# Differences in the spelling of British and American words **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413 "2006-06-04T22:16:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/61 "2006-06-09T12:10:35Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > a lot of people say ‘If I was you’ but that does not make it correct - it just places a metaphorical dunce’s cap on their head - one that is visible only to people who know better. No it doesn’t. It puts a big sign over your head saying ‘arrogant’. My use of “if I was you” comes from a particular local accent (and the remnants of the local dialect). I wouldn’t dream of telling any of my pupils that their everyday speech patterns are ‘incorrect’. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/62 "2006-06-09T13:03:45Z")
@Glee and Gorillaman Row your own boats, enjoy your lives @Glee, I have sown doubt in your mind @Gorillaman, I despair for your students, if you don’t set them arrogance as a hurdle, then they will not jump the first fence. Bright as a NAFFI candle springs to mind. It is truly impressive to meet canine intellects. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/63 "2006-06-09T13:11:50Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > … > But Robert Sheckley beat them to the punch, long ago. One of his short-shiorts from the 1950s featured an alien race whose language consisted (at the end of the story, anyway) of the word “mun”. > > At least no one ever worried about confusing the spellings. Perhaps Sheckley visited my part of Wales to get his idea, where it’s extremely common to finish a sentence with “mun”. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/64 "2006-06-09T13:26:58Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > @Gorillaman, I despair for your students, if you don’t set them arrogance as a hurdle, then they will not jump the first fence. What a strange comment, and one I don’t fully understand. You’re really saying that I should (falsely) tell them that the way they speak, that I speak, and that previous generations have spoken, is incorrect? Just to thicken their skins a bit? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/65 "2006-06-09T15:00:50Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > @Glee, I have sown doubt in your mind Actually no, you haven’t. You have failed to provide any evidence to support your sweeping assertions, ignored my cites, started by patronising and finished by insulting. You disappoint me. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/66 "2006-06-09T15:28:56Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > It is truly impressive to meet canine intellects. While I don’t have a dog in this fight, insulting other posters in this forum(General Questions) is forbidden. **samclem** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/67 "2006-06-09T18:56:42Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Re. “drily” - at first glance I’d have said that this was simply misspelled The word “re” is not an abbreviation. It is a Latin word meaning “in the matter of”, the ablative form of the word “res” (thing, piece of business) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/68 "2006-06-10T02:10:25Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > The word “re” is not an abbreviation. It is a Latin word meaning “in the matter of”, the ablative form of the word “res” (thing, piece of business) In English ‘re’ is just another a word: preposition FORMAL (especially in business letters) about; on the subject of: Re your communication of 15 February … [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=65682&dict=CALD](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=65682&dict=CALD) ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/69 "2006-06-10T10:34:43Z")
I think I am getting the hang of this. The objective appears to be to goad someone into looking irrational. A variation of bear baiting. The method is to contest the main point by suggesting that the person asserting one thing, is actually asserting a number of other things, in the hope that you’ll be able to divert them further from the main point. I also suspect tag team tactics, although multiple identities are more effective. Interesting, I had not expected that. I’ll be more wary in future. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/70 "2006-06-11T14:03:13Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > I think I am getting the hang of this. > > The objective appears to be to goad someone into looking irrational. > A variation of bear baiting. > > The method is to contest the main point by suggesting that the person asserting one thing, is actually asserting a number of other things, in the hope that you’ll be able to divert them further from the main point. > > I also suspect tag team tactics, although multiple identities are more effective. > > Interesting, I had not expected that. > I’ll be more wary in future. The purpose of this board is to fight ignorance. We like a cite to support your claims. There is a thriving sub-culture of amusing and interesting posts too. You started in this thread by saying ‘realize’ was right. I posed from 3 UK dictionaries ( Cambridge Online Dictionary, Chambers Online Dictionary and Oxford Online Dictionary) showing that ‘realise’ was used. You then told me ‘to check it out’. This is mildly irritating - you should offer your own evidence. Having welcomed you to the boards, I asked you for a cite that ‘realize’ was the current spelling. You quoted 40 and 74 year old dictionaries. (And so it went on - a poor debate) Later you repeated that I should look at a dictionary that I had already quoted, assumed patronisingly that I was younger than you and left a clear impression that we should accept everything you say without evidence. Then you resorted to insults. Now you claim there is a conspiracy to trap you. Yes, that’s how I love to spend my time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/71 "2006-06-11T14:33:33Z")
> [@FRDE](#): > > I also suspect tag team tactics, although multiple identities are more effective. > > Interesting, I had not expected that. > I’ll be more wary in future. Multiple identities are forbidden on this board(not that they don’t happen). If you ever suspect someone of that, please report it to a moderator. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/72 "2006-06-11T18:12:58Z")
To get back on track and talk about spelling. I thought I had just spotted and error in an offical document. It was for renewing a vehicle licence and the sentence that caught my eye was :- _To relicen **s** e at a licen **c** e issuing Post Office branch …_. I thought they’ve mixed up the British and American spelling. But after consulting my dictionary I saw they were correct. To quote :- _LICENSE - to grant a licence_ That’s a new one on me , I thought that to spell the word with an “s” instead of a “c” was the American way. But there is a different spelling for the noun and verb form of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/73 "2006-06-11T18:20:48Z")
I did spot a genuine spelling mistake today , on of all things the cover of the DVD given away in today’s \*Sunday Times \* :- _But her selfish determination may actually cause her to loose what she loves most._ Shame on you great newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413/74 "2006-06-11T18:42:32Z")
> [@Rayne Man](#): > > … But there is a different spelling for the noun and verb form of the word. Same thing also applies to “practise/practice”. If anyone needs an easy way to remember it, just think of the pattern of “advise” (verb) and “advice” (noun). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differences-in-the-spelling-of-british-and-american-words/359413.md?page=3)