Spelling in modern software

I guess this message applies to UK dwellers only - but have you noticed recently that software makers don't bother translating into UK English any more? And, more worrying than that is the practice of UK software makers writing software with US only spelling! Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". Actually GP3 is an especially annoying example. Its written in England (Chipping Sodbury for heaven's sakes), the US market is hardly its biggest target audience (guesswork) and F1 isn't a predominantly US sport. What's going on? Damian. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

"Damian Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8rc36t$85c$[email hidden]... > I guess this message applies to UK dwellers only - but have you noticed > recently that software makers don't bother translating into UK English > any more? And, more worrying than that is the practice of UK software > makers writing software with US only spelling! I'm afraid I can see this becoming a much more common occurrence over the coming years. With school children getting access to the Internet and being able to view information from all over the world, our own spelling practices will become diluted by the predominant spellings in use on the Net. Just be thankful that your first language is English. It must be difficult when English is your second language and it is slowly eroding the uniqueness of your first. - Callum

In article <uH496lRLAHA.345@cpmsnbbsa09>, "Callum MacDonald" <callumunderscoremacdonaldatmsndotcom> wrote: > > I'm afraid I can see this becoming a much more common occurrence overthe > coming years. With school children getting access to the Internet andbeing > able to view information from all over the world, our own spelling > practices will become diluted by the predominant spellings in use onthe > Net. Just be thankful that your first language is English. It must be > difficult when English is your second language and it is slowlyeroding the > uniqueness of your first. > > - Callum > Good point. Particularly where the internet is concerned there does seem to be a real "US English first, everywhere else second" approach to developing sites. It makes fine commercial sense, I know, but I don't like where that path is heading...... BTW, I'm not thankful my first language is English. If that statement were not true I would be at least bilingual. I feel utterly ashamed at my inability to speak any other language. Damian. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

In article <[email hidden]>, rrevved <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:51:57 GMT, Damian Wilson <[email hidden]> wrote: > >>I guess this message applies to UK dwellers only - but have you noticed >>recently that software makers don't bother translating into UK English >>any more? And, more worrying than that is the practice of UK software >>makers writing software with US only spelling! >> > >I haven't noticed that U.K. games change their spelling for U.S. audiences. >[shrug] > >>Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". Actually GP3 is an >>especially annoying example. Its written in England (Chipping Sodbury >>for heaven's sakes), the US market is hardly its biggest target >>audience (guesswork) and F1 isn't a predominantly US sport. What's >>going on? > >'Practice' is the U.S. spelling. Your GP3 example mentioned 'practise', >which I assume is the U.K. spelling. Since the software originated >in the U.K., and the author used U.K spelling, what exactly is your point? >

Practise is the verb, Practice is the noun. They are *not* US/UK Spelling differences, although the use of Practice over Practise is common in the US. Z. Please remove my_pants when replying.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Zonky) wrote: > > Practise is the verb, Practice is the noun. They are *not* US/UKSpelling > differences, although the use of Practice over Practise is common inthe US. > > Z. > Oops! And more to the point, DOH! Sorry one and all. I'll get my coat.... Damian. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

>'Practice' is the U.S. spelling. Your GP3 example mentioned 'practise', >which I assume is the U.K. spelling. Since the software originated >in the U.K., and the author used U.K spelling, what exactly is your point? You've got it the wrong way round, Ed :-) From the Oxford dictionary: Practice: Habitual action or carrying on... etc. Practise: (US Practice) etc. -- Cheers! Graeme Nash

In article <N_lC5.5471$[email hidden]>, "GTX_SlotCar" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>No DOH needed. Anyway, either spelling is still acceptable in the British >version from what I understand, although one may be preferred over the >other. Practise is no longer acceptable in US spelling although it may have >been at one time. It's not a verb/noun difference. English spelling rules >are such that a noun and verb that are pronounced alike are supposed to be >spelled the same. >Don't fret. The UK is not as bad as the US in the spelling and grammar used >in technical writing (software, product manuals, etc.), although they're >both heading in the same direction. >

i would suggest checking either the Oxford or Cambridge dictionary's and revising your opinion ;) Z. Please remove my_pants when replying.

GTX_SlotCar wrote: >No DOH needed. Anyway, either spelling is still acceptable in the >British version from what I understand, although one may be preferred >over the other.<snip> I use "practise" for the verb and "practice" for the noun (when I remember to...) >English >spelling rules are such that a noun and verb that are pronounced alike >are supposed to be spelled the same. First I've heard of it... -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.17) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

Callum MacDonald wrote: <snip> >I'm afraid I can see this becoming a much more common occurrence over >the coming years.<snip> I'm not sure about that, actually - some predictions say that the %age of the Net in English is actually starting to decline. If the Chinese ever get democratic enough to allow proper access, that's going to make a heck of a difference. -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.17) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

Damian Wilson wrote:

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> > In article <[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] (Zonky) wrote: > > > > Practise is the verb, Practice is the noun. They are *not* US/UK > Spelling > > differences, although the use of Practice over Practise is common in > the US. > > > > Z. > > > > Oops! And more to the point, DOH! Sorry one and all. > > I'll get my coat.... > > Damian.

s'ok Damian, they're not verb and noun spellings either! The correct spelling of verb *and* noun is practice. Practise is merely a variant spelling. According to Websters on line dictionary anyway. But enough of this, it's got nowt to do with ras. Kev

No DOH needed. Anyway, either spelling is still acceptable in the British version from what I understand, although one may be preferred over the other. Practise is no longer acceptable in US spelling although it may have been at one time. It's not a verb/noun difference. English spelling rules are such that a noun and verb that are pronounced alike are supposed to be spelled the same. Don't fret. The UK is not as bad as the US in the spelling and grammar used in technical writing (software, product manuals, etc.), although they're both heading in the same direction. -- Slot Tweaks & Reviews www.slottweak.com "Damian Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8rch6e$hmk$[email hidden]... > In article <[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] (Zonky) wrote: > > > > Practise is the verb, Practice is the noun. They are *not* US/UK > Spelling > > differences, although the use of Practice over Practise is common in > the US. > > > > Z. > > > > Oops! And more to the point, DOH! Sorry one and all. > > I'll get my coat.... > > Damian. > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.

On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:51:57 GMT, Damian Wilson <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>I guess this message applies to UK dwellers only - but have you noticed >recently that software makers don't bother translating into UK English >any more? And, more worrying than that is the practice of UK software >makers writing software with US only spelling! > >Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". Actually GP3 is an >especially annoying example. Its written in England (Chipping Sodbury >for heaven's sakes), the US market is hardly its biggest target >audience (guesswork) and F1 isn't a predominantly US sport. What's >going on? >

Don't look at me. I put a slash through all my sevens and Z's. :) Some people put tires on their car while others prefer tyres. klink

> Practise is the verb, Practice is the noun. They are *not* US/UK Spelling > differences, although the use of Practice over Practise is common in theUS. > > Z. > > > >That's funny. Words in the English language that can be both nouns and verbs, depending on their function in a sentence, do not change spellings when they go from one part of speech to another. Sure, there's "ruin" as a verb and "ruinous" as the adjective and such, but the change in spelling is external to the root (suffix, in this case, is added). The word "practice" as a noun, such as in "The practice took the team to higher heights", does not change spelling when the word functions as a verb, as in "They practice hard and long." But this little discussion about spelling and US/UK versions actually started off all wrong. The initial poster, as rrevved pointed out, was trying to make an argument and while he was making the argument he was beginning to prove the opposite. The word "practise" spelled as such is the UK spelling. It is used in GP3, which is to be expected. I disagree with the original poster and actually think that he just wanted to start a discussion just to start one, for his argument is warped from the start. From what I see, if a piece of software is released in the UK it typically retains UK spellings. Anyway, what if it doesn't. Is the English language being diluted because everyone is using "practice" instead of "practise"? In fact, I could make the argument that it is only when language ceases to change that it becomes in a sense stagnant. Change is mostly always good, as long as things are going in the right direction morally, ethically, sociologically, psychologically, economically.... :) Alanb

"Damian Wilson" wrote: (snipped) > BTW, I'm not thankful my first language is English. If that statement > were not true I would be at least bilingual. I feel utterly ashamed at > my inability to speak any other language. Hey, maybe then you'd be able to confuse the use of practise/practice in *other* languages as well. :-)

On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:51:57 GMT, Damian Wilson <[email hidden]> wrote: >Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". I want to know if I was misled when I learned to spell the past tense of spell as "spelled." ~daxe

>GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans, unemployed >and people driving on the wrong side of the road. >Whats the fuzz? What language are you using there, Karl? -- Cheers! Graeme Nash

daxe wrote: <snip> >I want to know if I was misled when I learned to spell the past tense >of spell as "spelled." My OED allows either - it's personal preference, I believe. -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.17) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

In article <krFC5.49894$[email hidden]>, "Karl Zosel" <[email hidden]> wrote: > Hey calm down. > GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans,unemployed > and people driving on the wrong side of the road. > > Whats the fuzz? > I am calm. Answers: True (though I would disagree that we are *only* a small island), true (but that's true of every other country), true (but that's true of every other country), true (we're sensible). No "fuzz". I got a clean shave this morning. Anything else? On my original point clearly my example was well off the mark and I apologise. Still, we had an interesting little discourse nonetheless. Damian. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Zonky, I don't have one of those dictionaries handy, but I don't need one to realize that my message wasn't perfectly clear. It is the responsibility of the communicator to make sure he's understood and I didn't do that. Since the subject, before my statement about the verb/noun, was 'US spelling', I carried it through to the next sentence. (I should know better than to use too many prepositions because my wife loses me all the time when telling a story about people I don't know, and then starts using 'they' and 'them' too much.) Anyway, in US English, it's not a verb/noun difference. American English spelling rules are such that a noun and verb that are pronounced alike are supposed to be spelled the same. For those following this (way off topic) thread, after America won it's independence from Britain it behaved just like a rebellious child. It wanted an identity (and language) of it's own. In some things it meant doing the opposite of what the British did. Hence, we race the 'wrong way' on the track and we drink coffee instead of tea. New grammar and spelling rules also were adopted. Among them were a more phonetic spelling and a preference for regular, rather than irregular verbs. As used in this thread, spelled and spelt are good examples. In the same year that the US Constitution was adopted, 1788, Noah Webster published his 1st American English Dictionary which established the new rules for American English spelling and grammar. I didn't mean to imply that Zonky was wrong about the British spelling differences of nouns and verbs, just that it doesn't apply to American spelling. "> > ...... although one may be preferred over the other." Now, to set me straight, aren't the British now accepting either spelling as correct (regardless of noun/verb) and aren't they also preferring "ize" as opposed to "ise" in the British dictionaries? -- Slot www.slottweak.com Tweaks & Reviews Zonky <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > In article <N_lC5.5471$[email hidden]>, "GTX_SlotCar" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >No DOH needed. Anyway, either spelling is still acceptable in the British > >version from what I understand, although one may be preferred over the > >other. Practise is no longer acceptable in US spelling although it may have > >been at one time. It's not a verb/noun difference. English spelling rules > >are such that a noun and verb that are pronounced alike are supposed to be > >spelled the same. > >Don't fret. The UK is not as bad as the US in the spelling and grammar used > >in technical writing (software, product manuals, etc.), although they're > >both heading in the same direction. > > > > i would suggest checking either the Oxford or Cambridge dictionary's and > revising your opinion ;) > > Z. > > > Please remove my_pants when replying.

Since Boston is no longer Britain's pride of the New World, you were taught correctly. -- Slot www.slottweak.com Tweaks & Reviews daxe <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On Tue, 03 Oct 2000 07:51:57 GMT, Damian Wilson <[email hidden]> > wrote: > > > >Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". > > I want to know if I was misled when I learned to spell the past tense > of spell as "spelled." > > ~daxe

> too many prepositions because my wife loses me all the time when telling aOf course, I meant pronouns, not prepositions. I really ought to read my posts before sending them :(

Hey calm down. GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans, unemployed and people driving on the wrong side of the road. Whats the fuzz?

Karl Zosel wrote: >Hey calm down. ... Yup. No need to get incensed. Let's burn some incense and meditate instead. Damn, I could have sworn one of those spellings of incense should have had a "c" in them. "Do you have a licence for that minkey?" -Inspector Clouseau- "The name's Bond. James Bond" -007, Licensed to spell- -Ferdinand-

Karl Zosel <[email hidden]> wrote > Hey calm down. > GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans,unemployed > and people driving on the wrong side of the road. > > Whats the fuzz?Correction: Europe is a continent near Great Britain. Rule Britannia! :-P TOP 10 REASONS FOR BEING BELGIAN (by a Belgian) 1. You get to speak three languages, but none of them intelligibly. 2. If other countries want to fight a war, they will do it in your country. 3. You can brew drinks out of fruit, and still call it beer. 4. You are either a) like the Dutch, just less efficient b) like the French, just less romantic c) like the Germans! 5. Decent fries. Real mayonnaise. Great chocolate. The best beer 6. No one knows anything about you, except for the Dutch and French and they make fun of you. 7. More scandals in a week than any other country in a decade. 8. You can drive like a maniac on the road and nobody cares 9. All your famous countrymen are either imaginary, or sex-offenders 10. Face it. It's not really a country, is it? Next? Tony Whitley

In the UK it used to as a term for the police, e.g. "uh-oh here comes the fuzz". I'm sure it isn't offensive in any way.... hmmm...... Damian. In article <39dc6047$[email hidden]>, "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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> The fuzz is usually associated with the map of Tasmania. > -- > Regards, > Bruce Kennewell, > Canberra, Australia. > --------------------------- > > Graeme Nash <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > > > >GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans, > unemployed > > >and people driving on the wrong side of the road. > > >Whats the fuzz? > > > > What language are you using there, Karl? > > > > -- > > Cheers! > > Graeme Nash > >

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

>I'm sure it isn't offensive in any way.... hmmm...... Unless you use the old joke about the prostitute being "picked up by the fuzz"... ho hum :-) -- Cheers! Graeme Nash

Practise is the correct English spelling for the action of practising. Practice refers to a professional practice, etc. (the noun). In the annoying variant called US English, practice is usually used in both cases. So GP3, like GP2, made in England, spells practise correctly. Marc. "Damian Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8rc36t$85c$[email hidden]...

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> I guess this message applies to UK dwellers only - but have you noticed > recently that software makers don't bother translating into UK English > any more? And, more worrying than that is the practice of UK software > makers writing software with US only spelling! > > Example: GP3 and practice spelt "practise". Actually GP3 is an > especially annoying example. Its written in England (Chipping Sodbury > for heaven's sakes), the US market is hardly its biggest target > audience (guesswork) and F1 isn't a predominantly US sport. What's > going on? > > Damian. > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.

The fuzz is usually associated with the map of Tasmania. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Graeme Nash <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > >GREAT Britain is only a small island near Europe, with hooligans, unemployed > >and people driving on the wrong side of the road. > >Whats the fuzz? > > What language are you using there, Karl? > > -- > Cheers! > Graeme Nash