How do you spell gray? Grey or gray?

Neither is WRONG, remember...when in Rome...

The one that always amused me was the spelling for Aluminum...the Brits (my home country :-]) call it Aluminium *lol*

That's because it's called aluminium.
It was originally aluminum but it was changed in 1812 to conform with the ium suffix that was given to other elements.

I believe any country that uses English, Should use it properly and as intended. It's a great language, So seeing it bastardised before my eyes does causes offence.

So when in Rome, Be polite. Speak and spell Italian correctly.

One would think that there would be many more things in life that are far more deserving of your ire than how such a far off country "bastardizes" your home country's language. And my last trip to Manchester and Plymouth, had me witness many such examples of how even your own countrymen are quite adept at such verbal faux pas.

None of us are perfect, sir...but to take offense where none is intended is foolhardy and counter productive.


C.C.

I think the spoken language is subject to different rules. We have to take into account regional dialect, Trends and accents... The spoken differences add to language.

But with whatever part of the country you go to over here we all spell words the same, Even though the accents mean we say them differently. So there is no need to have multiple spellings of the same word if you claim to be speaking the same language.

What kind of person would i, A non French man be if i were to use French as my tongue, Change the spelling, And then claim i am correct?

I don't have anything in particular against other countries speaking English, Or even having it as their national language, More the merrier, But it would be nice if they were to use it correctly instead of trying to stamp ownership on it simply by leaving out a few letters.

For me to be in England and state that the word "color" is spelt correctly, would be wrong, and would likely be offensive to some such as yourself.

For you to be in the United States or Canada and angrily state that both countries are guilty of bastardizing the english language would be just as offensive and inappropriate.

Whether you like it or not, there are specific differences in the way that our countries spell certain words, these "americanised" versions of words (as was already pointed out) are embedded into such things as html code, if you wish to take offense at such usage, feel free, but harbouring such anger is akin to p*ssing into the wind off the bow of a ship, silly and quite frankly...useless.

C.C.

English is not my mother language, but i think the two words are different.

it seems Gray can be used as a surname, a verb

most of the time, i use grey.

So if it would be wrong for you to be in England and claim that the spelling of the English word colour was actually color, What makes it right in another country?
It's still the same language, It's still the same word.


It would be very impracticle to change the spelling used in code now, So i am happy to let that slide, But browsers should also support the correct spelling of "colour".
I don't like that i am forced to spell my native language incorrectly when setting an HTML attribute.

If there was a reason for these incorrect spellings, There would be no problem, Language evolves and it improves, But there is no reason for missing out letters. It serves absolutely no purpose what so ever.

But if you feel writing an extra "u" is too much for you, Feel free to use another language.

There should be some kind of campagne in America run by Americans who want to celebrate the English language and it's traditional spelling. Surely there must be some Americans who believe the correct spelling of words in the English language are how they are spelt in England. There are probably even some academics who insist on spelling it "colour", That's something i could see some American academics doing.

Technically, phoenetically speaking, colour and color are pronounced differently. Maybe that's why Brits have accents? lol

lol, I think this is a bit over the top to be honest. Please forgive us silly Americans and Canadians for changing a few minor details in the English language, but like Cold Canuck said:



I think that sums things up nicely.

Oh, and neat article Atno. Thanks!

I tend to agree, this went far enough off topic to warrant putting an end to this line of conversation.

If we were talking about the benefits or lack thereof, of UK english over US/Can english, as it affects web design, I could see it's worth.

But in this context, simply talking to get one's face wet while at sea is a bit silly.

Regards, eh...


C.C.

Well it makes sense that most non-English wouldn't get it, It's not your language that is being changed with no good reason by people who have adopted it as their national tongue. But like i say, If you don't like the correct spelling of our language feel free to use another.

The bottom line is, It's not yours to change. The Australians don't do it, The Scots don't do it, 75 countries and 2 billion people use English as their national language, One in four people on the planet can speak it fluently, they seem to get on ok with the spelling, so what makes you so special?

It wouldn't be so bad if people would just admit that "color" is incorrect. If i had put "color" in my English A-level i would have lost marks.
Search "color" at askoxford.com and you get two suggestions, Colour and multicoloured.
So you have to ask yourself. If the people who document English words say it's wrong, The remaining 74 countries who use English say it's wrong, How right can it really be when you are the only ones who do it?

Funny...if you'd have put "colour" in place of "color" in any of the exams I took while living in Canaduh, or in the U.S, of Eh...you'd still be right.

I guess we're just a little less possessive about something that none of us owns, hmmm?


*psssssssssssss*

Call me crazy, but I kinda feel like I'm looking at the back of a textbook where all the answers are when I read that.

I agree with meman 100%.

I think Cold Canuck is the 'one at sea' here

Feel free to, but I'm not the one who is unreasonably making demands that two large countries change the way they write a dozen or so words, just to satisfy some archaic sense of ownership of a language.
And by his own admission, he is less angered by the actual use of these words as by the idea that they would be considered "correct".

Sorry, but there are far more important things in life to get bent about.

Regards,


C.C.