Almost completely random writing related question

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:19 pm

I think of this as, after an amount of rather tasty wine that will remain undisclosed, I have to correct Frontpage regarding the spellings of certain words. Because it's only recently been installed, and it doesn't seem to come with a British English dictionary.

And then the thought occurred; if I read something, I rarely notice if it's British or American spelling, because I see the American spelling so frequently. I'm just as used to seeing 'color' as 'colour', although naturally the latter looks more natural to me. Because I love the 'u' key.

But, I started wondering if you guys on the western side of the Atlantic notice the difference. Do you just not notice it or pass over it, or does it jar because it looks like an incorrect spelling, the same way that seeing any other word constantly misspelled distracts from the actual reading?

I was wondering, half out of idle curiousity, and half out of wondering whether it counts against me writing Candidates if a load of my writing looks, to you, misspelled. Obviously typos are a bad thing in any writing, and those of us that do a lot of writing don't really like having to read around typos.

Xenoqueen · Post by **Xenoqueen** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:52 pm

British spelling bothers me not a jot, because for years I myself wrote that way! It's a long story as to how I started writing that way, despite being American, and only recently have I made myself stop and revert to American... outside of a few words I prefer in Brit-style, like grey. I like grey much better than gray. XD

Cacopheny · Post by **Cacopheny** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:03 pm

Because Phe uses the Brit-spelling so much, I tend to think of it as natural, too. I notice it-- I go "hey, this person uses British spelling! I wonder what other differences I can spot?"-- but it doesn't bother me, no.

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:37 pm

Nope, doesnt bother me. In high school and middle school we would always spell that way because we thought it was cooler than american spelling

Mystic Dragon · Post by **Mystic Dragon** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:39 pm

I tend to like Bristish spelling more because it's similar to Canadian spelling. Darn Americans... leaving out our 'u'. *shakes a fist!*

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:42 pm

for awhile in the early 1900s they actually tried to make spelling more phonetic, which is where color replaced colour and theater replaced theatre and so on. They even went so far as to replace socks with sox, which is where the baseball teams white sox and red sox came from, but after awhile they realized they sounded idiotic so they changed most things back, however, a few things remaind stupified

And I cant believe I know that...

Post by **Dray** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:50 pm

If anything, I have to look twice for things like 'color', 'gray', 'meter', etc. etc. etc. XD I'm so used to the british spellings 'metre'? I still don't know if that's any kind of proper or if it's something I've just gotten in my head. XD I'm so not an American-speller, for the most part... though I know that there must be /some/ mutt-ization between the two kinds of writ. X3 The intarwebs are such a melting pot!

GildedLilly · Post by **GildedLilly** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:58 pm

I dunno- I stopped writing colour and such after repeated shock training. Ok, no, I just happen to have a spellchecker in my browser, and it's set to american english because it just is. Yeah. Also, I live in the USA, but I tend to read a lot of brittish fiction. (Yes, I am a Terry Prattchet stalkerette. But those get all americanized, don't they?)

But it really doesn't bother me at all. What does bother me, though, is inside out quotes. I don't know why, but it just does.

Samber · Post by **Samber** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:11 pm

I'm weird. I don't really notice British spelling while reading, but when I do use it I use it in certain instances but not others. Like 'grey/gray' or 'color/colour'. I use 'grey' when I want to indicate age or weariness and 'gray' when it's just the colour. I use 'color' for the verb and 'colour' for the noun.

And I use the word 'bloody' while screaming at and chasing away the robins that attack my strawberry bed, but that's kinda off-topic...

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:27 pm

One time in jr high, I used the Brit spelling colour - and got tagged down a grade. I had to explain to the teacher that was how it IS spelled there, so we got to go around and around about that.

I use grey with an E to determine the color, because my name is grAy.

There's one company locally which is completely mutilating ANY sense of spelling. Their name is sentre - is that supposed to mean SENTRY, CENTER, or what??

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 5:14 pm

GildedLilly - Terry Pratchet doesn't get American-ised over here. Coz he lives here. I went to a book signing once. I have two signed Discworld novels (Soul Music and Last Continent). Waited in line for three hours, but it was so worth it - met Terry, made some new friends from local schools, generally got to browse the book shop as the line wound it's way through the ENTIRE floor of Ottakars - Truro branch....

'Bloody' is my favourite obscenity, namely because it isn't blocked by most American forums, but also because it sounds SO good with my accent. Got a mostly Hampshire/Queen's English thing going on here, and I live in an area with a far different accent, so I sound so incredibly arrogant and elitist and generally upper-middle-class when I want to...

Dray, it's spelt intErwebs here, if at all. Locally, it's more of a kindof "int'net", but there we go. I'm considered a bit nuts for even having an internet connection, let alone the fastest one technology in the area allows. People think I'm loopy for admitting I have five computers. Maybe I should stop telling people that?

Anyway, I'm glad you all like British spellings. I shall keep using them. And aside from anything else, if you don't use British spellings, how much use does the 'u' key ever actually see?

Post by **Dray** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 6:48 pm

I think that 'intarwebs' is one of those sarcastic sort of mocking words... I can't think of an example... maybe 'lawl' or something else dumb like that? I've never heard anyone use 'interwebs' or any other twisting of the word in a serious manner before!

GildedLilly · Post by **GildedLilly** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:35 pm

Haha, yeah, just free-associating a little more than normal. Also, I cannot spell before I've had my coffee. Please ignore me when I do things like spell British with two t's.

Haha! My copy of Soul Music is signed, too! I had to get my librarian to write be a letter saying I was a reporter for the newsletter to get it, but get in I did. I own almost all of them, exept one or two that my library actually had- yeah.

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:43 pm

I own a whole set. I have two copies of Soul Music, but for the life of me I can't remember where the second copy actually came from... I guess being in England does help with getting signed copies of books... I just have to be in the right bookshop at the right time... on the day I got Last Continent signed, I heard about it through a message pinned on the school notice board. My best friend and I decided we both had to go, so I convinced my mum to take us... "Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum, can you drive Kyla and me to Truro, because Terry Pratchett's in Ottakar's with his new book and we wanna get it signed. Pleeeeeaaaaaaaaase." *insert puppy eyes* Suffice to say it worked.

I think I heard a person use interwebs once, but on reflection I think he was a complete muppet (local word for idiot.

) Most people around here don't even know what a computer is. But Interwebs/intarwebs does sound pretty cool. I could use that word for evil...

LakotaWolf · Post by **LakotaWolf** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:10 am

I always NOTICE "Brit-spelling" because I'm a spelling NAZI most of the time, and while I know intellectually that "colour" is not misspelled, my brain still goes "OMG!" when I see it. So it gives me pause, always, but doesn't bother me :} I once read an entire novel written with "Brit-spellings" and British words that I had to look up online because I had no freaking clue what they meant.

But, to answer your wine-ed induced question, as a Southern California native, yes I always notice what I think of as "extra u"s or British/European spelling, but it doesn't bother me, detract from what I'm reading really, or make me give people negative points for writing that way XD To each our own, and besides, at least it's still English! XD

*disclaimer: the phrase "Brit-spellings" is not meant to be derogatory! ::hugs her British and Canadian and European friends:: :D

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:19 am

Brit-spelling is a good phrase, actually... I like it... Easier than typing 'British English'...

I was on a forum once, and got told off by an American for using 'incorrect English' because of the way I spell and say things. He didn't like it much when I pointed out that my country invented the language first...

Post by **Dray** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:30 am

Are you kidding me? What an arrogant arsehole. :\ I guess some people are just like that.

XD I sure hope that it wasn't a writing-based forum... that'd make me even more sad.

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:33 am

It was a writing forum, actually... but that kind of attitude was quite common there, so I left not long after. It's people like him that give Americans a bad name, really. Most people around here hate them... I know differently just because I've actually met decent Americans... Even so, being referred to as 'quaint' by American tourists...

Silver Midnight · Post by **Silver Midnight** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:03 pm

I tend to do things like 'armour' a lot, not really ever used 'colour'....And I like 'grey'. >> It looks FAR better than 'gray'!

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:07 pm

I agree... I've always thought of 'gray' as being more of a name... Quite a few people around here have Gray as a surname. But it's grey for the colour, and indeed any use of the word other than as a name...

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:49 pm

It's my name and likely sounds like it ought to be because my father and his family were from England.

That's.... all I know about them.

LakotaWolf · Post by **LakotaWolf** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:42 pm

I HATE that MSWord is always like "NO YOU MISSPELLED THAT" when I type "grey". I learned it THAT way, not "gray"! Arg.

I also love the word "arse". British people have the BEST insults and derogatory names ever, hands down. Sod off! Bugger!

Astra · Post by **Astra** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:52 pm

I kind of got OD'd on the Brittish slang when an Australian with an ego the size of, well, Australia, transferred to our school and would. not. stop. talking. ever. He needs to piss off his own self. Of course, I'm partially bitter because he stole my room mate away from her previous perfectly decent boyfriend, was around all the bloody (yes, bloody) time, and left her completely crushed when he dumped her. Bloody tosser

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:55 pm

The real beauty of those insults is most of them aren't filtered on American-run sites. I don't use sod off too much, but "Bugger off you 'orrible little scrote," is the one I use most.

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:30 pm

LOL oh that's a nice one.

Post by **Dray** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:29 pm

o_o' So..... gay-sounding.

XD I think that people ought to start coming up with swears and curses that don't revolve around sex/sexual preference/etc. XDD That'd be really hard.

hksherra · Post by **hksherra** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:26 pm

^^ I happen to like british spelling, though I don't usually use it myself... I just kinda look at it and go "Ooooh... neat!"

I admit to sometimes using grey though... I like it so much better...

Had a bf once that I called Grey... XD Wasn't his name, but I called him that and thought it was the dandiest thing!

What really gets me in trouble is french spelling... I've been taking french for a while now (not about to break out into french on the board, tho) and because of that, I like tacking Es onto the end of words! ^^;

Mystic Dragon · Post by **Mystic Dragon** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:27 pm

I tend to use made up swear words when I'm in an 'only-kinda-pissed-off' mood. Things like gorammit and fuggit.

Shiolar · Post by **Shiolar** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:27 am

Dray, 'scrote', although it sounds sexual, is the word around here for uneducated people with no money. So people like me, who actually have both money and an education, use it quite freely as an insult. Basically, the local meaning is kinda... the name for someone you consider to be of a lower class than you, which you apply to anyone who's stupid enough to give you reason to insult them... So it's an insult that revolves around financial and social status rather than sexual preference.

If we wanna insult someone's sexual preference, we just call them gay and be done with it.

JKatkina · Post by **JKatkina** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:27 am

X3 Having never heard it as an insult before, I just see 'scrote' as a prettier way of calling someone a scrotum... and really, that's an awesome insult. X3