is it colour or color?

Question

why the different spellings........uk and usa.........its all pants to me

the pants part is .........trousers...... uk pants......... usa

Answer 1

Fanny is more fun...two different meanings in the UK and the US.
F.a.g. also has different meanings depending on where you are. Tell some rednecks in Arkansas that you are just popping outside for a quick f.a.g. and I don't fancy your chances of getting back in in one piece.

Answer 2

In the uk, and by the way I'm answering this on the uk section of YA, its colour. We may speak the same language, in general terms, but there are many differences. In spelling and in usage. We walk along the pavement, not the sidewalk. Turn on the tap to get water, not the faucet. Lift the bonnet of the car to get at the engine, not the hood. Put our stuff in the boot, not the trunk!

Oh and pants, for me, are what you wear under your trousers!

Answer 3

The American spelling without the "u" of such words as color, honor, ardor and valor, is due to the spelling reform efforts of Noah Webster. These spellings are found in the dictionary he published in 1826.

But many misunderstand what he was doing, and what the general situation fo English spelling was at the time.


First -- on the "u" in "colour" -- This letter, as we know, has no effect on the pronunciation. That was Webster's reason for omitting it. In fact, the u in most if not all of the -our words is derived from French (forms ending in -eur, e.g., honneur, valeur) or were influenced by Norman forms. Thus these are MIDDLE English words (after the Norman Conquest) and not OLD English. But note that the Latin ORIGINAL of "colour" is, in fact, "color".
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/color

Actually, several of Webster's proposed spelling simplifications that ended up being accepted (not all were) were a matter of reverting to the LATIN spelling of words that had come through and been altered by French (e.g., 'dialog' instead of 'dialogue'). The other principle was an obvious one -- to try to have writing more 'phonemic', that is, more closely matching the actual sound of the spoken word.

Also, note that when Webster began his work in the late 18th century there was no real "standard English spelling" on EITHER side of the Atlantic. (Just read the unedited versions of writings from this period!) AND there were quite a few in Britain who advocated the same sorts of changes. BUT they turned out not to have the clout (of 'class'), and the traditionalists carried the day.

On the other hand, SOME Of his changes did eventually head back to become standard in other Britain and beyond, e.g., the spelling "music" instead of "musick".

Now Webster's argument for changes DID appeal to nationalistic pride-- or better, pride in the "Republican" form of government, where the "common man" rather than an elite makes such decisions. (We can see how that worked in the fact that the spelling reformers in Britain mostly LOST to the social elites.) But he still wanted any changes to be logical, reasonable ones, not just change for its own sake, or simply to be different from the British.

Finally, Webster's efforts to standardize spelling must be understood in light of his MAIN concern was as a TEACHER providing materials for students in American elementary schools. His first works, before the dictionary, were a grammar a reader and a spelling book -- all teaching tools. So changing the spelling of some words to better match how they were pronounced by his day was a reasonable part of his overall program.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster#Speller_and_Dictionary

Minor note -- the US has NEVER passed any law on how to spell these things! (France might do such things with their language, but it's hardly the American way!)

Answer 4

different spellings of words can come from mistakes by newspapers or different sources, words constantly change spelling even in england shakespere himself contributed to the changes in the way english words were spelt, languages are progressive and consatantly evolving with spelling changes and new words being added all the time, look up the new words added to the english dictionaries ever edition. People can't say the colour is the definative way of spelling it as american have used the alternative spelling for a long time and they all know the same spelling and know what it means. Its just like etiquitte of the spelling word. Bill Bryson has interesting books written on language and the differences in spelling.

Answer 5

UK Colour USA Color. What kind of pants is it?
And would you wear them in the street or the sidewalk?

Answer 6

Good question, but spell it color in U.S. English and colour in British English -- I think you know that already, right?

As for why, too big a question for the amount of space here. If you really-really want to know, study the complicated field called linguistics. You'd learn how all languages evolve and change.

Another word-pair that puzzles a lot of people who didn't grow up in the US is round/around. In British English you might correctly say go round the house. But in the US you'd have to say go around the house because in the US the word round is used only to describe something that's round like a ball or globe--not a circle or a curve, but three-dimensional like a ball. But for going in a circular direction, we say around. There are hundreds of words like that that evolved just a little differently after the language came across the big puddle. True of Australian or Canadian English too, of course, or any other offshoot of British English.

Answer 7

What?
ink?
=0

Answer 8

I am sure I read somewhere that about a hundred years ago the USA passed a law simplifying spelling. They were even less succesful than the French in legislating language but spellings like color are a a relic; so are the simplified forms of tap and lift (faucet and elevator!)

Answer 9

they are both correct ways of spelling colour=uk color=usa grey =uk and usa=gray [same thing !but spelling it just differs slightly]

Answer 10

Color