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The grammar geeks among you will know that I am a confused blogger! I am British although I lived in Australia and New Zealand for 11 years, plus I write for a mainly American audience.
If your job involves writing in almost any capacity, you’ve probably fallen foul of a UK/US spelling mix-up at some point.
Maybe you write for an international audience, only to have people showing up in the comments, decrying the ‘Americanisation’ of English.
Maybe you handed in a draft to a publisher that gave the overwhelming impression you can’t spell, simply because Microsoft Word reverted to its default spell-check setting.
Or possibly you just want to make sure you’re absolutely on top of your writing game.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Below we’ve compiled a list of common English/American spelling mistakes according to type, so you need never again lay anchor in the ‘harbor’ when you mean to do so in the ‘harbour’, or ‘apologize’ when you should ‘apologise’. Of course, you may still make mistakes, but at least now you’ll do so consistently.
‘ou’ or ‘o’?
As in: colour/color
humour/humor
This is probably the most common cause of English/American confusion: does a word require an ‘ou’, or will a simple ‘o’ suffice? Simply: Brits use ‘ou’ while the Yanks simplify it to ‘o’. And before any Oxford-type starts guffawing at Americans for having to do things simply, bear in mind that the original ‘o’ spelling is correct in Latin.
The switched ‘re’
As in: theatre/theater
Centre/center
Another common mistake is the ‘re’ at the end of certain English words. While it makes more sense to spell ‘centre’ how it sounds (‘center’), history has favoured the ‘re’ spelling, especially in ‘theatre’. In fact, ‘theatre’ is a viable spelling even if writing for an American audience, just to complicate things further.
‘ise’ or ‘ize’?
As in: realise/realize
Organise/organize
While ‘ise’ is only used in English, the Oxford English Dictionary informs us that ‘ize’ can be used in either country. Which begs the question, why use ‘ise’ at all? Well, some Brits prefer ‘ise’, it’s a simple as that. If you’re writing for a UK audience you might as well cover yourself and drop ‘ize’, just in case.
‘yse’ or ‘yze’?
As in: analyse/analyze
Paralyse/paralyze
Although it sounds like the ‘ise’/’ize’ dilemma, ‘yse’/’yze’ differentiates itself by being geographically specific. Refuse a ‘breathalyzer’ from an English bobby and you’ll be laughed out the station. In this one you can see where both sides are coming from: analysis does end in ‘s’, but its plural is pronounced with a ‘z’. Whoever you think is right, the use of these two variations is happily clear-cut.
The extra ‘L’
As in: traveller/traveler
Like many dropped or added consonants, this variation seems primarily designed to confuse you. Suffice to say, there is no reason for that extra ‘l’ to be there, except it just sort of looks right. Americans, ever to the point, do away with it entirely.
The missing vowel
As in: oestrogen/estrogen
Paedophile/pedophile
There’s no hard and fast rule here. Often, Americans simply dispose of a useless vowel, especially one situated right beside an ‘e’. But then you get a word like ‘archaeology’, which can be spelt the same both sides of the Atlantic. Why that ‘a’ hasn’t been culled is anyone’s guess, but follow your instincts and spell it ‘archeology’ and you’ll come across as a buffoon, however unfair that may seem.
‘Ence’ or ‘Ense’?
As in: offence/offense
Licence/license
Is the best form of attack ‘defence’ or ‘defense’? The ‘ence/ense’ ending is another common mistake, but luckily no weird rules apply. Simply put ‘ence’ in England and ‘ense’ in America. Easy.
The ‘ogue’ debate
As in: analogue/analog
Dialogue/dialog
Now this is a contentious one. Despite a simple ‘log’ being acceptable in the States, ‘logue’ is not only also accepted, but far more widely used. Remember the ‘ise/ize’ debate from above, where one version was used everywhere, but the other only in Britain? This is the American version. As before, cover yourself by putting ‘log’ when dealing with an American audience. Better that than making a bad impression on your Stateside editor.
Grammar geeks may also enjoy this interview with the author of ‘The Joy of English'
Do you have any particular spelling or grammar niggles? Please do leave a comment below and join the conversation.
About the Author
Oliver Randall is a content strategist and blogger for UK printing service Print Express. Outside of the workplace he enjoys scriptwriting and coffee, which usually results in very little sleep.
Image: BigstockPhoto.com Alphabet
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1 2 3 4 Next »I don't usually mind the spelling (I read so many American books, I barely notice 'color'), but I get really annoyed when an English character in a novel set in England uses Americanisms (e.g. eating oatmeal). Why is this?
But I did get REALLY annoyed by a novel I read recently. Canadian author, American publisher, set in England, and used the word 'Leftenant'. I know the English pronounce it differently to the Americans, but I thought spelling it differently was ridiculous. If you had English and American characters pronouncing it differently, I could perhaps understand, but every single character in the novel was supposed to be English (or Irish).
Am I being too picky?
I think it's easier to get spelling differences right than it is to get cultural differences right, and I don't think there are enough references for different word usage, like porridge/oatmeal. When I was a child, I always thought porridge was some exotic English breakfast food (it seems to show up a lot in nursery rhymes and is never 'translated' for Americans), and to be honest, I was so disappointed to find out it was just oatmeal!
Thanks for the note on leftenant. I had never seen the spelling, and despite living in the UK now, I never realized/realised it was pronounced like that! Clearly I need to have more military conversations.
So...no, you're not being too picky. But I think there need to be more resources out there for writers. It goes both ways. I saw a blog post the other day complaining about all the UK English in 50 Shades of Grey, when the characters were American.
I'm pretty shocked by 'Leftenant' actually - although spelling it "correctly" as Lieutenant and pronouncing it 'left' is strange too ... crazy language ...
Joanna (and Iola), you're right. "Leftenant" simply doesn't exist.
Commenting here as an American writer and reader now, if the American population doesn't know how an English character will make a word sound, creating a phonetic spelling to put that sound across is rubbish.
Mind you, there are a few cases in which that's done for you. For example, Joanna will likely say "al-you-min-ee-um" for that lightweight metal. As an American, I will say, "aluminum." But we spell it differently. The English spell it, as Joanna says it, "aluminium." Notice that second "i." We don't have it. We spell it and say it "aluminum."
More frequently, though, it's harder because we have no such obvious explanations.
My first degree is from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, founded by the English monarchs for which it's named. Williamsburg is one of the closest cities we have in the States to being truly ancient, which is why the Rockefellers chose to gorgeously preserve the entire town. (William and Mary was founded in 1693, so you see how tepid is my use of "ancient" by comparison to Oxford's "New" College from the, what, 11oo's?).
The town of Williamsburg, Virginia, and the William and Mary campus are filled with English names. One is Taliaferro. The English say it "Toliver." And those of us who know what we're doing call it "Toliver" in Williamsburg, just as we know what to do with the grand drag in that once-powerful colonial capital, Duke of Gloucester Street. But no one in his or her right mind would dream of changing the spelling to a phonetic "Toliver" or Duke of "Gloss-ter" Street to put across the right pronos to the unwashed.
If it is feasible in the character and nature of a book to actually inform the reader of what's needed, you might consider it. ("Fauntleroy noticed that Gladys knew the English founders of the great university called its signature colonial-era benefactor Lord 'BOT-eh-tot,' adopting the Anglicization of his name, Lord Botetourt.")
But if you can't work in such excruciatingly instructive passages (and who can?), then you must let the Americans fend for themselves and sound like fools when they land at Heathrow. It's their job to do their homework, not yours. National Geographic is educational. Your novel need not be.
And we (les Yanks) do it even unto our own stuff. Also at William and Mary, there's a lake that bears a lovely Native American name, Matoaka -- "mah-toe-AH-kah." How do the locals pronounce it? "Mah-TOKE-ah."
Only one thing can make Americans feel better about ourselves when confronted with British-isms we don't know, and that's how badly the English mangle other tongues' words.
Vivaldi, for example, should be pronounced with a broad "a" -- "viv-AHL-dee." Just ask an Italian. But our Brits will say it so that the second syllable rhymes with "valve." And check out what UK folks do to "Don Quixote." Hint: Young Spaniards won't recognize it.
Bottom line: No culture is immune to criticism on pronouncing each other's business, we're all trash-talking each other day and night, it's the civilized way to put someone down: butcher the pronunciation of their names and keep doing it, make it policy that everyone do it, enforce it, call him "Saddam" so the second syllale rhymes with "Sam."
Your readers may or may not trash every great phrase, term, and name you write. Just be grateful you don't have to hear it happen and shut your mind to that drivel.
Fantastic response Porter! I love your examples.
The whole pronunciation for those 'in the know' is classic too - for example, the University of Oxford Magdalen College is pronounced Maudlin.
I agree with Holly - culural differences and even slightly different word choices are far harder than the mere spelling (which can usually be corrected at proofreading stage).
For example, an American character would say "Can I come visit?" whereas the British character should say "Can I come and visit?" Or, a British family packs up and "moves house" whereas the American family would simply "move". There are dozens more like this and they can be especially tricky for those of us attempting dialogue.
Yes, I recall Fifty Shades being famous for getting things like backpack/rucksack and holiday/vacation wrong. Not to mention waiting for a "green man" before crossing the road in Seattle.... I'm 99% sure that should have been a white man.
Using single quotes for dialogue instead of double quotes also throws me for a bit of a loop. Also, the Queen's English refers to the matter of adding and subtracting numbers as "maths" rather than the singular "math", which is also very different.
I'm not sure that single quote thing is an americanism, it just seems to be random. I noticed it in a book the other day and was also confused. If anyone can explain, I'd love to know what that's about.
Joanna -- you even spell "pen" weird.
Michael N. Marcus
Penn is actually an old English word for a hill, so it's actually spelled correctly :)
Great summary, Oliver; I'm a UK writer, but a lot of my work has been for US audiences ... and I've definitely fallen foul of a few transatlantic differences in my time! I'm sure this will come in handy for anyone else who's faced with writing in their non-native version of English. :-)
Quick heads up -- there's a typo in "As in: traveller / traveller" (should only be one L in one of them). Just shows how easy it is for our eyes to glide over these things when we're reading! I honestly don't tend to notice US vs UK differences unless they're different words (oatmeal vs porridge) rather than just different spellings.
With "ense" and "ence", both are actually used in British English, but for different forms of the word. For instance, "license" is the verb and "licence" is the noun, and the same applies to "practise" and "practice". In American English, as you say, the "ense" form is used, and there's no spelling difference between the noun and verb.
Thanks Ali, I fixed the typo :)
Yes, thank you. I edited a paper for a professor raised in Austria but working in Canada, and through that I learned that practise is the verb and practice is the noun and by heaven it better be correct. I was raised in the United States so this was new to me.
@Jo, we are all victims. Once in a while we are bound to trip. That's what makes us human.
I am an American, but was given a lesser grade on an essay for spelling the word "grey" with an "e" instead of "gray" with an "a" in third grade, I have Irish/English ancestors and must have channelled them for my spelling. I also noticed recently that I spelled "benefitted" with two "t's." Spell check doesn't like that, but I looked it up and it is proper as well but preferred in the UK.
Hi! I'm new on your blog but found it very interesting. Thanks for this useful summary, I'm supposed to use UK English according to my origins but as I read, watch, listen to US English almost everyday, it's hard not to use them to!
Thanks for the post. However, I'm still confused. You see I'm Canadian and don't know which rules most apply to my writing. Also I noticed in your examples that 'analyse' was spelled the same way both times. Is this a typo or is it ever spelled 'analyze'? Thanks.
The typo is corrected now :) and I know what you mean, as in Australia and New Zealand there were other differences too. With global ebook publishing these days, I think we just have to try our best, and get proofreaders in the countries we are aiming to please the most! I just had one of my beta readers correct my "carpark" to "parking lot" ...
But if you're in Boston, the carpark is actually a cahpahk due to the accent. :P
Useful article. One quick point Re: 'licence/license'.
In British English, use 'c' when using it as a noun. As in 'I purchased a licence to use the software'.
But use 's' when using it as a verb. As in 'I licensed the rights to my new novel'.
I love this. And I'm Canadian so we have this weird mix of UK and US language where colour is British but standardized is American.
Sometimes in my job I write contract specifications and I took a course on it, where one chapter was devoted to the language of specifications. The most interesting one that I've learned is that per means as. So when you write "as per", you actually mean "as as".
There are lots of others though: thru vs. through, catalog vs. catalogue, amount ($) vs. quantity (# of goods), flammable vs. inflammable (which actually mean the same thing), advise vs. advice, calk vs. caulk, facia vs. fascia, gage vs. gauge, practice (Canadian noun) vs. practise (Canadian verb), etc.
I thought 'thru' was just text language :)