to Brits: do you use -ise or -ize spelling?

Question

modernise or modernize, etc?

Answer 1

They use -ise, as does most of the English speaking world.

Answer 2

Brits use "-ise"

It is somewhat fail-safe (and lazy? lol) because spellers don't have to remember the words that do NOT use the z.

Americans use "ize" on certain words. (never on "surprize" though.. I'm not sure why that example was used in a post above?) It used to be used in British English as well. The "z" is more faithful to the Greek roots of certain words. In the 1800s, when Americans standardised spellings in a dictionary, that's when the z became locked in... meanwhile, England opted for the more French spellings.

Answer 3

Brits as a whole tend to use the suffix -ise. But I, having been influenced so much by our fellow Americans, tend to use -ize. This could be because i like 'z' better than 's', or that i'm used to seeing -ize on subtitles and in books etc.

And yes, Nomadic, we have strange spellings- like Gloucester, but why not the U in colour? Though I see your point, without the U, it seems unfinished- and you cannot say, with your hand on your heart, that American English is flawless! It's different, that's all- why can noone accept this? Different countries, different language styles. No need for cutting comments from either party!

(BTW- I say either as eye-ther)

Hope this answers your question, and sorry about the rant!

Answer 4

-ise is British English.
-ize is American English.

Both are therefore correct depending on your background. The irritation I find is the adding of -ize or -ise to a noun to make it a verb; eg, I was hospitalis(z)ed - were you really converted into a hospital? There are many useful -ises such carbonised (turned into carbon), materialised (became real). Why not just say 'admitted to hospital' (or 'the hospital' if you are from USA)?

Answer 5

-ise is more common in british english varieties, whereas you're more likely to find -ize in american english. With rising feelings of 'anti-americanisms' amongst many linguists, the -ise form is often preferred in writing in Britain.

Answer 6

You say neether and I say nyther. Surprisingly enough Websters, which is published in the USA maintains that it is safer to use -ise, since there are very few words which MUST be spelt with zed (zee). I think they noted 6, but I'm not sure what they are. Off the top of my head I can think of 'size' and 'assizes'.

Answer 7

I use "ise" because I have done a lot of work for international organisations which required that spelling. I have unconsciously absorbed the idea that it is more "correct", in any case more modern. Some words, such as "surprize", "cozy" and your example, "modernize" look downright peculiar with a "z".

Answer 8

they use -ise because they had so many wars against France so they took their spelling rules. In french, an "s" between 2 vowels is read "z".

Answer 9

Brits use -ise, Americanized (or Americanised) spellings are with -ize.

Answer 10

It's really not black and white as most people would like ! Some words always require the s but for others it's optional, and it depends whether the word has come direct from the Greek or through French. Try Fowler's Modern English Usage.