with regard to pronunciation. The word comes from the [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''yoğurt''.;<ref>[http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yogurt Merriam-Webster Online – Yogurt entry]</ref> the [[voiced velar fricative]] represented by [[G-breve|ğ]] in the [[Turkish alphabet|modern Turkish (Latin) alphabet]] was traditionally written ''gh'' in [[romanization of Arabic|romanization]]s of the [[Ottoman Turkish alphabet|Ottoman Turkish (Arabic) alphabet]] used before 1928. |} ==See also == *[[American and British English differences]] *[[American and British English pronunciation differences]] *[[Canadian English]] *[[English orthography]] (spelling) *[[List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom]] *[[List of British words not widely used in the United States]] *[[List of words having different meanings in British and American English]] *''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' == References == {{refbegin}} *Burchfield, R. W. (Editor); Fowler, H. W. (1996). ''The New Fowler's Modern English Usage''. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-869126-2 *Fowler, Henry; Winchester, Simon (introduction) (2003 reprint). ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Oxford Language Classics Series)''. Oxford Press. ISBN 0-19-860506-4. *Hargraves, Orin (2003). ''Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515704-4 * {{Citation | last=Mencken | first=H. L. | author-link=H. L. Mencken | year=1921 | chapter= Chapter 8. American Spelling > 1. The Two Orthographies | chapter-url=http://www.bartleby.com/185/31.html | title=The American language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States, | edition=2nd ed., rev. and enl. | publication-place=New York | publisher=A.A. Knopf | isbn =1-58734-087-9 | url=http://www.bartleby.com/185/}} *Nicholson, Margaret; (1957). "A Dictionary of American-English Usage Based on Fowler's Modern English Usage". Signet, by arrangement with Oxford University Press. *''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 20 vols. (1989) Oxford University Press. * {{cite book | last = Peters | first = Pam | year = 2004 | title = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | id = ISBN 0-521-62181-X }} *''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary]]'' (1961; repr. 2002) Merriam-Webster, Inc. {{refend}} ==External links== * [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation/WordSubstitution Word substitution list], by the [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation Ubuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team] *[http://www.ritter.org.uk/ Hart's Rules] *[http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ ''The Chicago Manual of Style''] *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/0,,184913,00.html ''The Guardian style guide''] == Notes == {{reflist|3}} [[Category:American and British English differences|Spelling]] [[Category:English spelling]] [[id:Perbedaan bahasa Inggris Britania dan bahasa Inggris Amerika]]