Spelling...

I will be flying out NYE to join my fiance in London, and I just had a general question. I tried to search and see if I could find this on the UKY site, but didnt have any luck. What are the general spelling issues I need to be aware of, I dont want to look like a complete idiot.  I have noticed words like realize, and favorite are spelled different.  This is a silly topic, but I am just curious.  Thanks!   

There are a lot of links you can look at:

http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/us/?view=uk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/british-american-spelling.html

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/spelling.htm

Ok great!  Thank you very much.

Spelling things the American way isn't going to make you look like an idiot.  After all, these spellings were taught to us in school growing up, expected to be spelled minus the oddly placed  U's in everything.  Just because the British have a different way of spelling certain words, doesn't make it the CORRECT way.

I say don't worry about it, most Brits are aware the two countries spell things differently.

I say don't worry about it, most Brits are aware the two countries spell things differently.

I agree.  I've occasionally gotten good-natured ribbing about it at work, but nobody here has ever seriously brought up spelling issues with me.

Ok, I was kind of worried how that would effect me in the future workplace.  I mean I know there is spell check for those situations.   

I would worry more about meaning of words. Everyone has brought up the different meanings but I thought of one that maybe over looked-

You are in the train station and you need to go to the bathroom. Do you ask someone were the bathrooms are? You may get some strange looks so try to ask 'Where is the cloakroom?' or if you are talking to another girl you could ask "where can I spend a penny?'

Do you know what a pullover is?

Enjoy your visit!

You dont just ask them where the toilets are?  Thats what my fiance says lol.  But again he is probably not using proper professional terms    And I am assuming a pullover is some kind of sweater, wrong? 

Ok, I was kind of worried how that would effect me in the future workplace.  I mean I know there is spell check for those situations.  

Indeed. I'm going to slightly disagree with the posters above- I'd say US vs UK spelling doesn't matter so much in random work emails and informal correspondence, but if you're expected to write official work documents such as reports, publications or minutes of meetings, you should absolutely be using British spelling for those (and once you're using it for some things, it's just easier to use it for everything!)

Indeed. I'm going to slightly disagree with the posters above- I'd say US vs UK spelling doesn't matter so much in random work emails and informal correspondence, but if you're expected to write official work documents such as reports, publications or minutes of meetings, you should absolutely be using British spelling for those

I totally agree. And I also know for a fact that I wasn't even considered for several jobs because my resume had American spellings.

I totally agree. And I also know for a fact that I wasn't even considered for several jobs because my resume had American spellings.

IMHO, I would take that as discrimination.  I wouldnt work for a company who was of the mentality that typing "tire" instead of "tyre" is somehow in direct proportion to my intelligence.

In my experience, American spellings are seen at best as mistakes by UK people. At worst as deliberate awkwardness. They know Americans spell that way, but that's for America. Over here is over here. Like or not, that's the way it is, and getting defensive only gets their backs up.

I would take that as discrimination

Good luck at the tribunal!

I wouldnt work for a company who was of the mentality that typing "tire" instead of "tyre" is somehow in direct proportion to my intelligence.

Not so much intelligence as alertness and willingness to fit in, perhaps?

In my experience, American spellings are seen at best as mistakes by UK people. At worst as deliberate awkwardness. They know Americans spell that way, but that's for America. Over here is over here. Like or not, that's the way it is, and getting defensive only gets their backs up.

Yep, and I'd be willing to bet it's the same in the States- I'm sure you'd be looked at askance if you tried to use British spellings in an American workplace (and not just workplaces actually- I know that when I moved over here to study I was expected to use British spelling in academic papers, for example!)  When in Rome, and all that...

True, but when the top UK publications such as the BBC cannot even cope with it's articles being riddled with simple spelling errors and elementary grammatical mistakes I daresay my American spellings are what you call "small potatoes" in comparison.

My two coppers anyways.