Slowly, the British English spelling crept into American society and remained undetected or ignored. But no more. Don't get me wrong. I lived in Britain for four years, which was one of the happiest times in my life. However, using their spelling in our country is wrong. After all, we fought in the war to gain independence, so why are we letting the Briticism take over? It's an epidemic that is spreading far and wide, even impacting school newsletter that students read.
1st offender is the media, which uses the AP style that is acceptable for international news. It is the biggest culprit because people trust what they see on the news or the news channel. The truth is even they go back and forth without thinking about the impact they have on the audience.
2nd offender is the Internet. Everyone with a computer and access to the Internet can put up whatever they want. This is the era of "alternative facts" that makes my mental anguish unbearable. when you search up one thing, hundreds of different answers pop up, and 90% of them are opinions, not facts.
3rd biggest offender is my beloved self-published writers who published their books without having their books edited by professional editors. I've talked about this problem for years, so I digress.
My solution is simple and very elementary. But if enough people read this post, use the words themselves, and pass it on, it will result in change. It's a small impact and slow too, but it's a start. If you're American or writing for the American audience, don't use British English spelling. I will list some simple examples that I hope will be helpful. Please retweet and share this post. Let's take our language back!
American English British English
Some words are spelled airplane aeroplane
differently altogether. jail gaol
The "er" is reversed. center centre
theater theatre
Adding "u" for no reason. color colour
labor labour
Past tenses with "t." burned burnt
spelled spelt
Adding extra letters canceling cancelled, cancelling
traveled, traveling travelled, travelling
programed programmed
"ce" instead of "se" defense defence
license licence
"se" instead of "ze" organize organise
recognize recognise
Double vowels "ae" or "oe" maneuver manoeuvre
leukemia leukaemia
Adding "s" toward, forward, backward towards, forwards, backwards.
Using y for i and e for a tire tyre
gray grey(50 Shades angers me because it was written about American
characters living in America. So,
why that spelling in the book title?
Should've hired an editor.)
