Learn, Relax and Enjoy - 108

British and American Spelling

Final -l is always doubled after one vowel in stressed and unstressed syllables in British English but only in stressed syllables in American English, eg:

travel >> travelled
travel >> traveled

Some words end in -tre in British and Canadian English and -ter in American English, eg:                   centre >> center

Some words end in -ogue in British English and -og in American English, eg:

analogue >> analog

Some words end in -our in British and Canadian English and -or in American English, eg:      colour >> color

Some verbs end in -ize or -ise in British English, but only in -ize in American English, eg:                     realize, realise >> realise
                 harmonize, harmonise >> harmonise

In the former case (and indirectly in the latter case too), it can be argued that the American spelling (which insists on -ize) is etymologically more correct; but the spelling in -ise is well-established in the United Kingdom.
Note the spelling of these words:

analyse >> analyze
capsize >> capsise
catalyse >> catalyze
paralyse >> paralyze

If you decide to go for the -ize spelling, that many words pronounced in the relevant way and carrying the relevant sense must be written with -ise. These include such familiar words as surprise, compromise, revise, advertise, improvise and televise (The Oxford Dictionary and English Usage Guide), and they also include analyse, which American writers tend to spell as analyze, etymologically wrongly in fact, since the Greek root of the word does not contain a -z.
Of course there are words pronounced in the relevant way which have to be spelt (spelled) with -ize, such as prize, and these words indeed include verbs carrying the relevant type of sense– e.g. prize, size (as in size up) and capsize.

Two women were traveling in a railway compartment and arguing heatedly with each other. They called in the guard to mediate.

One woman said,’ If the window is open, I will get cold and die.”

The other women said “if the window is shut, I will suffocate and die”.

The guard was in a fix. A man sitting nearby, volunteered to mediate. He said ,’First open the window; that will kill one woman. Then shut the window, that will kill the other woman and then we can have peace.”

Consonant Combinations

In the present heteric English spelling, nearly all consonant combinations have multiple sound values, despite the fact that defenders of this spelling point to the consonant letters as having fairly constant values. The following list was compiled from Alexander John Ellis' book "Plea for Phonetic Spelling; or the Necessity of Orthographical Reform" (London: Fred Pitman, 1848).

b: [b] in be, mute in lamb
c: [k] in can, [s] in cell, [S] in special, mute in yacht
ch: [tS] in chain, [dZ] in spinach, [k] in architect, [S] in chef, mute in yacht
d: [t] in sucked, [d] in deep, [dZ] in soldier, mute in handkerchief
f: [f] in foe, [v] in of, mute in stiff
g: [dZ] in gem, [g] in geese, [Z] in rouge, mute in gnaw
gh: [p] in hiccough, [g] in ghost, [f] in laugh, mute in straight
h: [h] in hat, [] in eighth
j: [dZ] in just
k: [k] in kill, mute in know
l: [l] in lace, mute in salmon
m: [m] in am, mute in mnemonics
n: [n] in can, [] in finger, mute in hymn
p: [p] in pity, mute in cupboard
ph: [f] in philosophy, [p] in shepherd, [ph] in haphazard, mute in phthisical
qu: [k] in quay, [kw] in queen, mute in lacquer
r: [r] in ray, mute in myrrh
s: [s] in see, [z] in as, [S] in sugar, [Z] in vision, mute in isle
sh: [S] in shine, [sh] in mishap
t: [t] in toe, [S] in motion, mute in soften
th: [t] in thyme, [] in thigh, [] in the, [t] in eighth
v: [v] in veal
x: [z] in xylophone, [ks] in vex, [gz] in exalt, [k] in except
y: [j] in yard, mute in prayer
z: [ts] in pizza, [z] in zeal, [Z] in azure, mute in rendezvous

"Set excellent performance as your standard and strive to achieve it each day." -- Brian Tracy

"The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right." -- Edward Simmons

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Buxone Out Of The Box December 01, 2017