"international" spelling??

[ejm]

I'm on the editing team for a fundraising cookbook for BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine: Bloggers Making a Difference. The submitted recipes are from all over the world, so some of the recipes I was assigned to edit have "color" and some have "colour". My initial thought was to leave the two to give the book a completely international feel. But I brought up a discussion about it anyway.

One of the chief editors wrote back that in a Canadian Living magazine article (don't know what issue), it was explained that the international code is used in their magazine so colour is spelled color, labor, etc.... She said we would follow this code as well for our cookbook.

Say what?!! "color" rather than "colour" is the international spelling?! Let me guess; was the international code drawn up in Washington? Does that mean we will all have to say "Zee":stinks: too when speaking to an international crowd?

(I asked the editors to file my protest where it belongs and said I'd just go along with using the US spellings but I hope they don't make me say those are international spellings!)

Personally, I blame Microsoft and/or the HTML developers. They are the ones who have decreed that "color" is the correct (cough) version. But I keep reminding myself that language evolves and leaving out a "u" or two - what am I saying? ...or thousands of missing "u"s - isn't going to destroy my life. Using "dialogue" and "effort" as verbs might though.

[MrsBrown]

I like your original suggestion to leave "colour" and "color" (I can't even type it without having to backspace and delete the U) as they are written in the original recipe. If I submitted a recipe to an international cookbook and my spelling, which I KNOW is correct because I got an H* in spelling in Grade 6, was changed, I would be a little annoyed.


*the H stands for Honours (not Honors).

[David]

I can tolerate "international" spellings in an international context but I have to admit to being a little over-sensitive to spoken "internationalisms". This commonly manifests itself by shouting at the TV. These are a few of my irritationisms:

"In back of me" (behind me)
"bouncebackability" (resilience)
"Where is the bathroom?" (Where is the toilet?")
"9/11" (11/9)
"soccer" (football)
"horseback riding" (horse riding)
"iRaq" (Iraq)
"Levver" (Lever)
"fries" (chips)
"pants" (trousers)
"erbs" (herbs)
"faucet" (tap)
"parking lot" (car park)
"math" (maths)

Did I mention that I was over-sensitive?

[ejm]

I don't mind regional differences for things: jumper/sweater; chips/fries; boot/trunk; rubber/eraser (is it really necessary for North Americans to snigger at "rubber"?) Just don't tell me that either one is the "international" way of saying it.

And I really cannot stand hearing EYEraq, EYEtalian, Afghani and Beizhing. How hard is it to get this? It's Iraq, Italian, Afghan and Beijing!!

I also find acroynms along the lines of "LOL" as well as nouns turned into verbs to be most trying and loathesome. "Like, LOL, he was totally facebooking me. And so I go, no way! And he goes, 'My Bad'."

[MrsBrown]

...snip...And he goes, 'My Bad'."

ERRR!! My son, who is 14 (it took me months on another forum to figure out that "yo" means "years old") has learned not to say this because invariably, I'll say to him, "your bad what?" He sighs and says in that long suffering way that only teenagers have, "My badNess. Mom? do you have to do that EVERY time?" I smile sweetly.