We
all notice it at some point, the differences between certain words in Canada, the
US and the UK. It didn’t affect my life until I started writing. My editors would
either correct my “spelling error” to the US version (for books edited and published
in the US) OR ask me to pick a language, Canadian or American English.
I
live in Canada so obviously I decided Canadian – which was bad for me. Reviews
would say the editing and spelling errors were bad. Clearly these reviewers
only read, thought in the US versions of spelling. I ended up switching so my spelling when I write
was in the US version – making my children and friends think I’m a bit daft
because now when I message or text them, I use the US spelling. -_-
Here
are some examples for those sheltered to only reading/writing one version of
the English language:
“honour”, “colour”, “flavour”, “armour” ß Canadian
“honor”, “color”, “flavor”, “armor” ßAmerican
(A notable exception is “glamour” which
retains the “u” in American, as does “saviour”) WHY this is, I don’t know!
“centre”, lustre”, “spectre”, “fibre” ßCanadian
“center”, luster”, “specter”, “fiber” ßAmerican and oddly enough
the prairie provinces of Canada as well … Again, WHY???
“offence”, defence”, “pretence” ßCanadian
“offense”, “defense”, “pretense” ßAmerican
The list is long, so I won’t drone on about
it.
This
drives me crazy, still, 27 books later, so I decided to find out WHY! (for the
Canadian versions at least) I
won’t list the lengthy explanation about the reasons, but will include this
link for you to check it out. Why Canadian English is spelled the way it is.
Now
I have to get back to work and hammer out this dialogue/dialog for a scene where
my characters are not cooperating/co-operating at all!
Shameless self-promotion space:
Jacqueline
Paige
...
J.Risk
Twitter: @JacqPaige
All Things Paranormal
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