Spellings

[spencer]

With that being said I think the kids in America who use British spellings just to be all noncomformist is super douchy and annoying.

But I dunno if that's still a trend anymore. It was like 4 years ago. xD

So you are not wrong you are correct and someone is says you are wrong is wrong.

[Lilitu]

Everyone spelt everything wrong and I hate you.

Why are you awful. Is it because you're awful.

I'm not awful, look: characterise. Learnt. Foetus.

O.O

[Bowyn Aerrow]

As a kid I had a speech imped... imp... impediment... My fathers 'cure' was to send me to an English, English tutor.

As a result I picked up certain British habits such as spelling with endings of 're' instead of 'er'. Such as writing centre instead of center.

What has helped a lot to improve my 'writing skills' and stick with American English is that I use spell checker. Centre gets a red line under it, so when I accidentally write it 'centre' I go back and fix the 'error' and make it 'center'.

According to my English teacher in school my spelling mistakes were exactly that - mistakes. As such I got 'punished' at school, even though he knew that I was using British Spellings. He even called me a pompous ass for writing that way.

Another side effect of that tutor is I speak properly. Some people accuse me of having an 'English Accent'.

As for the way things are spelled differently. When the colonies were established in the 1600's, there were no real dictionaries in use. It was Mr Webster who got all upset over all of the different ways words were being spelled thus he decided to set about correcting the common man and wrote the first American English Dictionary. That was in 1806, around 200 years after the first English Settlers arrived and set up destroying the New World. I mean colonizing the new world....:eek:

English is a living language, meaning that because it is in constant use it is evolving, changing.

Take a familiar word: Gay. Over a century gay meant joyful. Thus when we sing Gay Apparel we are not talking rainbow shirts, leather, etc, we are talking about 'joyful' clothing. In the late 19th Century started taking on the homosexual overtones, 'gay' being used to describe a 'homosexual'.

Near the end of the 20th century gay has once again taken on a change, now it is a general negative, as in 'that car is gay' meaning that car is bad.

Spelling has kind of frozen since we started using dictionaries. Prior to the use of dictionaries, spelling changed from generation to generation. And the letters themselves have changes.

The letter f used to look more like the letter s, thus when reading an older manuscript such as what Chaucer would have written s's often are pronounced as f's.

If you have read Chaucer you will also find that there have been major changes n how words are spelled. http://molcat1.bl.uk/treasures/caxton/record.asp may be helpful.

As far as I'm concerned, writing the 'English' Style or writing the American style are both acceptable as long as the writer sticks to just one or the other forms.

[Blue]

^^ you mean I'm not the only one that needed a tutor to stop saying "s..spag...s-s-spagratti." :biggrin:

I do enjoy reading Chaucer, Beowulf and the like in Middle English.

It's interesting to see how much our language has changed over time. Even today it does it Hot = cool = righteous = rad = hip = neat , etc... depending on where and when we are talking about.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

^^ you mean I'm not the only one that needed a tutor to stop saying "s..spag...s-s-spagratti." :biggrin:

I do enjoy reading Chaucer, Beowulf and the like in Middle English.

It's interesting to see how much our language has changed over time. Even today it does it Hot = cool = righteous = rad = hip = neat , etc... depending on where and when we are talking about.

I wish ssspagratti was the only word.

I still 'stammer' when I'm emotionally high... And I lose track of words when I speak - so instead of saying, 'I need the bag of cement placed on the milk crate', I say something like 'I need the bag of grey stuff put on the orange plastic box.'

While I know my words, I don't know how to use them while I speak. Even writing I have to pause and wait for the word to show up. It's in there, just not wanting to come out.

I like old English/Middle English - its got a romantic feel to it.

[Blue]

^^ Oh, I do that too, either when I'm emotionally high, or before I've had my coffee in the morning.

Some will ask me "What are you looking for?"

I answer "The black thingy for this." Meaning the coffee measuring scoop and, holding up my french press coffee maker. Knowing the proper name of both and, for the life of me I can't say either.

One reason I'm a really good text based chatter box and, not so much in person or on the phone. There it's more "Uh -hu." Let you talk for five minutes "Yeah, I see that." another long silence from me. "No, I don't think so." then a week before my mind gets back to the topic and I honestly give you some feedback that might be useful.

Someone else that understands how to put the ssspagratti in the silver thing, then put that red stuff on it. :tongue:

[monk]

Oh, don't get me started on spelling. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!