Poll: Elegance versus Simplicity

[S.H.A.R.P.]

Over the past few years, I've been typing quite a bit in the English language. Of course, being Dutch, I use a spelling corrector to aid me a bit. Yet some of the things I have learned to be correct, show up as errors on the damned thing! With the spelling corrector defaulting to US, correcting it usually results in a far less pretty word, at least in my humble opinion. I rather change it to UK English, where the imaginative voice in my mind reads the sentence out loud in a pretty accent.

To illustrate, if you have for example Microsoft Office Word, with spelling correction, set the spelling to English (U.K.), and copy the following list:

sulphur ? sulfur
aeroplane ? airplane
favourable ? favorable
anaesthesia ? anesthesia
liquorice ? licorice
cheque ? check
analyse ? analyze
arse ? ass

I'll wait
...
..
.

Now, set the spelling to English (U.S.).

Are you as disappointed as I am by the (subjective) loss of elegance of some of these words in the US? Or do you rejoice in the use of this somewhat simplified spelling? These are just a few examples, and I know that there are examples too where it's the other way around. But it's always a let down for me when I encounter those red lines below a perfectly acceptable, and in my opinion, superior spelling of a word.

 

[Motti]

I'm an aussie. Hooray for the dinky di accent!

EDIT: oh, and I do prefer the english spelling over the american version, just how I was taught I guess.

 

[Caimekaze]

I'm Australian; British English for the win. I just prefer how it looks.
I'm disgusted by the slip in standard of local newspapers. When I was being taught as a child, jail was an incorrect spelling; It was gaol, dammit. Now no one cares anymore...

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

...I don't...rejoice...in spelling. It's just how the words are spelled over here.
If you don't like the spelling, don't use it. I tried to use the UK English setting on my computer, but I had to hit shift + 2 to get ", and other strange things.
So I switched it back.

With those settings, do you mean regional settings? Since I'm more pointing at spelling (and in the case of some spelling checks, grammar), instead of the layout of the keyboard and currency you use etc. As far as I know it, regional setting don't necessarily correct spelling, and spelling checks don't affect keyboard layout. Or am I viewing this the wrong way?
Disregarding the fact that this is the way things are spelled in your country. Were you an outsider, what would you prefer? What do you think about your country using different words then the language it originated from?

 

[Lord George]

British english as it makes sense and its what I've always been taught its colour damn it not color why did they take out one letter what was the purpose of it?

 

[Stakhanov]

I'm an English teacher so there is no contest. British English is the version for grown-ups.

 

[black lincon]

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

 

[Duh]

i know what you mean, when the little voice in your head pretends to be brtish it seems like the world is a better place

but i was tought american english so im not exactly sure on how much the writen languages change

 

[black lincon]

I'm an English teacher so there is no contest. British English is the version for grown-ups.

It really has more to do with the pronunciation of the word. Brits and Yanks speak differently and so we have different spellings for those words that we say different. It's not like using British spelling makes you more adult, it just makes you... you know, British.

 

[rossatdi]

cheque ? check

Actually in British English both are used. The verb, to check, is spelt the same. When used to describe a banking note it's 'cheque'. So there is some use to it.

arse ? ass

Again British still recognises ass, as in the animal.

 

[insectoid]

I'm an Aussie!

I go for the British spelling.

Also, I do believe "check" and "cheque" have completely different meanings (one being to go over something, the other being a piece of paper worth a certain amount of money).

 

[SenseOfTumour]

It can be mildly irritating, but that's what 'add to dictionary' is for.

After all, if it is the kind of thing that bothers you, you'll spell them 'right' anyway.

It's pretty much accepted that US spelling is the right one nowadays, except in UK english classes.

I'm kind hung on the debate about which is right, I'm all for through becoming thru, where did all those extra silent letters come from, did someone just like screwing around with dyslexics and foreigners trying to learn the language? On the other side, certain US things bug me such as not putting 'and' into large numbers, the year being spoken as two thousand eight, just sounds wrong to me, I say two thousand and eight. EDIT: I know it's nine now.

There's a definate case for arse/ass tho, No english person can say ass without it sounding american, and americans can't say arse without going a bit english on us.

 

[Caimekaze]

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

Uhmm, what? The omission of the u is what, fifty years old? One hundred at the most.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

British english as it makes sense and its what I've always been taught its colour damn it not color why did they take out one letter what was the purpose of it?

I have no clue either. Perhaps North Americans feel the need to distinguish themselves from their founders (as in language)? Perhaps it was an historical initiative to save ink from typewriters? Perhaps we will never know...

I'm an English teacher so there is no contest. British English is the version for grown-ups.

As Max pointed out, he was taught otherwise. Unfortunately you can't say that another language is childish, just because they speak different. One might say it's a bit less sophisticated, but that's just matter of opinion I reckon.

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

If you carry the same mental accent over while mentally pronouncing both versions of the word, you don't notice any difference. But if you read the words, at least I tend to use a British mental accent when seeing the British spelling, and US otherwise.
I can see you don't care to much for the extra e's and u's, I just find it more elegant in a way. Interesting to see another opinion on the matter.

i know what you mean, when the little voice in your head pretends to be brtish it seems like the world is a better place

but i was tought american english so im not exactly sure on how much the writen languages change

Haha thank you for the confirmation! Where do you come from by the way? Considering your spelling you don't seem native English, or you just don't care of course.

cheque ? check

Actually in British English both are used. The verb, to check, is spelt the same. When used to describe a banking note it's 'cheque'. So there is some use to it.

arse ? ass

Again British still recognises ass, as in the animal.

True, the British spelling is a bit more lenient towards the US spelling. Conversely that is not the case however, if you set the spelling to US, all of the British words register as incorrect, which is a bit confusing I think.

*Edited to include a reply.

 

[Kais86]

I like to think of American as elegantly simple.

 

[scarbunny]

I'm an English teacher so there is no contest. British English is the version for grown-ups.

That is kind of insulting.

It may be insulting but it's also true.

UK English is proper English. Unfortunately the shear volume of Americans spelling everything wrong and producing literary works is causing the rest of the world to spell certain words wrong.

Also what do Americans have against the letter U? Why has it been removed from words such as colour?

 

[black lincon]

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

Uhmm, what? The omission of the u is what, fifty years old? One hundred at the most.

so? I'm confused, please continue so I have some Idea of what your talking about.

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

If you carry the same mental accent over while mentally pronouncing both versions of the word, you don't notice any difference. But if you read the words, at least I tend to use a British mental accent when seeing the British spelling, and US otherwise.
I can see you don't care to much for the extra e's and u's, I just find it more elegant in a way. Interesting to see another opinion on the matter.

Your right, but words like "aeroplane" sound quite different from their American counterparts, as does arse but that's obvious. Also for anyone that knows Spanish the word "cheque" sounds different from check, it's just because I'm mentally adding the accent but I still wont use that spelling because of it.

 

[Duh]

i know what you mean, when the little voice in your head pretends to be brtish it seems like the world is a better place

but i was tought american english so im not exactly sure on how much the writen languages change

Haha thank you for the confirmation! Where do you come from by the way? Considering your spelling you don't seem native English, or you just don't care of course.

i know

maybe my spelling SUXZORS because i come from the internet and south america, those two combined its like giving Cocaine to a Hiperactive 5 year old, something is bound to go wrong

also i dont realy care, if i did care about grammar i would eat a dictionary or whatever
i speak alot better though

 

[black lincon]

I'm an English teacher so there is no contest. British English is the version for grown-ups.

That is kind of insulting.

It may be insulting but it's also true.

UK English is proper English. Unfortunately the shear volume of Americans spelling everything wrong and producing literary works is causing the rest of the world to spell certain words wrong.

Also what do Americans have against the letter U? Why has it been removed from words such as colour?

Sir I hate to inform you but, there is no such thing as proper English. the language changes around so much based on where you go that your better of prefacing the word English with a region to avoid confusion. I'm sorry to tell you that the British aren't some kind of glorious English master race who's every word like music, deal with the fact that American English and British English are different and neither is "proper".

Oh and we hate the letter "u" because we could, thats right we fought that whole revolutionary war not because we wanted independence but because we were sick of being fined for using words without "u".

 

[Caimekaze]

I don't really care, although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it).

Many of the words you mentioned have no difference in pronunciation, and since I care much more how a word sounds rather than how it's spelled, I care little whether or not you use "ph" when spelling sulfur. although going off that list I will never use "aeroplane" or "cheque" I will only use the latter one when speaking Spanish seeing as how thats the Spanish word for check sans the accent on the "e".

By the way, I always thought Arse was more of a Scottish thing, or has braveheart taught me wrong?

Uhmm, what? The omission of the u is what, fifty years old? One hundred at the most.

so? I'm confused, please continue so I have some Idea of what your talking about.

Bloody HTML acted up on me. You said " although I do find the addition of the "u" to be absolutely unnecessary in words like "color"(thats how it's spelled deal with it)."

You're telling us that because where you live does something one way, that's the way it must be done and all others are irrelevant, despite having far more history behind them.

Also, I accidentally hit post before adding this bit in. =/