Over half (54 per cent) of Brits find American spellings frustrating and think they are harmful for the British language (51 per cent), according to new research*.
The research looked into the importance people place on British spellings and attitudes towards Americanisms being used in everyday life.
Brits are passionate that our own standards are taught from an early age with over eight in ten (85 per cent) stating it’s important for children to learn the importance of British spellings and over two thirds (67 per cent) believing it’s unacceptable to use American spellings at school.
Other instances it is considered unacceptable to use Americanisms are on CVs (71 per cent), in newspapers (55 per cent), at work (52 per cent) and even on greetings cards (43 per cent).
People were asked which spellings they tend to make mistakes on, to create a list of the most difficult American spellings to identify. The top ten most unrecognisable are:
1. Encyclopedia (encyclopaedia)
2. Skillful (skilful)
3. Pretense (pretence)
4. Offense (offence)
5. Cozy (cosy)
6. Sulfate (sulphate)
7. Defense (defence)
8. Meter (metre)
9. Cesarean (caesarean)
10. Appetizer (appetiser)
Just 10 per cent of those polled correctly identified all the American spellings in the list.
Men are more accepting than women of the move towards American spellings as we adopt more transatlantic traditions in our culture (15 per cent vs 20 per cent). This is despite men also being better at adhering to British spellings standards, with more women failing to recognise mistakes in words such as ‘pajamas’, ‘favorite’, ‘theater’ and ‘diarrhea’.
The study found Brits feel TV shows (39 per cent), Facebook and Twitter (36 per cent) and American films (35 per cent) have had the biggest impact on our British spellings. With eight out of ten of Netflix’s most binged TV shows originating from across the pond it’s little wonder their spellings and words are finding their way into our dialogue.
Another study explains further why some of us struggle to spot American spellings. Those surveyed say they use auto-correct (58 per cent) most often to avoid spelling mistakes compared to 45 per cent that use a traditional dictionary, despite auto-correct recognising both American and British variations.
Dr Nick Smith, principal at Oxford Home Schooling, said,
It’s clear Brits feel passionate about teaching children the importance of British spelling standards, however many of them failed to spot American spellings themselves.
“It’s relatively easy to brush up on spelling ability at any age through reading, lessons at school or distance learning as an adult.
*From Oxford Home Schooling.
*By Oxford Open Learning Trust
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
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Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
