Spelling things properly is like a bad rash to statesians.
Spelling things properly is like a bad rash to statesians.
I spell things the correct way that makes sense. Color sounds more like it's spelled. Colour looks like it's pronounced 'col-oo-r'.
And I don't spell things wrong. I tend to ignore you Brits' silly spelling rules.
clearly you haven't heard canadian stereotypes say words with ou in them.
Then again, isn't Canada part of North America?
Silly British wannabes.
Actually, we just didn't forget where we came from.
/fights like 1812 biatch.
We haven't forgotten either, but we've modernized.
Fixed.Originally Posted by Dyslexicon
As a citizen of Great Britain, and having been a linguistics student in the past, I will vouch for the fact that American spellings make more sense than British spellings whether you like it or not. English is a horrible language that constantly breaks its own rules (as it has none; it's just a retarded mish-mash of several others) so the American spellings make more sense. It's just a shame they aren't accepted in England or I'd use those instead.
The German language had a spelling reform in 1998 in order to make more words in their language conform to the pronunciation rules. English is long overdue.
Anyway, some examples.
Colour - Color
The "ou" in "colour" implies the vowel should be longer, or pronounced totally different, yet it's not. "Color" makes slightly more sense in terms of pronunciation rules, though still not as much as, say, "coler".
Analogue - Analog
Does anyone even know what the "u" in "analogue" means in pronunciation rules? It's a hard vowel as opposed to "e", which is a soft vowel. This stops us pronouncing it "a-na-lowj" and means that, by the rules, it should be "a-na-lowg". But wait a sec, we pronounce it "a-na-log", don't we? What the hell is the silent "e" doing there?! American spelling totally wins this one. (Incidentally, going by the rules, the spelling of the words "vogue" and "vague" are totally correct: Silent "e" to change the first vowel, and a "u" to harden the "g".)
Bough - Bow (As in a branch and as part of a boat, respectively)
Here's my favourite! Read each of these words out loud.
Through
Thorough
Cough
Tough
Bough
Dough
Six words, same "ou" vowels and "gh" consonants, totally different pronunciations.
English fails as a language.
Last edited by ReloadPsi; 10-17-2007 at 06:18 PM.
Sadly, I cannot argue with you on any of those points. I still love it to death, though.
Iut's oudd, becase Iu jst leuft Bnny au sernote liuke thius threaud.
Color = cull-ooor.
Colour = Cull-ower.
Culler = culler. Therefore it should be spelled culler.
In fact, I am now going to rite lyk werds ar sed.
Heh. Ar sed looks like arsed.
It depends on what exam I'm taking. When I'm doing my A-Levels, I 'u' it up to their FACES. But when I'm doing my SATs, I ostracize the 'u' mercilessly.
Color. Colour.
They both look weird o_o
I support the lazier color! That one extra letter will sap me of all my energy.
I think I subconsciously want to be British. Over the summer I spent a few weeks out of the country (i.e. out of the US) - not very long at all! - and now whenever I think of a word like color/colour, I instinctively picture it spelled the British way. If that makes any sense.
I also have a bad(?) habit of instinctively thinking that just because something is British, it must be better than the American version of the same thing
DP, you are correct, and it's not a bad habit.
Color reads like collar to me. I've always said 'colour as 'colur' anyway, so the 'u' makes sense to me. Anyway, I rather obviously use British English and am quite happy doing so.
Not my words Carol, the words of Top Gear magazine.
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