Some American spellings are quite different from the British spellings. Americans believe that a word should be spelt as it is pronounced. These differences are notable in the following examples:
BRITISH AMERICA
A ‘s’ ‘z’
specialisation specialization
colonise colonize
summarise summarize
organise organize
mechanise mechanize
economise economize
pressurise pressurize
centralise centralize
B ‘our’ ‘or’
habour habor
honour honor
labour labor
neighbour neighbor
favour favor
vapour vapor
odour odor
C ‘re’ ‘er’
centre center
metre meter
kilometre kilometer
D. ‘amme’ ‘am’
gramme gram
kilogramme kilogram
programme program
E. ‘ogue’ ‘og’
dialogue dialog
catalogue catalog
F. In verbs which end in ‘l’ and are not stressed on the final syllable, the ‘l’ is not doubled in the – ing form and the past participle.
British American
travelling traveling
equalled equaled
cancelling canceling
G. There is also the usual practice to replace ‘ae’ or ‘oe’ in words by ‘e’ (Words of Greek and Latin origin). The original spelling is however retained by the British.
British American
Haemoglobin hemoglobin
Diaerrhoea diarrhea
Encyclopaedia encyclopedia
EVALUATION
Give ten words that have different spellings in the British and American spellings.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Phrases and Clauses.
GENERAL EVALUATION
Comprehension
Death and the King’s Horseman
- In three short sentences, summarise the play extract.
- List the four main points on which Elesin contradicts Pilkings.
- In what two ways has Pilkings interfered with Elesin’s life?
Structure
- Use the information provided on page of your Effective English to write a sentence each with hardly, scarcely or barely.
Essay
- Write an article to illustrate this saying, “A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed”
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
Revision and Tests Part 1, Page 33, Effective English.
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