Korean Job Discussion Forums

[essexboy]

OK, i have a grumble. It makes me mildly irritated every day i go onto microsoft word; i type up a paragraph, and i see "spelling mistakes" everywhere. I look closer at the words in question, and they are spelt differently in America. Why??????

For example:

grey - gray
colour - color
aluminium - aluminum

If it aint broke, dont fix it!

[butlerian]

Change your language setting from English (US) to English (UK). There are quite a few differences between them - I spent one lesson teaching the teachers about some of the differences.

[RACETRAITOR]

Spelling reform is an interesting topic. While I'm fully against it, I find it strange that the Americans decided to be progressive by eliminating unnecessary letters, but didn't have the balls to switch to the metric system.

[ChopChaeJoe]

I think Old Man Webster almost single-handedly changed the American style of spelling with his dictionary about 200 years ago. there wasn't much deciding by Americans about it. Most people couldn't read at that point. When they learn to read and writing, they start using a dictionary.

[SPINOZA]

I'm afraid this is the wrong forum matey.

However, whilst I'm a patriotic guy, I generally find American spelling changes in English to be for the better. It's emphasize for me and, yes, color, honor etc. If we think about it, it's most odd how 'u' is omitted in 'neighbor' yet that stupid 'gh' remains. Actually, I suspect the 'gh' is the next for the chop in American English and as they have no patriotic interest in the language, you can't really blame them for wanting to simplify it.

I don't particularly wish to go any further with the changes though, including 'gh'. All languages have stupid, difficult aspects to them that make little sense. Since I started to get into Korean more, I almost wanted to make wholesale changes to English (superfluous verbs the main gripe) but then I thought "fook it - English rocks!".

[essexboy]

whilst i want to become more Orwellian, i am still a traditionalist at heart. Gimme tea and scones on the lawn and we will have a right rollicking game of croquet wot!

[rabbitsaregood]

>OK, i have a grumble. It makes me mildly irritated every day i go onto >microsoft word; i type up a paragraph, and i see "spelling mistakes" >everywhere. I look closer at the words in question, and they are spelt >differently in America. Why??????

>For example:

>grey - gray

The American spelling is the original spelling. British English changed it I believe. Same with things like organize, British English used to involve a lot more zeds too. There are others too (eg connexion --> connection, chuze ---> choose) which were taken up by the Americans.

>colour - color

Several American guys wrote a dictionaries which had easier spelling. Color is supposed to be easier to spell. Others like tung (tongue) never happened.

>aluminium - aluminum

Americans can't talk properly so they had to change the spelling. If you think about it it makes no sense to take out the latin ending.

Generally I find American English more stuck in its ways, it doesn't seem as dynamic or variable, and lots less slang making it less interesting. So I aint changin'

[Juregen]

My knowlege is that the above is correct

It is the American English that is the older version of English, where British English kept evolving due to stronger non-english influences.

Ofcourse i could be completely wrong

[re:cursive]

I believe it was Noah Webster who did it, following on from the foundations laid by the word enthusiasts responsible for defining America after the American Revolution (Thomas Jefferson etc.).

Dissertations on the English Language - 1789
An American Dictionary of the English Language - 1828

Quote: "Our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government."

He aimed to eradicate English pronunciation and standardise American language.

I can recommend reading The Story of English by Robert McCrum, Robert MacNeil and William Cran if you want to find out more.

Oh yeah, the American spelling is not the original.

[flotsam]

Is no one else impressed with the OP's knowledge of word proecessing software?

[EFLtrainer]

Egad!!! There be teachers, ain't there?

PLEASE do not fall into the Korean mistake of hangul = hangukmal.

"ENGLISH" does not = spelling. Yes, while there is an ongoing debate about just which of the two - English English or American English - is more rooted in the past, the issue of the differences in spelling goes squarely back to Webster. He was a tad anti-English/Brit/whatever-is-politically-correct and quite intentionally set up the bloody American spelling conventions to let the English/Brits/whatever-is-politically-correct know that he could give a good damn how they spelled gaol and Americans would go their own way, thank you very much.

[EFLtrainer]

[billybrobby]

[Qinella]

I was thinking the same bit about black people in the US with regard to slang (though I can't agree with that contemptible term, African American). Just the whole izzzy wizzy bizzy thing is pretty damn original. That's not a Snoop invention, btw, for those who don't know. My dad said the black dudes in the stockroom where he worked back in the early 70s would say things like, "Yo brother wizzy ya gizzy for lizzy todizzy?" Drove the white guys crazy.

Roxanne, Roxanne - UTFO

But if I were to lose, I wouldn't be upset
Cause I'm not a gambler, I don't bet
I don't be in no casino, and baby while you knizzow
The izzi is the grizzeat Kizzangizzo."
I thought she'd be impress by my devious rap
I thought I had her caught cause I'm a sinister trap
I thought it'd be a piece of cake but it was nothing like that
I guess that's what I get for thinking, ain't that right, black?
Then crizzi to gizzone and seen number izzone
Crizzin ricking tizza of mizzac mic dizza

[flotsam]