There a few words spelt differently in the US than here that have really stopped me in my tracks. I thought I generally knew them. I initially thought they were typos, but they aren't.
We spell the word mould and the US spells it mold. I think that was Steve, or it could have been Travel Penguin. My spell checker must be set to Australian or British English as it does not like the mold spelling. That really did stop me in my tracks.
Just when you think you know them all, another turns up, ax instead of axe, as we spell the word. Thanks for that one Debby.
Lordy, then another has just turned up, balk and not baulk. That would be Steve again.
And yet another, as Jackie in Canada where British spellings are often followed, writes tires and not tyres.
I have no problem with different spellings, except when I don't already know them and they break my reading concentration and distract me.
Have you been surprised by some differences in spellings between English speaking countries?
And here is the answer to something long wondered about by me.
An ass and a donkey are terms often used interchangeably to refer to the same animal, while a mule is a hybrid offspring produced by crossing a male donkey (jack) with a female horse (mare). It is understandable that these terms can become confused with each other since they are all similar in some ways. Moreover, many people use these terms incorrectly or differ according to culture.
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I resent blogger's attempts to get me to use American spelling. I did know about the difference between a mule and a donkey - though I don't remember when I last saw either of them.
ReplyDeleteEC, so do I, and other sites do too. Generally I am happy with British English as it is what I know and there should at least always be a choice between British and American or US English.
DeleteThe difference in spelling does break my reading concentration too as, in my head, I automatically pronounce the word as I see it on the page. So instead of favour (fayver) my mind sees favor (fayvorr) and so on. Quite distracting for my poor little brain.
ReplyDeleteJayCee, we probably see a lot more American English here and most alternative spellings don't grab me, aside from the ones I've mentioned. Fayvorr seems like as used in per favore.
DeleteAs an American I have the opposite problem. I see favour and I think fay voore.
DeleteLynn, it is funny how what are correct but different spellings can distract us.
DeleteThe spelling difference is surely what differentiates us from Americans. I remember the English teachers in high school always emphasised the spelling difference like the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteRoentare, it is interesting that you were taught both spellings. But then you being so young and all that...
DeleteYes, I resent being pushed into American spellings by my computer. I smiled at JayCee's reaction - that really must be disconcerting. I knew about mules and donkeys, though we seem to be led by donkeys here.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian one that stops me every time is 'thong'.
JB, I think we are led by jackasses here, but who knows what they are.
DeleteLanguage fascinates me no end. There is a Youtube content creator that covers this very issue on some of his episodes. It's called "Lost in the Pond".
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/@LostinthePond
And on that note, I'm reminded that Brits referring to television shows use the word "series" to denote what we here term a "season". Heh...
In my family, seasons are what you collect or watch to have or have seen the entire series.
DeleteThanks for the link Darla. I think we are more inclined to series than seasons, but I expect we use both. I've not noticed really.
DeleteRiver, the two words to me seem interchangeable and both are used here.
Delete:D
DeleteSome spelling preferences do not confuse the meaning of the sentences and I would accept them from students happily enough eg making a noun into a verb with a z instead of an s.
ReplyDeleteBut when the meaning is confused, I asked the students to correct their mistakes eg "I am sick to" instead of too. "Tyres" and "tires" have totally different meanings, for heaven's sake.
Hels, I will have to think about noun to verb by using Z and not S. To/too is pretty basic with a very clear way of knowing which to use. It can be expensive when a tyre tires out.
DeleteTV programme. Computer program.
ReplyDeleteThey are my rules too Tasker, and the same for disc and disk.
DeleteThis is true. Thanks for sharing. I set my computer to be American spelling most times.
ReplyDeleteYou can check out my new post.
Thank you
Thanks Melody. We should all have the option of choosing between at least two spellings.
DeleteI find it interesting but would be bothered if my computer automatically suggested I change my spelling to that of another country.
ReplyDeleteBob, it's not like it is a foreign language but it is best if things work for us as we know. Interestingly Australia uses American keyboards, which are somewhat different to English keyboards, aside from the basic a to z layout.
DeleteI often wonder why American's name their arses after donkeys.
ReplyDeleteNice work again Merlot.
DeleteMy old 80s dictionary and my newer thesaurus both have Balk, but neither has Baulk, so I use the balk spelling. I am so used to the differences now I just skim over them. The meaning is often made clear by the rest of the sentence.
ReplyDeleteRiver, do you have an Oxford dictionary to check? I am going to have to look at baulk some more. I suppose it was really mold that got me and sent me off to check the spelling of the word. I had no idea.
DeleteI'm more interested in vocab differences than spelling. I notice a lot of Australian fiction, especially if it is YA or a bit commercial, is edited for a US audience these days. Can't think of many examples off the top of my head - maybe "tenth grade" and yes, "flip-flops."
ReplyDeleteMC, I don't know the meaning of YA. I can cope with flip flops. Don't Kiwis say flip flops? We would write or say 'grade ten'?
DeleteYA = young adult. A trade term. eg Judy Blume, Robert Cormier. More since them. Surprised that as a former teacher it slipped past you.
DeleteKiwis have "jandals" or at least they did. Americanisation may have changed that, too.
DeleteMC, I wasn't a teacher, except for a few years as an unqualified English as a second language volunteer tutor.
DeleteKylie, thanks. I had forgotten that.
I couldn't stop laughing at sparkling merlin's comment above.
ReplyDeleteMarie, Merlot is quite a treat. English born, you know. Sniff.
DeleteI'm wordy fan.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on.
That's why we write Dora.
DeleteIn India we follow the British spellings. But because of the worldwide popularity of many US TV sops and movies, many people are using the American version.
ReplyDeleteWe were taught that Americans drop the 'u'. So that's known. But more tricky are words like lorry /truck, biscuit /cookie, sofa /couch etc.
One may be referring to the same thing but people who aren't familiar might think they are different.
Pradeep, even though English is one of your official languages, with cultural media influences as against your traditional use of English, makes it all the more hard.
DeleteI usually use British/Australian languge, I prefer it as I'm used to it.
ReplyDeleteI think I have my blog set to British English. Often I have to google words to get them right..
Margaret, one thing I've learnt is spell checker does not help your spelling.
Deletespell checker can be turned off, it's the first thing I do when I get a new laptop as well as set it to English. Go into your settings and look around until you find it.
DeleteSome folks I trapped for had an old mule. I had referred to that small field as lonely mule barn. That mule died. And they got a mustang who is gorgeous. then the mustang was lonely and they got a donkey. The donkey is a boy, and a very hormonal boy and the mustang is a girl. They plan to have another mule, you see. Lol.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, was the mule a bit of an ass? It all seems like interracial relationships to me.
DeleteYes quite an ass, I'll say, in more ways than one.
DeleteIt is a real minefield isn't it? Only today I ticked off young Steve for his American spelling of diarrhoea. He wrote diarrhea! I think that if you live in England you should follow English spelling rules - it is a question of good manners. By the way, Mold is the name of a small town in North Wales and it is spelt that way too. This is how Americans in red MAGA caps spell the name of your country - Horsetrailya!
ReplyDeleteYP, the diarrhoea word is difficult and given I never write it, I would have to check its spelling. We are very used to North Americans pronouncing the city where I live as 'Melborn' and not 'Melburn', with the correct emphasis on the first syllable.
DeleteSyllable emphasis confuses me when it comes to other countries towns or cities.
DeleteFor a short time I thought about studying linguistics, how culture shapes language and spelling is a part of that.
ReplyDeleteTP, I recently listened to a story about a theory that some languages impair basic intelligence. The theory was debunked. Quite an interesting subject.
DeleteBoy. I was WAY off. I called someone an ass and he only had two legs.
ReplyDeleteI feel very stupid.
Debby, I am sure you didn't make a donkey of yourself.
DeleteMy phone is set to British English, so when I send texts it "corrects" my American spellings to British ones! I suppose I could change it to American English but I don't bother. As far as I'm concerned both varieties are correct.
ReplyDeleteSteve, yes it isn't about right or wrong, just interesting differences.
DeleteOne problem I have is with double letters like in jeweller which spell correct doesn't like and wants to change to jeweler like the Americans spell it.
ReplyDeleteI use mould for growth on food and mold for a form to cast things in. That's just me though.
Pat, I became so used to reading jeweler (spell checker is unhappy with that) I started to doubt the way I spelt jeweller and I had to check I was correct. Interesting about your usage of mold, perhaps like programme and program.
DeleteI really enjoyed this post and comments!
ReplyDeleteI stick rigidly to British spellings (unless I get confused) And I am most especially particular about "gaol" even though I rarely write about gaol and "jail" is now accepted as correct English/ Australian.
Kylie, hopefully you don't mind me too much me spelling the word gaol as such. It was how I learnt to spell the word.
DeleteI wasn't very clear, gaol is the only correct way ;)
Delete