7 British vs. American Spellings You Didn't Know About

[@Jennifer-rp2sh]

I'm a 54-year-old American, and this is the first time I've ever seen the ue dropped from epilogue.

[@lenalyles2712]

I'm over 70 and agree with you, never seen spelled that way. I have traveled the world in the Army and didn't care for France, but England was fun back in the 80s

[@AlbatrossRevenue]

It looks bizarre without the "ue". The other examples like dialog and analog, sure, I've seen them spelt both ways. Epilogue never.

[@detroitjack0325]

@@AlbatrossRevenue "catalogue" versus "catalog"

[@WarBeasty]

But we sure did drop it off of dialog.

[@detroitjack0325]

@@WarBeasty And the list goes on and on.....

[@Sodisna]

"moulding" exists but really used as way to describe a type of baseboard.

[@tomhalla426]

Wood trim in general.

[@AshworthMild]

This is why I like mould as a spelling for shape related things, and mold for mildew and fungus type things. Homophones not homonyms.

[@bettyir4302]

I certainly wouldn't want my baseboard moulding to be moldy.

[@fishyfool]

Trim, not just baseboard.

[@P_i_l_s_o]

fancy picture frames use wood moulding that has molded and sculpted decorative features. rabbet rebate

[@parkermae]

as an American, I have never seen epilogue with the end dropped!

[@LindaC616]

Same

[@bettyir4302]

This American hasn't either.

[@johnchastain7890]

Noah Webster would urge you to go with the UE-less version. Save ink and bytes!

[@Moonstriker2514]

Me neither (new york)

[@ShonnMorris]

Same

[@jamesc7277]

For those of us in the field of theatre in the US, ‘theatre’ is live actors on a stage. ’Theater’ is a ‘cinema’ (a place that shows films/movies).

[@anitapeludat256]

I never knew there was a distinction in the spelling by people in drama/acting. Thank you for this.

[@grondhero]

"Theatre" is a holdover from Middle English. Modern English "theater" is for both live actors and cinema.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

That was always my thinking.

[@nthgth]

How did I know that the distinction is between those groups - that live performers/writers/enthusiasts would favor the more pretentious spelling 😄

[@Oddi0]

I've done theater. Maybe it's just a regional thing, but in my experience this isn't true.

[@INOD-2]

I've seen "omelette" on the menus of several American diners/restaurants.

[@jayg1438]

yep Denny's = Omelette IHOP = Omelette Waffle House = Omelet

[@MikeDCWeld]

I feel like "omelette" is definitely the normal spelling in America, but I'm not completely sure. I don't recall ever seeing it spelled "omelet", but I could be wrong.

[@simplysarah16]

​@MikeDCWeld I agree! The word omelet just looks wrong to me. Apparently, my phone disagrees

[@erraticonteuse]

I wonder if it's a regional thing. Because I'm on the east coast and I don't think I've ever seen "omelet" on a menu, but Lawrence is in the Midwest.

[@mpetersen6]

I would have said pretentious ones. But Denny's and IHOP?

[@dragonbowlsupper]

Hey Laurence, another reason why Americans prefer the shorter spelling is because publications in the 1800s would charge by the letter so it was more economical to drop unnecessary letters like 'u' in favor of the phonetic spelling. This is why Webster had the shorter spellings in his dictionary-- because they were already the more commonly used spellings.

[@julieharden2433]

This is what I learned! It was a space, ink, and cost saving thing.

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

This was also in the 1900s and 2000s, I used to work in a print and custome shop just a few years ago and certain types of orders are still done by the letter

[@Cactus_Hugs]

As an American, I've always spelt "mold" for the fungus and "mould" for a shape thing or wall trim. Also, "septic" has a whole other meaning here

[@Carewolf]

I would define the two words the opposite way. Mould is definitely mouldy, while a mold is something you mold in.

[@ferretyluv]

In Australia, it means American, so I’ve heard.

[@Mrshoujo]

Spelt is a different word from Spelled. On the other word.. You Mold Mold in a Mold. No U at all.

[@minecraftfox4384]

​@@Carewolfyou're factually wrong.

[@daffers2345]

@Mrshoujo Don't put mold in a mold, you'll get mold in the mold mold mold. (To speak nothing of mildew!)

[@JeremyWS]

I'm an American and I still use spell *epilogue* with the *ue*. I also keep the *ue* at the end of words like: dialogue, monologue, analogue, prologue, catalogue, colleague, intrigue, and fatigue. I have also noticed that both the *disc* and *disk* spellings of disc are still regularly used almost interchangeably in America. My dog won't stop bothering me while I am typing this.

[@Llortnerof]

Actually makes a certain amount of sense, since it's pronunced differently from log.

[@KnugLidi]

disk and disc are two different things.

[@chrisw5654]

To me a disc is round like a "CD" and a disk is square like a "Floppy disk".

[@Llortnerof]

@@KnugLidi No, they're the same thing, just different English dialects.

[@Llortnerof]

@@chrisw5654 Floppy disks are just as round as CDs. You're thinking of the casing, not the disk.

[@allanjmcpherson]

Arguably, Webster's influence on American spelling was less a product of his dictionary and more a product of his incredibly popular spelling book for school children. The dictionary surely helped, but if you really want to shape how people spell, you gotta get 'em while they're young!

[@toodlescae]

I read the dictionary for fun as a kid. I know..I'm weird. 😂

[@margarethawk3073]

So did I 😂

[@jayg1438]

the English Primer type of texts!

[@betht60]

​@@toodlescaeMe too!

[@toodlescae]

@@betht60 I'm 62 and Mom still says the worst time to be around me us when I don't have anything to read. I get grouchy. 🤣

[@toodlescae]

We use mould in crown moulding in architectural references.

[@etrisb]

So when crown moulding decays, does it moulder? Songwriter Al Stewart (born in Scotland, raised in England) referenced the decay of structures in the song "Electric Los Angeles Sunset": "The gates of the city are rusted over And mouldering"

[@jayg1438]

@@etrisb it 'molds' or 'gets moldy'

[@toodlescae]

@@etrisb nope. It molds.

[@russbell6418]

And base moulding (baseboard) and window moulding, door moulding, and curiously, brickmold (which is often used for door moulding).

[@schildkroete]

As an American, I feel like spelling "epilogue" and "monologue" as "epilog" and "monolog" is completely disturbing, while spelling "dialogue" and "analogue" as "dialog" and "analog" is totally fine.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I’m American and spell it dialogue. Spell check doesn’t question it. I didn’t realize there was an alternative spelling in American English.

[@wildstarfish3786]

spelling dialogue as dialog is completely disturbing to me as well

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

I'm American and Analog is literally the only word I drop the ue for. Lol

[@jeff__w]

I use _dialogue_ for the spoken exchange between two characters in a book, play, movie, etc. and _dialog_ for those boxes that appear on a computer screen for choosing an option or inputting text. I use _analogue_ for something that is similar or comparable to something else and _analog_ for some mechanism that has continuously variable characteristics (e.g., an analog watch, i.e., one with _hands)_ as opposed to _digital,_ where some mechanism displays, well, digits (e.g., a digital watch).

[@Bobrogers99]

I'm American, and I spell "analog", though I also usually spell "monologue" and "dialogue".

[@wandlbaker]

As a side note, when I try to make an omelet (or Omelette) I am now mostly successful. BUT when I was learning I would say, "I'm going to make a scramblet. As I didn't know if it would be a success or not...but still edible.

[@gerardflynn7382]

What is a Scramblet??

[@Reddles37]

I would just say I'm making eggs without specifying what exactly. If I happen to make scrambled eggs obviously that's because I meant to make them from the start... 😀

[@MaPayton]

I’ve made quite a few scramblettes! Lol

[@seanpaula8924]

Ooh Lawrence We still spell the word for wood trim with the "u" in it. Moulding

[@johnchastain7890]

Perhaps the most outrageous example of Crosspond spelling divergence is (was) the word GAOL, which I've even seen in some circa-1900 English children's classics. It took me years (and the assistance of illustrations and context) to figure out that it was the same word as JAIL.

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

I encountered that word for the first time in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia when I was like 10. I saw it in the tour guide map and thought “what the heck is a…Gowl???” Then I got there, saw the bars and the chains and such, and thought, “oh, a JAIL!”

[@johnchastain7890]

@@jasonlescalleet5611 I wonder if they ever spelled SAIL as CAOL. Haven't seen it, but why not? 😉

[@burlapknapsack]

Thus, it's Gaun Gaokob Gaenegelheimer Schmidt.

[@TheEstevenw]

how about kerb instead of curb - was reading a British newspaper and took me forever to figure out what it meant

[@jayg1438]

@@TheEstevenw and yet Brits still have to curb their enthusiasm

[@UnicornsPoopRainbows]

Grey va gray has always interested me

[@Itsgonnabeok1325]

I have forever spelled it grey. My teachers never corrected me, but I grew up on the Canadians border of the US.

[@seanpaula8924]

At damn near 60, i just realized the 2 different spellings, and now it makes my teeth itch. 😂

[@Moonstriker2514]

I personally use them as 2 different shades Grey is lighter than Gray (Lego The Hobbit character creator had it like that with light grey and dark gray)

[@PhantomObserver]

One is an earl. The other is a shade.

[@redram6080]

​@@Moonstriker2514I view it the other way around

[@artman2oo3]

10:54 Actually I am an American and I've always spelled it omelette - actually I rarely type that word, but that's how I picture it in my head. Wow even my computer is flagging it as misspelled. And actually I have always spelled "epilogue" - and "prologue" for that matter - with the ue. And those two words are not being flagged.

[@kayluster7671]

Lawrence, I'm a 71 year old woman, and I've always been a reader. I've always seen these different spellings, but I thought it was just me! Maybe I forgot the previous spellings. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm not that forgetful after all! LOVE your videos!!!!!❤

[@radix4801]

I wonder if "omelet" came about via diner short-hand and restaurant culture in general. For example, you'll usually see "drive-thru" for fast food joints instead of "drive through" which would make more sense. When taking orders or putting up signage, shorter words get the point across, but are faster to write and read.

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Our Drive-Thrus in Blighty are also called Drive-Thru rather than Drive Through... perhaps because the very idea of getting food without leaving your vehicle is still too American for us to fully embrace. Well, we do fully embrace it, we just aren't entirely comfortable with it!

[@cindabearr]

I'm from diner country (New Jersey, 45 mins from Philly). I've never seen it spelled any other way besides "omelette".

[@elultimo102]

"Motel" was originally "Motor Hotel." Supposedly in California, the sign was damaged and the owner was only able to salvage those letters. (California's Gold).

[@JRBWare1942]

That "thru" spelling was part of a proposed spelling reform in the 1930's--but the American people weren't having it (for the most part).

[@LindaC616]

​@@JRBWare1942 through/though/thought takes me back to that episode of I Love Lucy

[@cleementine]

You want confusion? Come to Canada, where we use a mixture of both spellings. My colour will always have a 'u,' but my programme is a program. It's theatre and centre, and cheque if we're talking about the super old-fashioned way of sending money, but check if we're ticking an item from a list. We put tires on our cars, rather than tyres, but I used to sell advertising, not advertizing.

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

I'm in America and only advertising for me

[@John-g6x1h]

Having read so much British literature, I've often got to stop and consider which way to spell a lot of words.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

I've always gravitated toward the British spelling, generally. No idea why. I've decided it must've been cuz I learned to spell in Minnesota. Maybe my teacher was Canadian.

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

Growing up in the US deep South in the 80s and 90s, I actually was taught nearly all exclussively British spellings (not jail) and marked off for using any of the spellings that are "American" as just fully incorrect. It wasn't until my late teens or early 20s, around the turn of the century, that I encountered any of the "American" spellings not being considered flat out wrong. I think that may have been regional though, as the South is notorious for using language in a way that's considered archaic, old-fashioned, or even British/Irish from the perspective of much of the rest of the country. Growing up people from other parts of the country used to ask my mom frequently what part of England she was from, to which she'd say she wasn't from England at all. I always thought it was weird growing up but since leaving the South I've discovered that if I use a lot of terms and spellings I grew up with that people have no idea what I'm saying.... These are just Southern not Britesque last I checked, but stuff like the following I've found really loses other people: Y'all best be gettin ya vittles now from out yondah (yonder) else the crittahs (critters) gone git it... I might get to doin' it, if I got the predilection.... or Darlin', you so fine you givin me the vapahs (vapors)....

[@John-g6x1h]

@@GoodNewsEveryone2999 I would never have expected the spelling differences.

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

@@John-g6x1h Some of that's just how we say it or write it informally, we still spell those last few the same in formal writing

[@stevethepocket]

I've never seen "epilog" spelled that way, but I have seen "dialog." It seems mainly popular in computer UI design circles in the form of dialog boxes, making it one of those cases of turning an alternate spelling into a homophone. (Linguists probably have an official term for that.) "Mold" to mean the fungus vs. "mould" to mean shaping device is another.

[@celesteerendrea4762]

I've always loved your videos on words, as I'm a reading addict. As an American who's lived in Canada for 50 years, I enjoy watching all the variants go back and forth, and I delightedly use any spelling I'm in the mood for. There's no such thing as a static standard English; language is *always* changing.

[@Terri_MacKay]

I moved to Canada from the States with my family in 1971. I always find videos on the differences between American and English spelling and pronunciation very interesting, because I find that here is Canada we're somewhere in the middle. I tend to use the English spellings of words most of the time, but I never stick that "O" before the "E" in words like (o)estrogen, I'd never spell artifact with an "E" in place of the "I", and whether I put a "C" or a "K" at the end of a word depends on the word. I'll write mollusk with the "K", but disc with the "C".

[@brianartillery]

Mold is a town in Wales. The lead singer of the '80s American Rock band, Husker Du, is called Bob Mould. These facts are not connected, but just came to me whilst watching your video, Lawrence.

[@alexandregarden6260]

Had totally forgotten about Mold. I once flew from Germany to rehearse with Welsh National Opera there on a Saturday afternoon. No retained memory of the place other than having to cancel singing at a friend’s wedding in order to travel to Mold!!

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

The French-derived words that end in "-our" in British English also evolved independently in France-- in French, they now end in "-eur". Never change, natural language... Webster had the good sense to change "plough" to "plow", but he left words like "enough", "thorough" and "tough" (those that end in an "uff" or "oh" sound) alone rather than make them phonetic. I agree with Webster on "skeptic", because of the word "scepter/sceptre" where he retained the C (and "septer" looks silly). Here's a really fun thing about words that end in "er" in US English vs "re" in UK English: "Helicopter" is spelled the same on both sides of the pond. And we kept "mediocre", probably because that one came straight from the French. I have this odd suspicion that some rogue French speaker in North America came up with "omelet" as a "masculine" version of "omelette". I'm not getting a spelling warning on "omelette", which tells me that it's an accepted alternate spelling. "Epilog" sounds like a laser cutter brand (and my browser says it's misspelled). I'm a bit more interested in "dialog" vs. "dialogue"...

[@JRBWare1942]

You mean phonemic spelling, not phonetic. (Yes, I know, EVERYONE says "phonetic"--but everyone's wrong). A phonetic spelling system would be a true nightmare. If it were spelled "omlet" in French, it would be pronounced "om-LAY"--and that isn't how it's pronounced.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

@@JRBWare1942 _If it were spelled "omlet" in French, it would be pronounced "om-LAY"--and that isn't how it's pronounced._ In North America? In the 19th century? I have my doubts. (It's a _joke.)_

[@kh23797]

Interestingly, 'plouw', derived from the earlier 'plog' or 'ploh', had already existed in British English. The modern coinage helicopter only makes sense as helico-pter (screw-wing).

[@Vodhin]

_"Epilog" sounds like a laser cutter brand (and my browser says it's misspelled)_ "Epilog" probably shortened to match "Log" [a note written by the author] as in *Log Book.* Only Jean-Luc Picard could possibly pronounce "Captain's Logue" correctly.

[@PawelGuzowski]

Helicopter is with an -er ending because it comes from the Greek pter-- (wing), like in pterodactyl

[@privacyvalued4134]

I find spelling invigorating. _VERY_ invigorating.

[@clvrswine]

Invigourating (I'm kidding).

[@gunsort3242]

Yikes!

[@roberthofmann8403]

I hope gaol/jail is on the list.

[@elliottgussow9555]

Also curb/kerb.

[@loosilu]

tire/tyre

[@GH-oi2jf]

All The New Shorter Oxford (1993) says about "gaol" is that it is a variant of "jail."

[@jonathanfinan722]

The first one is a verb, the second a noun with different meanings.

[@LindaC616]

​@@elliottgussow9555he's covered that one, I think

[@DRfeelgoodMD]

New Yorker here. Literally have never ever seen it spelled, "epilog." Is this a regional thing or is Lawrence just goofing on us with this one?

[@dazartingstall6680]

I wonder if he's confused it with analog/analogue.

[@LindaC616]

Same

[@LillibitOfHere]

I’ve never seen it either as a midwesterner

[@AlbatrossRevenue]

My spellchecker approves it, but I've never seen it. Prologue, epilogue, always spelled that way. That said, my experience with these words is almost exclusively limited to plays. I'm certain the first time I saw the word "epilogue" was when reading Shakespeare's The Tempest in school. If this is similar for most people, and plays are invariably influenced by Shakespeare and other British playwrights, then it stands to reason most of us would see the British spelling when we encounter those words.

[@clvrswine]

Not sure why you mention being a New Yorker.

[@biblioholic7139]

Tell me you haven't heard Hollaback Girl w/o telling me... 0:58

[@seancondon5572]

Yeah I'm pretty sure Gwen Stefani got him covered on that one.

[@ibekingape]

As a Jamaican-American whose Jamaican parents did some home schooling (just lessons at home alongside school), I have been plagued by the differences of English and American spelling, pronunciation, and grammar. T_T so much of the proofreading process has been to fix consistency.

[@jeff__w]

7:44 _mollusk/mollusc_ And then there’s _disk/disc,_ which has its own quirks: _disk_ is “preferred” in American English, _disc_ is ”preferred” in British English _but_ • the storage devices used with computers are _disks_ (hard disk, floppy disk-remember those?) but the optical ones are _discs_ (compact disc) • “disc sports” (e.g., discus throwing, Frisbee throwing) use _disc_ consistently. (I have a special fondness for the word _disk,_ actually. At the age of three I asked my dad to hand me “the record”-one of those black vinyl things-and my dad did _not_ understand me. Finally, after a few unsuccessful attempts repeating myself, I said in frustration, “Hand me the _disk!”_ and got what I asked for.)

[@GRW3]

I deal with US and UK military organizations. I have to keep my "Defense" (US) straight from my "Defence" (UK). I got the red underline as soon as I typed the second one. I put that spelling in memory of my work computer.

[@vbachman6742]

I switched my dictionary to British English when producing documents for British readers but I'm American so that is my default.

[@Beeza2996]

I like that one because it challenges Laurence’s whimsical-yet-somewhat-compelling theory about Americans and straight lines (since ‘s’ is more curvy than ‘c’).

[@anndeecosita3586]

Organisations

[@franroxburgh6055]

Even more complicated: I was taught that practice is a noun and to practise is a verb.

[@franroxburgh6055]

Here's the exception that proves the rule! Why have our cousins across the pond invented the incredibly long word "transportation"??? A noun ending on a noun....

[@JRBWare1942]

catalog/catalogue connection/connexion draught/draft foetus/fetus hiccough/hiccup tyre/tire

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Is connection with an X really an accepted spelling over there in the rebellious colonies? Don't think I've ever encountered it outside of marketing.

[@seileach67]

The spelling with an "x" is not at all common AFAIK here in the US.

[@JRBWare1942]

@@seileach67 @Eric_Hunt194 Both of you have it backwards. The first word in each line is the British spelling, the second the American. "Connexion" is unknown in American English (unless you look at some Methodist materials from the 19th century). I think the "connexion" spelling is cool. We still have "complexion" in American English--but I can't think of any other words off the top of my head that end in "-xion."

[@TheRealDuckofDeath]

Christmas/xmas Crossing/xing Croissant/xant The last one is patent pending by me.

[@LindaC616]

​@@TheRealDuckofDeathXmas, IIRC, had something to do with X looking like the cross. It's been a while since I heard the explanation

[@kathyastrom1315]

Several years ago, I read a really interesting biography of Noah Webster, whose dictionary not only changed American spelling, but also changed American law by introducing copyright protection through Webster’s lobbying to protect his royalties from unauthorized printers.

[@martinricardo4503]

Article I, Section 8, Clause 8: [The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. US Constitution. Well before Webster lived.

[@kathyastrom1315]

@@martinricardo4503 I should have been clearer-Webster was behind the first state copyright law in Connecticut, passed in 1783 while the country was still under the Articles of Confederation. Other states passed similar laws to CT after.

[@THall-vi8cp]

@martinricardo4503 Noah Webster was born in 1758.

[@stormagorist6129]

Show idea: The possessive differences. Example: I just saw a british show in which the phrase "Doll's houses" was used as opposed to "doll houses" as would be used in the US..

[@Ms.W529]

this is just an example of how a possessive followed by a noun has become a compound noun. Think fire truck, barber shop, beauty shop.

[@Mehwhatevr]

the difference between American and British spelling is that British spelling tries to preserve the origin of the word. the french spelling etc. This makes things hard to spell. American English changes the spelling of words in order to make them fit English phonics (as explained in the video). Maneuver/Manoeuvre comes from the french word Manoeuvre Diarrhoea comes from the greek word diarrhoia Plough comes from the old english plough I'm happy I don't have to spell things the British way. too hard. 8:10 I don't know about straight lines, but I feel like starting words with c and ending them with k is a nice standard. could have been the other way I suppose, but having c be typically towards the front the word and k towards the back makes it easier for me to spell. artefact or artifact... phonetically they both make sense. I couldn't tell you whether I pronounce it with an e or an i. maybe an e. 11:00 I love these jokes. t and e are gone because they are "uncomfortably curvy" :D

[@mollyroughan1154]

This is so interesting as a Bostonian, as we use a lot of British spellings due to our city's love of history, especially relating to the colonial period. I often switch "er" for "re" and use "-ise" in place of "-ize," and after speaking with some friends about this, I've found that they do the same!

[@yondie491]

I love using Bostonian English as a way to illustrate rhoticity, though, as you point out, being non-rhotic isn't the only Bri'ish thing Bostonians like to hang on to. A bit ironic considering that Boston is the birthplace of American independence. You'd think Boston would be leading the charge in anti-British linguistics!

[@KaitouKaiju]

​@@yondie491Nobody hates Brits more than fellow Brits

[@IsabelJones69]

I'm British, so words with ZE at the end just look wrong to me.

[@anitapeludat256]

I've never heard of the various Boston accents being related to the love of history. It's quite simply generational, and also by the locations in and around Boston. The history is still standing, fortunately for the most part. Think of the variants in and around London. The differences are generational and location.

[@anitapeludat256]

​@@yondie491 There are many variants in the Boston downtown and surrounding areas. Many different people from many different countries, walked off their ships, in Boston harbor. Some people kept walking out of Boston and dispersed North or South or straight into NYC and beyond to Michigan region. And many stayed .

[@verdatum]

Good programme/program. These issues are an absolute nightmare for us software engineers. I personally experienced a bug that cost over ten thousand dollars of man-hours that turned out to be a problem of "grey" vs. "gray", which works on a second level because it's an issue of either "color" or "colour". If it was possible to sum up these issues in the history of code errors, they easily will have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. That said, I would've called them dollarydoos.

[@gcvrsa]

In American English, the "u"" exists in the word "moulding" (noun), but not in the word "molding" (verb).

[@maxpowr90]

As in crown moulding.

[@Vodhin]

So what's that stuff growing on my bread? Is it Mould or Mold?

[@SirYodaJedi]

⁠@@Vodhin The stuff growing on your bread is mold; the stuff used to shape stuff with is mould.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

A "dialogue" between parties is spelled different from a "dialog box" in Windows computing. But that's kind of common in nerd-dom. A "checkbox" in Windows is called a "tickbox" in Britain (and Canada). (Canada is weird. They're right up the street from us and it's a whole different language.)

[@robertchinnery9806]

It's sill spelt sulphur in the UK.

[@jonathanfinan722]

I’ve never seen it any other way.

[@jamesbulldogmiller]

😀. Whilst also being spelt Sulphur in the UK. While also being spelled Sulphur in the USA

[@iansnell1104]

Not officially - the standard spelling according to IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) is sulfur and has been since at least 1990. Textbooks will spell it correctly. Of course, layman spellings still abound, and will for some time - this is a country that still routinely interchanges pounds and kilograms despite the fact that metric has been standard since before I was born! (And I'm Gen X...)

[@yondie491]

I giggle in American at "spelt"

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@iansnell1104 Please define 'correctly'?

[@Crosses3]

Interesting, as an American I always spelled mould for a casing for imprinting and mold for the spore maker.

[@anndeecosita3586]

In the USA both cancelled and canceled are considered correctly spelled.

[@clvrswine]

Nice one. What about gray vs. grey?

[@briebel2684]

​@@clvrswine Both are acceptable in the USA, but Gray is more common.

[@jayg1438]

@@clvrswine If I want a neutral tone gray, if I want a tasty tea Earl Grey We use both

[@WalterWD]

@@briebel2684 Hmm, I have always fount the opposite true. 😅

[@briebel2684]

@@WalterWD Well there's surname Gray, the dog (and bus line) Greyhound. So it probably depends on which of those had more influence on your family.

[@MatthewBrannigan]

I've lived in the US for 21 years and only just noticed today that it's furor in the US, not furore. I think it affects the pronunciation, it's not just an alternate spelling.

[@richardderuiter4612]

The OE and AE combos you referenced were originally joined together and were considered one vowel representing their respective vowel sounds. This convention was phased out with the invention of the printing press. OE and AE as individual letters replaced them and apparently were retained in Britain, but dropped in the U.S.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

The original letters æ and œ stuck around longer in the UK than the US. The UK will probably end up losing most of the extra letters like the US did eventually just later because they kept the original letters longer.

[@heatherkuhn6559]

That type of character is called a ligature character.

[@jeff__w]

5:17 The “enduring affinity for straight lines” was the *Public Land Survey System (PLSS),* also known as the *Rectangular Survey System,* created as a way of surveying and subdividing land, was established by the Land Ordinance of 1785 and was used extensively as the United States expanded westward, including in cities like Phoenix, Arizona and Salt Lake City, Utah. The system divided the land into a grid of six-mile square townships, which were further subdivided into 36 one-mile square sections.

[@LostsTVandRadio]

It would be fun to write a British version of Webster's dictionary: Encyclopedia: A knowledgeable foot-propelled vehicle Omelet: A small-sized ome Color: Off-colour Specialty: Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong etc

[@etherealbolweevil6268]

Sir, the pictorial representation of molluscs included a nautilus, which is classified as a cephalopod not a mollusc. Apologies for the pedantry.

[@hamilde]

In the 80's, I worked as a "draftsman" or "drafting technician". The UK guys I worked with spelled it "draughtsman" or "draughting technician". (At least that's what I remember, it was a long time ago🙂).

[@signalfirefly]

I *know* it's draft, but I just can't not read it "drottsman".

[@walteringle2258]

@5:50 I think there's an additional factor here. Typesetters/printing press operators. The rise of non-curvy lettering corresponds to a rise in publishing. Having read some late 1880s UK periodicals there is a trend towards abbreviations even there. (d is sometimes a p upside down in typesetting, and vice versa - M&W too... there's even a special alignment block for it in older font sets if they run out of one or the other) Curvy letters were harder to get to stay legible over repeated uses. You see this in some antique typewriters, particularly ones that were more... affordable. Often, repairing individual letters would involve using lead to fill in the letter, which was usually a patch that did not hold for very long, sometimes a patch done by the end user to keep from having to replace an individual striker. Wish I could direct you to more concrete links, but my info was based on childhood conversations with people born in the first couple of decades of the 1900s (child labor-their fingers were better at putting the letters in) and a field trip to a colonial village that had a printing press.

[@marieugorek5917]

"simplify the language and stick it to the Brits" pretty much sums up Noah Webster's legacy.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

That was kind of the whole North American independent attitude. America, it is special. In what WAY should it be special? now that is a whole different argument.

[@shockwavebboy]

3:49 We still use mould when writing about home decor as in "moulded ceiling"

[@AskAScreenwriter]

I actually had an argument with a middle school teacher over the spelling of dwarves/dwarfs. Our spelling text book had 'dwarfs,' but I pointed out that JRR Tolkien spelled it 'dwarves,' and SHE was the one who first got me hooked on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in the first place!

[@fishyfool]

I think in this case you're looking at a difference in British vs American english. Both are correct but one is more common over here.

[@rosiefay7283]

"Dwarfs" is correct. "Dwarves" belongs in the works of Tolkien.

[@MrGBH]

​@rosiefay7283 you probably say shelfs don't you?

[@rosiefay7283]

@@MrGBH Nobody says shelfs.

[@arasdeeps1852]

@@rosiefay7283 Nobody says dwarfs either. It's only written that way by folks who can't spell.

[@sholms42]

Hey - just want to add a random thing: I've been going thru a terrible thing with loosing a close friend and such, and watching your recent videos have really helped a lot! Just when I thought I got "beyond" the thing, I was mistaken, and falling back into your videos really helped out! I know that may not be how you envisioned them, but they did help out! Thank you, Lawerence! (sorry if I misspelled that!)

[@pyromaniac000000]

I feel most of us in America use both mold and mould, where mold specifically means the fungus, and mould is the action or cast, like a clay mould. Use the difference to separate the two.

[@simonmeadows7961]

With regards to the medical symptom mentioned early on, I can never spell it without looking it up, so I sometimes write 'dire rear'. It sounds exactly the same and is a very apt description.

[@dazartingstall6680]

Traveller and traveler spring to mind. I'm sure I've seen lots of examples where we Brits double the final letter when adding a suffix while Americans don't, but the memory-box is currently refusing to cooperate.

[@JRBWare1942]

It's probably not just any final letter. I would say the best bets are L, M. N, and R.

[@julieharden2433]

Same with Cancelled/Canceled.

[@quiestinliteris]

Focused / focussed.

[@geoff1201]

The doubled consonant is necessary to keep the preceding e short. It's standard English grammar. Without the second l, traveler should be pronounced traveeler

[@dazartingstall6680]

@@geoff1201 Aye. In British English at least. Though I beg to differ in that it's spelling, not grammar. But then we go and ruin it with, for instance, opening and canonical, gases and buses.

[@deanbianco4982]

@Laurence: Could you feature an episode that explains why Americans don't use the word 'whilst?'

[@GenXfrom75]

I use it…😂

[@LostsTVandRadio]

Nowagh Webbesterre was traumatised by his birth name - and the rest is history.

[@scoobasteve1844]

Maybe he has already covered it in a different video. But I'm surprised mom vs. mum isn't in this video

[@spamlessaccount]

0:33 FYI Americans don't spell aluminium at all. They spell aluminum.

[@kmrtnsn]

That wasn’t always the case.

[@spamlessaccount]

@@kmrtnsn That almost goes without saying for all of the differentiated words.

[@AdamYJ]

I always found the difference between the English and American words strange. When you ask about it, Brits will say "aluminium" sounds more like other elements. But if that's the case, then why don't they also say "platinium" instead of "platinum"?

[@AlbatrossRevenue]

Yes, hence his point. Something he discussed more in an older video.

[@metalslinger]

The guy who discovered it wanted to call it alumium.

[@polyvg]

Re "mould/ing", the closely related "moulder/ing" is spelled variously in the verse: John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave With and without 'u' are both common across US sources.

[@marylist1236]

To me, plow is a verb, and plough is a noun, as in, We plow the field with the plough

[@Eric_Hunt194]

To me, plough is what a farmer does to his fields, and plow is what he does to his wife.

[@judithtorgerson6279]

nah

[@ellotheearthling]

Thats nut korrect that izz rong

[@ProgressiveSolutions]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't include jewelry (jewellery in the U.K.).

[@mikenixon2401]

I blame my mother's education for my not earning better grades in U.S. schools. She would always tell me, "No, that is not correct." So, I went with mom because why would she lie to me? Now, 60 years later I want to protest my grades.

[@thehapagirl92]

You should have told her that she’s in the US now and they don’t spell things like in Britain.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@Helloitsme328 So - why doesn't Laurence speak with an American accent?

[@christiansturt]

Surley you mean your "Mum" not your "Mom" 😀

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@christiansturt Mom is a common Midlands expression in the UK.

[@anitapeludat256]

Words and languages change. They are a living creation.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

The first time I remember seeing the word "plow" spelled "plough" was in the 1970s. I'd purchased Elton John's double-album, _Goodbye Yellow Brick Road._ The album had the words to each song printed out and in the title song, the line: "You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough" Later, I saw it again in the King James Bible: Luke 9:62 - And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Crazy enough, Elton John's pronunciation of "horny-back toad" in that song is unbelievable. He pronounces it "honny-back toud".)

[@Itsgonnabeok1325]

have you ever spoke of the great t/ed conundrum? Spilt/spilled, learnt/learned, etc.

[@INOD-2]

Spelt/spelled

[@baxpiz1289]

yet u.s. uses dealt

[@miniepicness]

@@baxpiz1289 and smelt if someone else is being accused of having dealt it

[@Beezer.D.B.]

OMG, I really have always wondered on the spelling on some of these words, but never made the connections that you’ve just speculated about! I’ve also never considered who decided on these differences for us in the USA. It really was interesting! Thank you!

[@GH-oi2jf]

I don't agree that Webster wanted the language as we (in the USA) write it to have an Americam identity. He just wanted the same thing that Johnson, in Britain, wanted. Both wanted to regularize the spelling, and they did so independently. Neither had any official mandate, but each was greatly influential, so their dictionaries became de facto standards.

[@GH-oi2jf]

I will amend that. According to Mencken, Webster did want the written language to have an American identity. He was aware of Johnson's work, of course, but he was not seeking to change Johnson's spellings willy-nilly. He made changes with a purpose, but was fairly conservative. Franklin was the radical reformer of spelling, but his suggested improvements did not catch on.

[@kcthesledgestoryteller]

I’m American, and though I’m familiar with both spellings of Epilogue

[@traveldreamer4616]

We were just obsessed with limiting our use of vowels. Or maybe just sticking in to the Brits and the French. 🤣 Great video. Always humorous. Thanks.

[@jamesrussell8256]

Does Britons no longer use Sulphur? The British spelling does still exist here in the US. Sulphur, Oklahoma is near me. There's a Sulphur Springs, Texas, etc.

[@Rainears129]

I think part of why Webster's spellings took off, aside from making one for children, is that a lot of them are shorter than the British counterparts. Which, when you have to pay for every letter used in printing, means you're going to want to go with the shorter spellings to get more of your money's worth.

[@GeneralNickles]

You might actually be onto something with the curved letters theory. Most writing during webster's time would've been done with quills and fountain pens. Which require that you write in a very specific way. It does actually HEAVILY favor straight lines. Curves can be difficult with these writing implements. It's possible Webster wanted to simplify the spelling of these words not only to make them easier to remember, but also to make them easier to write with the predominant writing implements at the time.

[@perryshaffer8358]

"Anyone who can think of only one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination." - Mark Twain Also my favorite excuse for the grades on my spelling tests.

[@MKisFeelinSpicy]

A fun thing about the spelling differences is that we still use the alternative here and there, or at least encounter it in books and signs and such, some more common than others, and it's not always pointed out as being a British spelling or a less common spelling in the US, so some of us just learned other spellings as interchangeable or as the only spelling we knew for the word. I (an American) grew up using the spellings grey, theatre, and omelette, and no one told me not to. I didn't even know about the omelet spelling for awhile somehow.

[@hyrenaj2888]

I moved from place that taught British English (in a non-English speaking country) to the US as a child, and it was quite an abrupt change for me. Still distinctly remember trying to figure out if "aeroplane" and "airplane" were two different things.

[@elultimo102]

I met a Mexican whose wife studied English at a university in Mexico, where they taught "King's English " instead of American, although 300 million lived to the north. They also taught Castilian in US Spanish classes, with 100 million Mexicans due south.

[@xorsyst1]

In British English, "Mold" is a town in North Wales.

[@lordofduct]

Some of these are things where it's like... I've always considered them "alternate" spellings and used them in specific contexts. For example: theater - a more common class establishment to see something like a film/movie "I'll catch you down at the movie theater" theatre - a fancier establishment to see something like a play, or a word for that play itself "I'm going to the theatre" mold - the stuff that grows in dark moist areas and makes your food bad mould - a form from which you can create shaped goods plow - a more common plow on a vehicle for pushing snow, a "snow plow" plough - to drive earth for planting "I plough the field" This is really a "me" thing, I bet some others do it (especially with theater/theatre), but yeah this was how I rationalized this stuff in my head. And the reason is... well... my father was a hillbilly farm boy. While he had a high school education, a good deal of his family was not well educated at all often having dropped out in elementary school. I have uncles who to this day can not read or write. Hell I have an uncle who goes my a completely different name than his real name because it's the only 3 letters he can put together (and sadly the name is 4 letters long... he misspells his fake name). My mother on the other hand comes from a very well educated family. Not just that, my mother raised me on a lot of British media in the form of literature, film, and even tv shows (what few she could get on VHS in the states, she didn't have the technical know-how for PAL tapes. But later in life with DVD that changed). I learned to read using books with British spellings of things. Then I got to school where the spellings were all different and I got told I was the one spelling everything wrong. But that couldn't be... my BOOKS spell it that way. So I had to rectify this in my little child brain and my justification was based on my parents.... my dad was low-brow, my mother was sophisticated. My father wrote things like my school, my mother wrote things like in books. So I just assumed that one was for common people and the other for educated/sophisticated situations. Going to the movies is low-brow, going to the theatre is sophisticated. This extended into all my every day things. Yes, even plow and plough. My father was a farm boy after all, it's why my dad's family dropped out young, they were working the field. And it's not like all of them on that side were illiterate (my grandfather wasn't, and he was actually an immigrant too so wasn't stuck to American spellings). So while my cousins and uncles plowed snow in the winter, my grandfather ploughed fields in the summer. I just thought this was like... just a thing... of course once I got older I figured out what was actually going on. But... I like this. I like the idea of multiple spellings and contextual usage. Hell today I make video games in a engine called Unity 3D and I think they're from Denmark. Not an English speaking nation perse, but their English speaking staff is more likely to be British than American. As a result the API is littered with British spelling. For example there is a class called 'MonoBehaviour' for writing 'behaviors' for objects in your code. It has the 'u', and so after years of working with his engine I just put a 'u' in 'behaviour' when I'm talking about code/AI/games. But if I'm talking about more casual things like inter-personal relationships and behaviors, I drop the 'u'. :shrug: It's how I do. And it annoys people for some reason. I get pestered for it by people I know but aren't friends (like work mates), or on the internet where everyone is confrontational. Reddit for instance can NOT comprehend the way I type. They tell me that's not how people's brains work and that you pick one way and stick with it. I also put $/currency signs on end of numbers instead of in front (I believe Germany does this... but that's not why I do). It's because I predominantly write code and in C-like languages you signify numeric types with suffixes (0f, 0d, 0l, 0u... exceptions are things like hex and binary where prefix with 0x and 0b respectively). It also logically follows in my head... I don't say "dollars 5" I say "5 dollars"... so 5$ makes sense to me. Hoooo boy did I piss off a group of people on reddit who argued I had to be mentally damaged (I mean arguably I am autistic) and that no one does that and that I must be lying about why I do it because no other programmer does that. And I didn't claim that programmers do it... I claimed it's where I got it. But yeah, anyways, I really appreciate your videos and other videos like it on the topic of language and language differences. It goes to show how loosey goosey language actually is, how strict spelling is actually REALLY new in the grand scheme of things, and it's more fun to just appreciate how things can differ between groups of people while still remaining mostly intelligible, and you do it all without getting snooty about it. Neither country has it "right", it's just how it is.

[@HikuroMishiro]

Yep, reasonably sure many Americans do the same. Though I wonder if it's one of those generational things that is dying out.

[@cassieberringer7427]

Fascinating! I like you're reasonings. I do think other people do it a little to some extent, like you said theatre being one example. I always thought putting the $ sign in front was annoying. I use it so rarely that I will type the number amount first, pause, and then remember I need to back up and put the dollar sign in front of the number. But I always assumed it was so sort of way to make more distinctions between the dollar sign and the cent sign. Which my laptop keyboards never have a cent sign on them, which I find disappointing. If I'm typing something about cents, I have to convert it to dollars. Saying $0.30 or say 30 cents. Where's the cent symbol? Sorry for that tangent. Your bit about Reddit made me LOL.

[@minecraftfox4384]

Plow, you plow a field. It's not the 16th century anymore, nobody "ploughes". Sincerely, a farmer.

[@luisvelasco316]

"Mould" does show up in reference to pieces of milled wood used for trim, but, confoundingly, also loses the "u" if one refers to "molding".

[@gcvrsa]

You mean "omelette", don't you? I'm American, and I've always spelled it "omelette".

[@Vtarngpb]

Same. It might be a regional thing though

[@Eric_Hunt194]

Well, you can't make an omelet without breaking egs...

[@OriginalCaliKitty]

It might be generational. I'm old and I grew up with the longer spelling here in the US.. I think it got shortened in advertising and marketing materials (and menus). The same with catalogue and dialogue - I grew up with the longer spellings but the ue's got chopped off as a result of advertising/marketing sometime in the 60s or later. Ad people have a lot to answer for.

[@tobarstep]

I just checked a few online menus, and restaurants do seem to spell it "omelet". I've never really noticed as I always read it in my head as "omelette".

[@seileach67]

It's spelled "omelet" here in mid-Missouri, so it might be regional as the other commenter suggested.

[@jamcgowan1095]

I say unto you two things: The Oxford Z; and the English speciality vs the American specialty

[@darreljones8645]

One spelling change Noah Webster proposed to get rid of a "u" that wasn't adopted: He wanted to respell "soup" as "soop". Also, Noah Webster was a cousin to early 19th-century American statesman and orator Daniel Webster.

[@stevethepocket]

_The Devil and Noah Webster_ would have been a very different story, but possibly more interesting.

[@marydavis5234]

Soop in South Korean means forest

[@Raver_S_Thompson]

There is a good book by Bill Bryson called “The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way” that discusses quite a few differences in spelling and pronunciation. There has been many grammatical and linguistic groups mentioned to simplify, and sometimes further complicate, the English language. It makes you think understand why ‘chomping at the bit’ and ‘champing at the bit (original)’ both are the same and mean the same.

[@balaam_7087]

Call Mister Plough, that’s my name, that name again, is…nah it just doesn’t work

[@elultimo102]

According to "The Story of English," plough was originally pronounced as "ploch," the last sound similar to what one does to hawk up a loogie.

[@msailuromaniac]

I've seen epilog occasionally, but not often. I use epilogue.

[@LostsTVandRadio]

Speciality > Specialty .... Impressive how the Americans can remove one letter and reduce a 5 syllable word to a 3 syllable one. That's efficiency for you!!

[@RobertJRoman]

I advocate further websterization and propose the spelling OMLET

[@jordanbradford7729]

I think “gaol” vs “jail” is the most jarring difference. When I first encountered the word “gaol” I thought it was pronounced “gay-ol” with a hard “g” until I figured out what the word meant from context. “Gaoler”/“jailer” is also jarring.

[@josephreilly6328]

Thanks for all your labour's in making these comparisons

[@FionaEm]

Aussie here. Traditionally, we spell these words omelette, manoeuvre, diarrhoea, mould, colour, flavour, honour, plough, sceptic, mollusc, cosy, realise, artefact, epilogue etc ... but occasionally I see -ize instead of -ise entering the lexicon and it drives me bonkers 😅

[@waggermama]

In the UK the s or z thing is a North/South divide spelling difference. I was taught to spell it either way.

[@jamesschneider3828]

We don’t go bonkers in America, we go nuts.

[@FionaEm]

​@@waggermama That's interesting. Aussie spelling is more uniform (as is our accent) despite the vast distances between major population centres. There's no North/South divide as such.

[@BakedRBeans]

Hello to Australia from America! What I have always found interesting is the similarity between Australian slang and English cockney slang, due to so many English people being sent to Australia long ago.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

@@waggermama Z is the older way to spell it. If it makes things better the Oxford English Dictionary and King Charles III prefers the z usage to the s.

[@pntbll4me]

I find the word mold interesting as I am a former Moulder operator, which is a peice of equipment that shaves wood down (think crown moulding). I used it to create stiles and rails for wood cabinets.

[@janetd4862]

I really noticed, when working in a hospital, how many words we spell differently from other English speaking country. Words like pediatrician, orthopedics, etc. We even use the word “the” in front of “hospital” where you Brits do not - go to hospital vs go to the hospital. You pronounce words differently - respiratory, for example, and sometimes skeletal. You get jabs instead of shots or needle sticks. I can’t imagine how hard it was to move to a country where they speak a foreign English!

[@jamesbulldogmiller]

@@janetd4862 Also ‘plaster’ for ‘bandage’

[@GoodNewsEveryone2999]

We still have plough here. I grew up with both. Where I grew up I think I encountered plough before plow, but they were both used. Plough is my go to and sometimes I forget about plow - I'd also probably use plow more as a noun, hard to say as I rarely use it. Also grew up with omlette. A lot of shorter words here became poplular in the days of signage and print charging by the letter (still a thing in some businesses). Shorter versions were cheaper and then that's what everyone sees so then more people start spelling things that way (also shorter bolder versions are easier to read in ads and billboards)... next thing you know, we go from "doughnut" to "donut".

[@Eric_Hunt194]

"Artefatto" sounds like what the painter Botticelli would call his models.

[@elultimo102]

Now it would be "arte-plus-sizo."

[@jfomega]

You omit to mention that our US cousins also seem to prefer to travel in slightly misspelt and incomplete aeroplanes

[@TrueThanny]

Let's not pretend that spelling was well standardized in England, either. The effort to come up with standard spellings on both sides of the pond happened pretty close to one another, temporally speaking. The only effort to gain any real traction in England was Samuel Johnson's dictionary in 1755, long after the colonies were populated and began doing English their own way.

[@_Ben___]

Did they change plow, but retain bough? As in a tree branch?

[@elultimo102]

"America is the only English-speaking country that does not call it "zed." (Dr. Who).

[@kevinbarry71]

We are the only one who pronounces the final letter of the alphabet in a consistent manner. Repeat after me: B, C, D, E, G, P, T, Z. That other pronunciation sticks in the throat. It's awkward

[@CruorBlossom]

​@kevinbarry71 I would imagine "zed" only sounds awkward because you are not used to it; it's a subjective matter. I say this as an american that also finds "zed" awkward. The defense I use for "Zee" is similar to your point: "Zed" is the only pronunciation for a letter that both begins and ends with a consonant. This makes it sound more like a complete word like "dig" or "fed" and less like a sound (W is also weird tho)

[@guyfaux3978]

Although, if one trusts Ben Franklin, it was pronounced zee, zed, ezzard and izerd (take your pick) in his day.

[@INOD-2]

@@CruorBlossom The name of W is because it originally was literally a "double U"

[@HikuroMishiro]

As an American that of course uses 'zee', I imagine there must be a few things I would say 'zed' for because of pretty much only hearing it in a British context. For instance I would say BMW 'zed' four instead of 'zee' four because of decades of Top Gear.

[@Psyched_Crow]

Joining the people from the US who have never seen Epilogue spelled without the ue (despite many other similar words doing so), but also more often than not I see the full spelling of Omelette

[@arikwolf3777]

I use the spelling of _cheque_ to refer to a written order to a bank to pay the amount specified from funds on deposit. I use _check_ for all other uses of the word. (I wrote my rent _cheque_ for the month, the last task to _check_ off on the to-do list.) Also, I use _tyre_ when writing about vehicles' wheels and _tire_ went run down. (I'm _tired_ and need a nap because I just changed all the _tyres_ on my truck.) (I'm American.)