Color and Colour?

Question

I grew up learning to spell color as colour and the same goes for the other words like neighbour, favourite, etc. Now these words come up under spell check. These are English words, who decided that this was going to change and why was it. So when teaching new migrants the "English" language which do you teach U or no U. Is it just laziness?

I understand that one is U.S. and the other is U.K. but who decided to change this and why just this particular thing. Is it so hard for the Americans to do this, when English is their heritage.

I'm actually German born and raised in Australia.

Answer 1

First of all, it has nothing to do with laziness nor even "efficiency"! It was a conscious, reasoned decision.

This particular change in spelling is one of the reforms in American spelling suggested by the early American teacher Noah Webster. It is found in the dictionary he published in 1826.

Webster actually suggested many spelling reforms, and only some of them ended up being accepted. Changing -our endings to -or was one of these.

For a listing of these changes see these two links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelling_reform#Successes_in_spelling_simplification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

The u, of course, does not affect the pronunciation at all. 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). But note that the Latin ORIGINAL of "colour" is, in fact, "color". So Webster's form is not at all odd, and even has a strong historical precedent.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/color
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One important thing to keep in mind in all of this spelling discussion is 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.) So some of Webster's work was simply trying to bring some standards to an almost "anything goes" situation...

Another interesting piece -- SOME of the changes Webster proposed were accepted by the British (perhaps at other's suggestion not his own), e.g., "music" instead of the older "musick". But many others were not accepted (in fact, many were not accepted in America either!)

WHY? Much of this has to do with the fact that the cultural elite ("upper classes") would not accept these changes, though there were many like Webster in England (scholars, that is) who advocated similar spelling reforms. They simply lacked the ability, given the social class structure in England, to exert as much influence as a Webster could in the less class-conscious U.S.
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Webster's reforms make even more sense when you realize that 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

Answer 2

Colour is the original spelling, which is still used in the UK and elsewhere. Color is the American spelling, which is now becoming more and more common outside the states. What you teach migrants depends on where they are migrating to. I think a standardized system of English spelling would be no bad thing.

Answer 3

same thing one is English, like in UK.
EDIT_If you get inside a computer, and look at English language, there are about 7 or 8 you can choose from. You teach them according to where they are at.

Answer 4

If you have English software, you don't have this problem. Use American software and you can expect American usage. Spellcheck gives you the option to ignore the flag. What's the big deal?

Answer 5

I know it is really annoying but after getting points taken off from every test, quiz and paper, I have learned to use the US system.

Answer 6

One is British the other is American spelling. They are both correct.

Answer 7

Some would say that it is like most American thought -

Forget "u"

Answer 8

the U is a bristish thing but we dont necessarily use it in the U.S.

Answer 9

you r probably from india, pakistan etc. or from britian etc...

in maerica they spell the words w/o u... like color, neighbor etc..


if u r teaching in one of those countries teach with u .... but if u teaching in america teach it w/o u