English Spelling Guide by joeyhclai

English Spelling Guide

British English and American English are the foremost varieties of the English language.

In Hong Kong, these two forms of English are often

used interchangeably. As it is generally accepted that neither form is superior to the other, whether to adopt British English or American English is simply a matter of choice.

The Government Norm Spelling difference is one of the aspects of divergence between British and American English. The form of spelling adopted in Hong Kong varies among different organisations in the private sector, but as far as the Government is concerned, British spelling has always been the norm. For the sake of ensuring a certain degree of consistency in official writing — an element conducive to the image of a “coherent government” — it is highly desirable that uniform spelling be adopted within the Government.

Efforts to Maintain Spelling Consistency Having regard to the Government norm and the need for uniform spelling, continued efforts have been made to encourage the use of British spelling in the Government. For example, in projects involving crossdepartmental inputs, such as the Policy Address and the Hong Kong Annual Report, guidelines are issued to ensure adherence to British spelling. Moreover, it is a standard practice for Official Languages Officers to use British spelling in official writing and, where practicable, to encourage other officers in their departments to do the same. The adoption of British spelling, however, does not suggest that the use of American spelling is incorrect. It is simply a matter of trying to ensure a certain degree of consistency in official writing.

List of British and American English Spelling Differences As a further step towards maintaining spelling consistency in the Government, the Official Languages Division of the Civil Service Bureau has compiled the List of British and American English Spelling Differences (see Appendix) for colleagues’ reference.

The List, which shows differences

between British and American spellings of common words, is aimed at assisting colleagues in choosing between two alternative English spellings that are both acceptable.

The following points, however, should be noted:

In the List, spellings that belong to the “British Spelling” category are more widely used in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Those that fall into the category of “American Spelling” have more currency in the United States than in the United Kingdom. The categorisation does not reflect word origin, which is a far more complicated issue.

The List is a handy reference guide to common words that are spelt differently in British and American English. It is not meant to be exhaustive.

Contact Us For enquiries or suggestions, please contact the Research and Support Services Section of the Official Languages Division, Civil Service Bureau at 2867 2911.

Research and Support Services Section Official Languages Division Civil Service Bureau May 2007

Appendix

List of British and American English Spelling Differences British Spelling

American Spelling A

adviser

advisor

aesthetic

esthetic

ageing

aging

aluminium

aluminum

amoeba

ameba

anaemia

anemia

anaesthesia

anesthesia

analogue

analog

analyse

analyze

apologise*

apologize

appal, appalled, appalling

appall, appalled, appalling

appetiser

appetizer

archaeology

archeology

ardour

ardor

armour

armor

authorise*

authorize

axe

ax B

behaviour

behavior C

calibre

caliber

cancel, cancelled, cancelling

cancel, canceled, canceling

capitalise*

capitalize

British Spelling

American Spelling

carat

karat

catalogue

catalog

catalyse

catalyze

categorise*

categorize

cauldron

caldron

centralise*

centralize

centre

center

channel, channelled, channelling

channel, channeled, channeling

characterise*

characterize

cheque

check

chequer

checker

chilli

chili

civilise*

civilize

colonise*

colonize

colour

color

computerise*

computerize

contextualise*

contextualize

corporatise*

corporatize

cosy

cozy

counsel, counselled, counselling

counsel, counseled, counseling

counsellor

counselor

criminalise*

criminalize

criticise*

criticize D

defence

defense

demeanour

demeanor

British Spelling

American Spelling

democratise*

democratize

departmentalise*

departmentalize

dial, dialled, dialling

dial, dialed, dialing

dialogue

dialog

diarrhoea

diarrhea

digitise*

digitize

disc (all meanings other than computer disk)

disk

disk (computer disk)

disk

distil, distilled, distilling

distill, distilled, distilling

doughnut

donut

dramatise*

dramatize E

economise*

economize

emphasise*

emphasize

endeavour

endeavor

energise*

energize

enrol, enrolled, enrolling

enroll, enrolled, enrolling

equal, equalled, equalling

equal, equaled, equaling

equalise*

equalize

extemporise*

extemporize F

faeces

feces

fantasise*

fantasize

favour

favor

favourite

favorite

fertiliser

fertilizer iii

British Spelling

American Spelling

fervour

fervor

fibre

fiber

finalise*

finalize

flavour

flavor

foetus

fetus

formalise*

formalize

fulfil, fulfilled, fulfilling

fulfill, fulfilled, fulfilling G

gauge

gage

gelatine

gelatin

generalise*

generalize

glamorise*

glamorize

glamour

glamor

glycerine

glycerin

grey

gray

gynaecology

gynecology H

haemorrhage

hemorrhage

harbour

harbor

harmonise*

harmonize

honour

honor

hospitalise*

hospitalize

humour

humor

hypnotise*

hypnotize

hypothesise*

hypothesize

British Spelling

American Spelling I

individualise*

individualize

industrialise*

industrialize

initial, initialled, initialling

initial, initialed, initialing

instalment

installment

instil, instilled, instilling

instill, instilled, instilling

institutionalise*

institutionalize

internationalise*

internationalize

itemise*

itemize J

jeopardise*

jeopardize

jeweller

jeweler

jewellery

jewelry K

kidnap, kidnapped, kidnapping

kidnap, kidnaped, kidnaping L

label, labelled, labelling

label, labeled, labeling

labour

labor

legalise*

legalize

leukaemia

leukemia

liberalise*

liberalize

licence (noun), license (verb)

license

liquidise*

liquidize

litre

liter

localise*

localize

louvre

louver

British Spelling

American Spelling

lustre

luster M

manoeuvre

maneuver

marginalise*

marginalize

marvellous

marvelous

materialise*

materialize

maximise*

maximize

meagre

meager

mechanise*

mechanize

memorise*

memorize

meter (device for measuring)

meter

metre (unit of measurement)

meter

minimise*

minimize

mobilise*

mobilize

model, modelled, modelling

model, modeled, modeling

modernise*

modernize

monopolise*

monopolize

moralise*

moralize

mould

mold N

nationalise*

nationalize

neighbour

neighbor

neutralise*

neutralize O

odour

odor

oesophagus

esophagus

British Spelling

American Spelling

offence

offense

omelette

omelet

optimise*

optimize

organise*

organize

orthopaedic

orthopedic P

paediatrician

pediatrician

paralyse

paralyze

parlour

parlor

patronise*

patronize

pedestrianise*

pedestrianize

personalise*

personalize

philosophise*

philosophize

plough

plow

polarise*

polarize

politicise*

politicize

practice (noun), practise (verb)

practice

pressurise*

pressurize

pretence

pretense

prioritise*

prioritize

privatise*

privatize

program (computer program)

program

programme (all meanings other than computer program)

program

publicise*

publicize

pyjamas

pajamas

vii

British Spelling

American Spelling Q

quarrel, quarrelled, quarrelling

quarrel, quarreled, quarreling R

rationalise*

rationalize

realise*

realize

recognise, recognisable*

recognize, recognizable

revitalise*

revitalize

revolutionise*

revolutionize

rigour

rigor

romanise*

romanize

rumour

rumor S

saviour

savior

savour

savor

savoury

savory

scandalise*

scandalize

sceptic

skeptic

scrutinise*

scrutinize

secularise*

secularize

securitise*

securitize

signal, signalled, signalling

signal, signaled, signaling

skilful

skillful

smoulder

smolder

sombre

somber

specialise*

specialize

speciality

specialty

viii

British Spelling

American Spelling

splendour

splendor

stabilise*

stabilize

standardise*

standardize

sterilise*

sterilize

stigmatise*

stigmatize

storey

story

subsidise*

subsidize

sulphur

sulfur

summarise*

summarize

symbolise*

symbolize

sympathise*

sympathize

synchronise*

synchronize

synthesise*

synthesize

systematise*

systematize T

terrorise*

terrorize

theatre

theater

traumatise*

traumatize

travel, travelled, travelling

travel, traveled, traveling

tumour

tumor

tyre

tire U

utilise*

utilize V

valour

valor

vapour

vapor

British Spelling

American Spelling

victimise*

victimize

vigour

vigor

visualise*

visualize

vocalise*

vocalize W

wilful

willful

woollen

woolen

worship, worshipped, worshipping worship, worshiped, worshiping

General note on –ise and –ize: For a large number of words, although both –ise and –ize spellings are acceptable in British English, the –ise form is used by the British government and is more prevalent in common usage within the United Kingdom today. American usage accepts only –ize endings in most cases.

References: 1. Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2002 2. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2003 3. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Pearson Education Limited, 2003 4. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, Merriam-Webster Incorporated, 1995 5. The English-Chinese Dictionary《英漢大詞典》, Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Ltd., 1992 Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2002 Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Third Edition, HarperCollins Publishers, 2001 Wikipedia: Manual of Style