Spellings and Different Names

[deluded pom?]

I was always under the illusion that the Australian education system used the same spellings and words as we do in the UK. Now I often see certain words spelt the American way using z instead of s in organisation for example. I have just been watching a TV programme made in Australia that had the host cooking what he called eggplant. Here it’s known as an aubergine. My question is are you taught English the way we are in the UK or have things changed and you use the American version of the language?

 

[veggiepatch1959]

Blame it on Australia's unhealthy obsession with everything American.

Just look around Australia's biggest cities. People walking around wearing New York t shirts, baseball caps with American sports teams logos while listening to rap music.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Spelling should follow the UK stndards here, American spelling is just wrong. The only real anomaly I can think of is the spelling of the Labor Party but that’s only specific to the party if you’re talking about the labour movement or manual labour we still use the UK spelling.

In terms of words it’s less definite- sometimes we use the UK term, sometimes the American, and for certain things there will be a local term (for example I’m a wharfie in Aus but would be a docker in the UK or a longshoreman in the US).

 

[AJB1102]

So you Poms use the French word for eggplant?

 

[deluded pom?]

So you Poms use the French word for eggplant?

Yes. We also say orr-e-gar-no and not o-regg-a-no.

 

[muzby]

am i the only one reading the OP as deluded porn?

 

[deluded pom?]

am i the only one reading the OP as deluded porn?

Well you’re the first one to ever admit to it.

 

[Willow]

English is a living language with Germanic, Viking, Latin and French influences to name a few.

We would have little understanding of the language in England 1000 years ago, and even amongst the 'English' there were numerous variations in the spelling and pronunciation depending where you lived. The Norman Conquest saw the Northern French language (as it was) dominate England and vastly influence the development of English.

So the influence of the USA on the English language is nothing new. For example, "gaol" being replaced with "jail". Quite frankly, "jail" makes more sense in the modern language. Australia has also added some words.

The use of the letter "z" has definitely had an influence. But interestingly, the English used it first in some words. For example, the word "Enterprise" is spelt with an "s" in the USA. But in the 18th Century, English has it spelt as "Enterprize", which, I understand is another French derivative anyway.

 

[Pommy]

Any time I hear someone say math I have an uncontrollable urge to stab them.

I had only ever seen gaol used in Ireland and thought it was an Irish word until I saw Australians using it and looked it up.
Some regiments in the British army use the word serjeant which has some tie to French and the napolionic wars.
I once read English has more words than French, Spanish and mandarin combined, no idea if that’s actually true though.

 

[langpark]

Growing up in Aus, we were taught to always follow the British way of spelling. Colour, Neighbour, Organise, Mum etc... American influence does seem to be fast encroaching though. I hate when I am using websites or even email that is constantly underlining my words (to tell me there is a spelling mistake) when it's not, it's just because I've spelt it the British way. I am sure this is not helping matters with the younger generations especially.

 

[Willow]

I had only ever seen gaol used in Ireland and thought it was an Irish word until I saw Australians using it and looked it up.

I'm pretty sure it's another word that came from the Normans. In any case, the word gaol is now on death row.

The letter "J" was only added to the alphabet about 500 years ago. "G" is older than England itself. Legislators and therefore lawyers and teachers would have stayed with the old spelling for generations.

"Gaol" was commonly taught as a word in Australian schools up until the 1960s and only started to get replaced in the 1970s.

Apparently Australia stuck to 'correct English' longer than most countries. The ABC radio announcers of the 1950s and 1960s were reputed to sound more English than their BBC counterparts.

 

[muzby]

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Growing up in Aus, we were taught to always follow the British way of spelling. Colour, Neighbour, Organise, Mum etc... American influence does seem to be fast encroaching though. I hate when I am using websites or even email that is constantly underlining my words (to tell me there is a spelling mistake) when it's not, it's just because I've spelt it the British way. I am sure this is not helping matters with the younger generations especially.

Blame a lot of that on technological illiteracy. I have all my software and devices set to UK English so it never tries to autocorrect me to US English. But US English is often set as the default and people don’t bother changing it.

 

[langpark]

Blame a lot of that on technological illiteracy. I have all my software and devices set to UK English so it never tries to autocorrect me to US English. But US English is often set as the default and people don’t bother changing it.

I always do the same whenever I get a new computer. Perhaps I didn't do the same on my Gmail settings. I will have to check it.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I always do the same whenever I get a new computer. Perhaps I didn't do the same on my Gmail settings. I will have to check it.

Yeah its annoying when individual apps override your global settings. Just checked my Gmail settings and mine were on US english too, had never bothered to tweak them as I rarely use Gmail in a browser.