why do some Southerners spell color. colour?

Question

Old english?

Answer 1

Old English is barely recognisable...but you're on the right track. I was taught British spellings as a child (in the US, although it's rare) and switched to American spelling at university. I couldn't lose on grades having an academic scholarship being the only thing between me and the pavement!
: ) My spellings are mixed, therefore. My father's family came from Ireland when his mother was a baby. Common British vs. American spellings, respectively:

kerb, curb
colour, color
centre, center
recognise, recognize

Answer 2

I am a Southerner (born and raised in Arkansas) and I finished the 3rd grade, plus I finished high school and college; and I've earned two master's degrees. However, I was taught in elementary and high school how to spell English words. We were taught to spell words using the British form of spelling. Although, I have not lived in the South since I graduated from high school, but I still spell most words the way I was taught to spell them back then: colour, favourite, centre, theatre, and many more words. When I was in college / university (in the Midwest), my professors (as well as other people in my daily life) always corrected my spelling and I couldn't understand why. However, I learned that American English does not use these spellings. I find it difficult to change the way I spell these words; but on the computer, spell check always corrects me when I spell words the British way. I've also learned that most Southern states have strong ties to the original Englishman who settled in the South, and this is one reason we Southerners were taught to spell words the way we do.

Answer 3

It is actually a proper way of spelling it. The British spell it like that.
Old English is so distant from what English is today, you'd barely be able to make sense of it.
People tend to think of Shakespeare as being Old English, but it isn't. It is actually extremely modern in contrast with true Old English.

Answer 4

Not because of old english because different part of the world teach kids to spell differently. Like in america they spell it color here in australia we spell it colour and the same with some other words like favourite.

... x o x o !

Answer 5

Because it's the proper way to spell it. Just like honour should also be spelled with a 'u'. The vast majority of the English-speaking world spells it 'colour'.

Answer 6

It's a hold over from our British heritage. There are a lots of pockets in the South that still have very English traditions. Last Christmas I served some of my Welsh friends a Christmas dinner and I finished off with a dish my grandma called "Christmas cobbler." Turned out it was a traditional British Christmas pudding that had been handed down through the family for over a century.

Answer 7

What? Southerns don't spell it "Colour" they might pronounce it as "colour" but anyways... You're wrong on that.. The Canadians spell Color "Colour".

Answer 8

It's not just in the South. In England you'd be corrected if you spelled it color. The USA is the only place where people spell it color.

Answer 9

I don't know why some southerner's do, but it is common in Britian.

Same with Favourite and armour. That's how they are properly spelled in English.

Answer 10

In England we spell colour, colour.