3 ms·
So "colour" and "centre" are ok but "catalyse" is where the line is drawn?
by triceratops 11mo ago
So "colour" and "centre" are ok but "catalyse" is where the line is drawn?
- criddell 11mo agoThe line is drawn where ever the public puts it. Generally, the correct spelling of a word is determined by those that use it. Canadians have used 'colour' for a long time. If enough people start using 'color', that will eventually be the correct spelling in Canada.
- retrac 11mo agoIt's not a line that's crossed. It's just the standard in Canada. In Britain, aeroplanes are made of aluminium and they have tyres. The Ministry of Defence sends them out on manoeuvres in theatres of combat, where the pilots have generally excelled due to regular practice. In America, airplanes are made of aluminum and they have tires. The Department of Defense sends them out on maneuvers in theaters of combat, where the pilots have generally exceled due to regular practise. In Canada, airplanes are made of aluminum and they have tires. The Department of National Defence sends them out on manoeuvres in theatres of combat, where the pilots have generally excelled due to regular practice.
- wrs 11mo agoSmall correction: In UK English, practice is a noun and practise is a verb. In America, practice is both and we don't have practise.
- kzrdude 11mo agoSame difference as licence vs license (vs licence)
- rottencupcakes 11mo agoThanks for clarifying. I'm American and I had never heard of practise in my life.
- subarctic 11mo agoFunny I'm Canadian and I thought it was aluminium and maneuvers
- spaghettilegs 11mo agoI love this, however, in America we write excelled. I checked with Merriam-Webster, the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary, and with ChatGPT.
- retrac 11mo agoAh! Perhaps it's only words like to counsel (counseled) or to libel (libeled); up in Canada here people usually write counselled or libelled.
- bentley 11mo agoYes, in American English it depends on which syllable has stress. Compare: dueled, paralleled, canceled, pedaled, but controlled, compelled, extolled, appalled levered, snickered, but occurred, deferred focused, biased, censused, but compressed, embussed, outgassed worshiped, but entrapped (although even in America kidnapped seems more common than kidnaped—one of Webster’s less successful reforms)
- bsimpson 11mo agoHow do you do italics in HN? I've been here for more than a decade and can never figure out the formatting syntax.
- scrlk 11mo ago> Text surrounded by asterisks is italicized. To get a literal asterisk, use \* or **. See Formatting Options: https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc
- deleted 11mo ago[deleted]
- ksec 11mo agoThis makes me wonder if Canadian use full stop or period.
- _verandaguy 11mo agoIt's a bit of both! "Period" tends to be used in day-to-day speech when referring to the punctuation; you'll hear "full stop" if it's meant to emphasize a previous statement (though not universally), like with "you'll do the dishes, full stop."