Differences in the spelling of British and American words

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’.

@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.

Perhaps Sheckley visited my part of Wales to get his idea, where it’s extremely common to finish a sentence with “mun”.

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?

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.

While I don’t have a dog in this fight, insulting other posters in this forum(General Questions) is forbidden.

samclem General Questions Moderator

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

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:

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.

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 relicense at a licence 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.

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.

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).