# I don't recognise, realise, sanitise or sterilise. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2000, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903 "2000-12-31T16:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/21 "2001-01-02T15:06:38Z")
Here’s a list of the differences between British and American spellings. [http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html](http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html) Memorize them. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2001, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/22 "2001-01-02T16:59:19Z")
I read a book, ‘Elements of Email Style’ it said those who pick on other’s spelling on the Internet are called ‘net weinies’… ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/23 "2001-01-03T01:30:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aschrott \* > \*\* > If anything, I did not make my point clear. It is my understanding- \- that British usage keeps sentence punctuation that is not part of the originally quoted material **outside** of the quotation, whereas American usage moves the sentence puncuation **inside** the quote. My example, while unlikely to score creativity (or even grammar) points, does illustrate that. > \*\* I apologise, **aschrott**. I missed the relocated comma, and mistakenly thought you had written the same identicial phrase twice. Sorry! I _entirely_ withdraw my mild slur upon your editorial capabilities, which was only meant in a 🙂 way in the first place. I would say you are correct about the Brit convention. We regard the quote marks as demarcating the words that were spoken, and any punctuation applicable to those words. Having said that, I doubt Brits are at all consistent in the way they apply this or any other grammatical rule or convention. By and large, the only people capable of speaking or writing UK English correctly are those who learned it as a foreign language. The indigenous population (with rare exceptions) are useless. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/24 "2001-01-03T02:04:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > … those who pick on other’s spelling on the Internet are called ‘net weinies’… \*\* Or perhaps “wienies”. 🙂 Only joking. Keep it fluffy. ---
**Author:** ![MattTheCroc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MattTheCroc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattTheCroc)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/25 "2001-01-03T05:17:11Z")
Here in Australia I can generally get away with writing the words any damned way I want to. 🙂 I browsed through that list and reali **s** ed that I spelled some of the things the British way, and other British spellings just look horrible. 🙂 It’s so much fun to have a wishy-washy country. But yes, it really is a little bit pedantic to pick up on people for minor spelling variations. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Moss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doc\_Moss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Moss)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/26 "2001-01-03T06:07:06Z")
handy Member Registered: Mar 1999 Posts: **7952**!! WHAT ?! That’s an error, right? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/27 "2001-01-03T12:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doc Moss \* > \*\*handy > Member > > Registered: Mar 1999 > Posts: **7952**!! > > WHAT ?! That’s an error, right?\*\* Yes this is an error. He actually has **more** posts than that. We suspect that Handy was one of the first people to receive the cerebral cortex wireless modem implant during Ronald Regan’s Star Wars defense project. Since they no longer need him to be on the ready to launch ICBMs, he just spends most of his day posting to message boards using only the power of his will. ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/28 "2001-01-04T16:37:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Rocognise [_sic_] is a real word, maybe you need a new dictionary… > > …just because it was leanrt [_sic_] in school? > > 1. That, any time I came across a Brittish [_sic_]"-ise" in my American English textbook > **Handy** : I use [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com), one of your perennial favorites. When entering _Recognise_, it finds **Recognize**. I’ll change dictionaries if you do. > > …when certain words don’t appear in reference volumes then I begin to ask questions. > \*\* First part of the quote…point taken? Second part: anything that ends with “dot com” is **not** a “reference volume.” Try anything in print first, try the OED, try _Bubba Bob’s Dicktyonarie of the Aenglash Langwage_ if you must. But also get a sense of history and understand that we Colonists have bastardized (note the Z–I’m a Yank) the language unrecognizably (again the Z) in places. Tell me, though, Jingo-boy, is it “gray” or “grey”? How does one do a “putz” smilie? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/29 "2001-01-04T23:52:12Z")
Sheesh! You guys are worse than the folks in the .999… = 0 threads! Take it down a level or two please. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/30 "2001-01-05T00:55:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\*Sheesh! You guys are worse than the folks in the .999… = 0 threads! > > Take it down a level or two please. \*\* Silly Moderator, .9999 repeating = 1, not 0. 😉 Jman ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903/31 "2001-01-05T00:58:31Z")
D’0! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-recognise-realise-sanitise-or-sterilise/47903.md?page=1)