45

In regard to: Can I be fired the same day that I hand in my notice?

In revision 6 'endeavours' was changed to 'endeavors' which I think is strange especially as this is a UK question and this is the correct spelling in british english for what I know.

Are we enforcing american english or was this part of the edit superflous?

1
  • 1
    Keep in mind how much inline spelling checkers and auto-correct have to do with this. They'll flag a spelling from a different locale the same as a true misspelling, so editors may not realize what they did.
    – bta
    Dec 18, 2019 at 17:51

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
55

The general reference to use on this subject is on main meta: What should the standard spelling be - British or US?

Overal consensus is that while tags should use US English to remain consistent, "correcting" one version of English to another is not recommended. Typically the style used by the OP should be preserved. Whether it's worth rejecting an otherwise good edit over US/GB spelling changes is a matter of opinion and typically situational.

1
  • 4
    Thanks for the reference and I think the guideline is sensible. I would argue a rejection of the edit is not necessary, still I would restore the original spelling.
    – Kami Kaze
    Dec 10, 2019 at 9:07
23

The picture says it all.

enter image description here

6
  • 11
    While funny, this statement is factually incorrect. British English has changed just as much as American English has since the day they were separated!
    – Mr Lister
    Dec 16, 2019 at 10:40
  • Am I making a mistake when I say "armour" then? Or is it the other way around? I'm confused.
    – Clockwork
    Dec 16, 2019 at 11:58
  • It's pickle, not gurkin. Get it right, brits.
    – Qix - MONICA WAS MISTREATED
    Dec 19, 2019 at 13:01
  • 1
    So I am from New Zealand, where English spelling (i.e., Office spell check) is closer to British English. However I prefer American English spelling, as it is closer to spoken (most) NZ/US/UK English. I.e., American English spelling has followed the spoken language evolution more closely. (That's my 10¢ anyway)
    – DarcyThomas
    Dec 19, 2019 at 18:46
  • I feel conflicted about whether or not to upvote this. D:
    – Mateen Ulhaq
    Dec 23, 2019 at 1:18
  • 1
    @Qix "Gherkin", not "gurkin"... Which is a pickled cucumber, as opposed to a pickled onion, pickled egg, mixed pickles, lime pickle, South Asian pickle ("achaar") or Branston pickle. Gherkin are a pickle, but more specific.
    – Chronocidal
    Dec 24, 2019 at 8:41
6

You would not be "Correcting" it. You would be "Translating". Since the rules don't specify which dialect of english one should use, I would ignore any variant unless its truly causing a problem (e.g. if it was in an obscure pidgin dialect)

-5

I made the change, and it was not with any intention to resolve any conflict of usage, just my personal choice.

Free free to revert it, if you please.

18
  • 2
    Thanks for the notice. I can not revert because of the rep limit (I could put it in a queue). Thanks for your statement and please understand that I did not want to attack you personally as I was pretty sure there was no intention to offend anyone in this case. Still I felt that this needed to be adressed.
    – Kami Kaze
    Dec 10, 2019 at 9:00
  • 1
    @KamiKaze I completely understand and no offense taken. We're part of a community, and discussion is a healthy thing.
    – Sourav Ghosh
    Dec 10, 2019 at 10:12
  • 6
    Your "personal choice"? In the chat on the original question you said "Neither of those are my first language, and so far I did not think it as a big deal to use either of them. I myself sometimes use those interchangeably.". I must say that your grasp of English is very impressive for someone who has learnt it as a second language! One of the subtleties of the various dialects, which might not be initially apparent, is that the differences in spelling are quite a big deal for a lot of native speakers. For example "colour" is wrong in the US, as "color" is wrong in the UK... [1/2]
    – Aaron F
    Dec 10, 2019 at 20:28
  • 6
    ...if you miscorrect one to the other, then you make the OP look like a bit of an idiot: someone who doesn't even know how to use their own language! In the case of the linked question, the OP really didn't need any extra help in that department - their situation already painted quite a picture :-D - so your edit did them a disservice, in my view. One thing that can help, if you feel like, is to add other dialects' dictionaries to your browser, so that correct spellings in other dialects won't get underlined in red. [2/2]
    – Aaron F
    Dec 10, 2019 at 20:32
  • 8
    @AaronF As a matter of fact, English is my fourth language (in order of educational subject), and while I try my best, I cannot guarantee that I'm 100% correct at any time. Sorry for the confusion, but it was never intended, it's just something I made as a part of the whole edit. I thought communication is meant for communicating the concept / idea, not about exact grammar - at least, not on this site where we have diverse population. Anyways, apologies one again and now the change is reverted anyways.
    – Sourav Ghosh
    Dec 11, 2019 at 7:13
  • 5
    @AaronF how is the third comment in anyway connected to the topic?
    – Kami Kaze
    Dec 11, 2019 at 11:13
  • In no way whatsoever - it's an aside, hence the parentheses - it was just something that popped into my head while writing the previous comments
    – Aaron F
    Dec 11, 2019 at 11:37
  • (as another aside: I don't understand why the downvote-o-tron has weighed so heavily in on this answer. Do up/down votes on Meta SE sites have different significance?)
    – Aaron F
    Dec 11, 2019 at 11:39
  • 4
    @AaronF Yes, votes in meta usually shows agreement / disagreement.
    – Sourav Ghosh
    Dec 11, 2019 at 13:17
  • 4
    @AaronF aren't you being more than a a bit harsh?
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Dec 12, 2019 at 21:40
  • @RichardSaysReinstateMonica I might be being, yes, though if I am then it's not due to malicious intent, let me assure you. I made a concerted effort to try and keep the tone of my messages light, respectful, and good-humoured. I really didn't want to have a go at Sourav for this, because I can see that he had the best of intentions. (To which message in particular are you referring, btw? If it's about the "billion" aside, then no, not sorry! But regarding the other two, then yes, please let me know if I inadvertently crossed the line with something I said.)
    – Aaron F
    Dec 13, 2019 at 1:58
  • I write in Australian English (very close to UK English). I prefer to read UK English than US English because some spellings and grammar are wrong or sound very different from what I'm used to. I understand I have no right to change another person's correct spelling and grammar (where they come from). What's more disconcerting than US English is a mixture of UK & US English. However, you have to be careful because Canadian English is in between US & and UK English! You have no personal choice in another user's correct spelling. It is a big deal!
    – CJ Dennis
    Dec 17, 2019 at 13:44
  • 1
    I went ahead and edited your answer. Not my intention to imply there was anything wrong with it, just my personal choice. Feel free to revert if you feel.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Dec 18, 2019 at 20:07
  • I think it's unfair to be negative towards Sourav for this, I've often caught myself nearly correcting someones AmE whilst editing a post. I'm assuming it wasn't the main reason for the edit. It's especially easy to do without thinking when you have spell check set one way or the other
    – Gamora
    Dec 19, 2019 at 12:44
  • 1
    It seems wrong to edit a correct spelling to the same word in a different dialect just because of personal preference.
    – ProgrammingLlama
    Dec 23, 2019 at 8:40

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .