Some people always type COLOUR. But it is COLOR. Why the U? A common spelling mistake?
2006-12-05 13:29:55 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
No. It's just because you Americans wanted to take the u away to be special =]
2006-12-05 14:05:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Colour is the original spelling still used by British and Australians etc. The man who changed it for the Americans was Webster, who decided to change words in an attempt to simplify them when he wrote his dictionary.
Incredibly this worked and his new spellings caught on. The spelling color is therefore dialectal- colour is the original.
2006-12-05 21:48:26 · answer #2 · answered by Peter F 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
In British English the correct spelling is with a u. So those people are likely from the UK or Australia, etc.
2006-12-05 21:31:38 · answer #3 · answered by Ladida 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The British spell colour and humour (and others, I'm sure) with a 'u' - not a spelling error at all. American's dropped the 'u'.
2006-12-05 21:33:03 · answer #4 · answered by They call me ... Trixie. 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We traditional Canadians spell colour with a "u" because our English is based on British tradition -- neighbour is another - these all get caught on spell check, so it's funny to me.
2006-12-05 22:18:00 · answer #5 · answered by Lydia 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Colour" is the British way of spelling "color." It is from the French which was the official language of England and that area for around 600 years.
2006-12-05 21:34:58 · answer #6 · answered by expatmt 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
It's those silly British -- just because they were the first to use the English language, they think they own it and can do whatever they want to with it.
They don't quite understand that we Americans have *improved* the language greatly by making it more logical and efficient. The "u" in their "colour" is silent anyway -- so why keep it around? Out with it, we say!
Same goes for "aluminium" (we use "aluminum") -- there's no need for that extra syllable. Toss it!
Down the British! Up the Revolution!
;-)
(tongue firmly in cheek -- I love the British)
2006-12-05 21:34:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
It is a form of the british english. They use the 'u'. For example, neighbor - neighbour, labor - labour, flavor - flavour, favorite - favourite. .....etc. This, however, does not mean that it is incorrect. It is still accepted in a scrabble game or literati or even in other countries which are or used to be british colonies.
2006-12-05 21:37:02 · answer #8 · answered by gina w 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
its the british spelling, they spell some words differently. like labour for labor, colour for color, armour for armor, etc
2006-12-05 21:31:18 · answer #9 · answered by parental unit 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
its British spelling.
2006-12-05 21:31:32 · answer #10 · answered by tiafromtijuana 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋