BBQ Platypus said:True - "aluminium" is the official IUPAC spelling. But the average American citizen doesn't really care about what IUPAC says.Chris^^ said:
I could get angry about this and start railing on about arrogance, but I won't. I know you aren't trying to offend anybody here, and I honestly don't care about his issue that much.
I find the notion that only the Brits truly spell words correctly to be rather mind-boggling to tell you the truth. I honestly don't care that much about it - as long as you have a system in place and spell words consistently within the rules of that system, does it really matter whether a few vowels are present or not?
In any case, differences in American spelling can largely be traced to Noah Webster, who championed several different spelling changes, in part because he wanted to create a distinct American linguistic identity, and partly because he believed in consistency in spelling and pronunciation (although he didn't apply this consistently, as evidenced by the spelling irregularities that remain in both British and American English).
In truth, the English language has some pretty fucked-up spelling rules, which is part of the reason why it's so difficult for foreigners to learn. There are even a few folks today who want to completely overhaul the way English words are spelled.
As for "lieutenant," Webster argued that the current American pronunciation was appropriate due to consistency with the word's French roots. This doesn't make it the "right" pronunciation. If you ask me, both are acceptable.
(BTW, it is possible to set your spellchecker to British English - American English is just the default).
Well, we are. 240 years is more than enough time for plenty of cultural and linguistic drift to take place. Nothing unusual from a linguistic standpoint.
But I don't think we Americans should ever forget the historical link we have with our cousins across the pond. Everybody should remember where they came from - after all, even our Founding Fathers were once British subjects.
Hell, I've got quite a few ancestors from England (somewhere in the South - I forget where). They were actually part of the first wave of settlers in Virginia. It's a fact I'm rather proud of, actually.
You are correct of course, it is not my intent to offend anyone, and i know i am insufferably arrogant.
and my spellchecker is glitchy as hell haha, when i do change it it still won't accept traditional english spellings for any words.
and of course you are correct again in citing traditional english as the most schizophrenicly inconsistent language, posessing over 2million more words and variations than any other language with the latin alphabet..
in truth i accept that everybody is entitled to their own dialects, and respect you for standing up for yours.
everyone has their own little foibles, i am just rather a stickler for the pronunciations i view as correct, but to each their own.
