Things I Like About America: Spelling
In which I flap on about things I like about America. Today? Spelling.
Ask any Brit and they'll tell you American spelling is the spawn of Satan and jolly well not right at all. I'd agree. But I consider myself a fairly lazy writer and wholeheartedly approve of any and all shortcuts to get words on paper. And America is every lazy writer's dream.
Americans seem to have a perpetual war on vowels. A war, quite frankly, that I can get behind. Those pesky buggers just take up far too much space in words anyway. Who can be arsed with them?
Take that letter a:
encyclopedia vs encyclopaedia
medieval vs mediaeval
And this letter e:
aging vs ageing
argument vs arguement
judgment vs judgement
Have it letter o:
maneuver vs manoeuvre
See ya letter u:
color vs colour
favorite vs favourite
honor vs honour
You see how much time I save on any given day right there alone?
America has also thankfully reversed the British trend of lets add extra letters to words because wouldn't that be fun. Again, I approve.
draft vs draught
plow vs plough
check vs cheque
program vs programme
They're onto something, those Americans. Spawn of Satan their spelling may be, but it sure saves time and effort.
I had absolutely no idea that "judgment" was valid. I have always used the 'e'.
It took one of you darn redcoats to tell me that.
*Gasp!* And you still call yourself British dear boy? ;o)
Do you really save time if you start by thinking "Right, I should not put tat vowel there."?
;-)
Just be warned that if you come up here to Canada we do a weird sort of amalgamation of the American and British spelling.
colour
but judgment (although I stick e's everywhere on account of my Frenchness.)
Manoeuvre just looks wrong without the 'o' ... LOL
brian... those bloody redcoats. Damn them.
penelope... of course I do. But I'm lazy too.
lesombre... I sure do. You wouldn't mate?
nat... wow, that's not confusing at all. Mind you I can talk, I still spell things the Britishy way sometimes and then the American way other times. My brain, it hurts.
You're being sarcastic right? You prefer our spelling over yours? If you do, I'd check your passport sir.
jake... only partially mate. Sometimes laziness trumps everything else.
While I'm thankful we try to make it easier, the English language, as a whole, sucks, be it British English or U.S. English.
kapgar... now I couldn't agree more with that mate.