The Crusade to force the use of the letter "Z" by the UK and associates

[kochman]

OK... you can call it a "zed" if you want... but can you please spell things properly?
Civilization... I've heard enough of all your accents to know that you generally pronounce it sharp enough to use a Z... and we are really confusing the foreigners.

Furthermore, let's be honest... American English (dialect that it is) has eclipsed British English...
You guys convert your Z's, and we'll (the USA and Canada, if I may be so forward as to speak for them) convert to 220v electricity and similar outlets as you.
How did Shakespeare spell "civilization"? Not that he is the only benchmark.

Question... in Canadia, do you guys use Z in civilization?
I am trying to rationalize my position.

 

[say1988]

Question... in Canadia, do you guys use Z in civilization?

Both are used interchangeably, but zed is probably more common. Unfortunately a lot of Canadians are adopting more American spellings these days.

PS I use civilisation, unless it is Sid Meier's Civilization, of course.

How about you guys quit being lazy and spell colour, harbour, armour, etc correctly in exchange?

 

[classical_hero]

I will never give up the "s" in my words in pace of a "z". I am a civilised person.

 

[Arakhor]

Me too! Shouldn't that be a cruzade though, if you're a zed-lover?

 

[kochman]

Me too! Shouldn't that be a cruzade though, if you're a zed-lover?

If it was pronounced that way, sure!
But it is a soft "s" in crusage.

 

[Skwink]

Me too! Shouldn't that be a cruzade though, if you're a zed-lover?

Oh dude, Cruzade looks so much cooler than Crusade. I'm so gonna start spelling it that way!

 

[warpus]

OK... you can call it a "zed" if you want... but can you please spell things properly?
Civilization... I've heard enough of all your accents to know that you generally pronounce it sharp enough to use a Z... and we are really confusing the foreigners.

Foreigner here. I'm not confused.

The Brits invented the language, let them do what they want with it.

If it was pronounced that way, sure!
But it is a soft "s" in crusage.

English isn't a language where words are pronounced based on how they are spelled. It's a very arbitrary pronunciation, all across the language.

That's not really a good argument to change the spelling to match pronunciation. If you were to do that, you'd have to alter the entire language significantly. It would be unrecognizable if you did that.

 

[tycoonist]

Our language, our rules.

 

[classical_hero]

 

[NovaKart]

It's stupid to expect British to adopt American spellings but it's equally stupid to think British English is somehow the original. Some American usages are actually older than the British and the spelling hasn't been standardized for all that long.

 

[Smellincoffee]

I rather prefer how they spell things across the Atlantic, with a few exceptions. ("Gaol" for "jail"? Naaah.)

 

[warpus]

Yeah, gaol is the weirdest thing ever.

 

[tycoonist]

It's stupid to expect British to adopt American spellings but it's equally stupid to think British English is somehow the original. Some American usages are actually older than the British and the spelling hasn't been standardized for all that long.

It's in the name. True English is what the English people speak - Other dialects are derivatives.

That English has changed over time is of no consequence - The language currently spoken in England is always true English.

 

[classical_hero]

I just went down the apple and pairs when something hit my red rose, then I Captain Cooked down saw that that and Ayrton Senna was on the Ronny O'Moore. I said to myself, You little Ronny Cout and grabbed me a few Pig's ears.

Wonderful thing about the English, no one butchers the English language quite like them.

 

[warpus]

I wonder what Jay-zed thinks about all this

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I rather prefer how they spell things across the Atlantic, with a few exceptions. ("Gaol" for "jail"? Naaah.)

Yeah, gaol is the weirdest thing ever.

People still spell jail as gaol? The only time I saw it spelt that way was when I did English at school, and it was only once, and I think the teacher said it was the original way but it's now considered archaic.

 

[wilycoyote]

It's in the name. True English is what the English people speak - Other dialects are derivatives.

That English has changed over time is of no consequence - The language currently spoken in England is always true English.

American English may be derivative (there can be no arguing that), but the true test about the "true" language isn't who uses it, but how many use it. Like it or not, most of what makes American English different is finding global acceptance.

Also, I almost had a stroke (and I'm fairly young) when I saw how they spell "jail" in England.

 

[NovaKart]

It's in the name. True English is what the English people speak - Other dialects are derivatives.

That English has changed over time is of no consequence - The language currently spoken in England is always true English.

A name is a name. I see a lot of opinion in your statement and little fact.

 

[warpus]

American English may be derivative (there can be no arguing that), but the true test about the "true" language isn't who uses it, but how many use it. Like it or not, most of what makes American English different is finding global acceptance.

Actually, both in Poland and Germany, I was taught UK English, not American. Not sure about the rest of the world.

And there's no such thing as a "true" language.

 

[wilycoyote]

Actually, both in Poland and Germany, I was taught UK English, not American. Not sure about the rest of the world.

And there's no such thing as a "true" language.

That is precisely why I have it in quotes.

As for your other point, I don't doubt you are taught UK English in school. The point I was making was concerning common usage as an adult. For some things, like the altered spellings of "armor" and "color" and the like, I think are still US-only spellings, but from my research, which is admittedly only done over the internet (the only English-speaking foreign nation that I have been to is Canada and calling it "foreign" is a bit misleading), many other words, with UK equivalents, seems to be more popular globally.