"Dictionary" by jwyg. January 25, 2004. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode In this final post about editing for fluency, I wanted to write very quickly about spelling. Spelling these days is much easier than it used to be, because most of us have spell checkers on whatever application we use for writing. But it isn’t that easy, unfortunately. Who are you writing for? Where is your work going to be published? These questions will help you understand whether you will adopt British spelling or American spelling. The two are very different. Here are some examples:
Gray – American word for a depressing colour.
Grey – British word for a depressing colour.
Color – American word for a shade such as ‘gray’, ‘red’, or ‘pink’.
Colour – British word for a shade such as ‘grey’, ‘red’, or ‘pink’.
Center – American word for the middle of any given spot.
Centre – British word for the middle of any given spot.
Cancelation – American word for the act of canceling something.
Cancellation – British word for the act of cancelling something.
Realization – American word describing the moment you register your deadline is tomorrow.
Realisation – British word describing the moment you register your deadline is tomorrow.
Here are some general rules for American versus British spelling:
Here are those rules back to front.
There are exceptions to these rules, and there are other different spellings that seem almost arbitrary, such as ‘grey’ and ‘gray’, and ‘ton’ and ‘tonne’. If you set your spell checker correctly, it should pick up on many of these. But if in doubt, do your research to see if you’ve gotten it right. Then find and replace the errors throughout your work.
When do I need to use British spelling?
When you are writing for an English audience or for an audience within a country under the Commonwealth, it is typically wiser to use British spelling. For instance, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada use a combination of American and British spelling, but overall, they are more aligned with British than American. If your publisher is British, Kiwi, Australian, or Canadian, they will likely help you make your spelling consistently British.
When do I need to use American spelling?
When you are writing for an American audience or an American publishing company, your spelling will need to be consistently American.
Why the need for consistent spelling?
Spelling needs to be consistent so that the author avoids distracting the reader from the text unnecessarily.
Editing Tip for Fluency No #8: To avoid detracting from your work, keep your spelling consistent according to your audience’s or publisher’s nationality.
This concludes my series on Editing Tips for Fluency. I hope to summarise the various tips in an article at some point. But for now – happy editing!
Gray – American word for a depressing colour.
Grey – British word for a depressing colour.
Color – American word for a shade such as ‘gray’, ‘red’, or ‘pink’.
Colour – British word for a shade such as ‘grey’, ‘red’, or ‘pink’.
Center – American word for the middle of any given spot.
Centre – British word for the middle of any given spot.
Cancelation – American word for the act of canceling something.
Cancellation – British word for the act of cancelling something.
Realization – American word describing the moment you register your deadline is tomorrow.
Realisation – British word describing the moment you register your deadline is tomorrow.
Here are some general rules for American versus British spelling:
- In America, it is generally ‘or’ not ‘our’. For example: ‘color’, ‘favor’, ‘neighbor’.
- In America, it is generally ‘ize’ not ‘ise’: ‘realize’, ‘aggrandize’, ‘accessorize’.
- In America, the double ‘ll’ often becomes a single ‘l’ especially in the middle of words that are longer than two syllables and have a suffix such as ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ added to the end: ‘traveling’, ‘tranquilized’, ‘tunneling’.
- In America, ‘re’ becomes ‘er’ in many word endings: ‘theater’, ‘center’, ‘scepter’.
- In America, endings such as ‘mme’ are often reduced to a single ‘m’: ‘program’, ‘aerogram’.
- In America, select ‘ae’ combinations are reduced to a single ‘e’: ‘eons’, ‘encyclopedia’.
Here are those rules back to front.
- In British spelling, it is generally ‘our’ not ‘or’. For example: ‘colour’, ‘favour’, ‘neighbour’.
- In British spelling, it is generally ‘ise’ not ‘ize’: ‘realise’, ‘aggrandise’, ‘accessorise’.
- In British spelling, the double ‘ll’s are typically retained in the middle of words that are longer than two syllables and have a suffix such as ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ added to the end: ‘travelling’, ‘tranquillized’, ‘tunnelling’.
- In British spelling, ‘er’ becomes ‘re’ in many word endings: ‘theatre’, ‘centre’, ‘sceptre’.
- In British spelling, ‘mme’ endings are retained in words such as ‘programme’, ‘aerogramme’.
- In British spelling, select ‘ae’ combinations are retained in words such as ‘aeons’, ‘encyclopaedia’.
There are exceptions to these rules, and there are other different spellings that seem almost arbitrary, such as ‘grey’ and ‘gray’, and ‘ton’ and ‘tonne’. If you set your spell checker correctly, it should pick up on many of these. But if in doubt, do your research to see if you’ve gotten it right. Then find and replace the errors throughout your work.
When do I need to use British spelling?
When you are writing for an English audience or for an audience within a country under the Commonwealth, it is typically wiser to use British spelling. For instance, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada use a combination of American and British spelling, but overall, they are more aligned with British than American. If your publisher is British, Kiwi, Australian, or Canadian, they will likely help you make your spelling consistently British.
When do I need to use American spelling?
When you are writing for an American audience or an American publishing company, your spelling will need to be consistently American.
Why the need for consistent spelling?
Spelling needs to be consistent so that the author avoids distracting the reader from the text unnecessarily.
Editing Tip for Fluency No #8: To avoid detracting from your work, keep your spelling consistent according to your audience’s or publisher’s nationality.
This concludes my series on Editing Tips for Fluency. I hope to summarise the various tips in an article at some point. But for now – happy editing!
