Why does British English use U?

Well, words like "colour" were adapted from the French spelling, couleur. The Brits tended to keep that “u” as a nod to the word's origin, but in America, these superfluous vowels were dropped to reflect how the word was actually pronounced, in theory making them easier to spell, read, and say.

Why don't Americans use the U?

Whereas British dictionary compilers opted merely to record established usage (which tended to favour French-looking words, hence the superfluous 'u'), early American dictionary compilers, notably Noah Webster, felt that simplifying the spelling - such as 'color' or 'meter' - would aid literacy and create a distinct ...

What are the U words in British?

Another word ending to look out for is -or/-our, since British spelling adds a “u” to words like “humor” (UK = “humour”) and “color” (UK = “colour”). Words that end “-ize” in US English – like “characterize” or “organize” – can also be spelt with “-ise” in British English (e.g., “characterise” and “organise”).

Why do the British use S instead of Z?

In the 1990s, however, British editors switched to prescribing "ise." The linguist Lynne Murphy argues that when the British got online and started seeing Americans using "ize" all the time, they became convinced that this spelling was un-British.

Why is there AU in British words?

Most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled ‑or. They were first adopted into English from early Old French, and the ending was spelled ‑our, ‑or or ‑ur. After the Norman conquest of England, the ending became ‑our to match the later Old French spelling.

819. What does it really mean to be good at English?

Why do British people say Zed?

Originally Answered: Why do the British say "zed" instead of "zee"? Because the letter 'Z' comes from the ancient Greek alphabet and its name in that alphabet is Zeta. This became Zede in old French, and, as many French words passed into the English language, became Zed in English.

Why do British say SAT instead of sitting?

There are so many different dialects within the English language and sometimes they just don't follow the rules. "Sat" is past tense, describing something that has already happened. "Sitting" is present tense, describing an action which is ongoing. I'm not OP but I've also heard brits use “sat” in the present tense.

Is it GREY or gray?

Gray and grey are both common spellings of the color between black and white. Gray is more frequent in American English, whereas grey is more common in British English.

Why did America change English spelling?

American spelling was invented as a form of protest

Webster wanted American spelling to not only be more straightforward but different from UK spelling, as a way of America showing its independence from the former British rule.

Why do British say maths?

While there is some debate here, this seems to have come about owing to a common convention around the time mathematics popped into English where it was en vogue to use a plural name for different fields of study, such as economics, linguistics, physics, acoustics, etc.

What words do Americans take the u out of?

American English spelling

There are a couple of derivations that are spelled without the “u” in both standard forms: E.g., glamorous, honorary, honorific, humorist, humorous, invigorate, laborious, savory, vaporous, vigorous.

Why do English say double U?

The TL;DR is "V" and "U" have a very intertwined letter history and Old English didn't use a "V" letter so they combined two "U" letters together to create the "wuh" sound. Then the printing press solidified the letter design as a double V but the name "double U" stuck.

Why don t English words end in V or u?

The letter “v” was reserved for consonant sounds, while “u” was used for vowel sounds. This change in spelling rules meant that words that previously ended in “v” now needed an extra letter to make sense. The addition of the letter “e” after “v” in English words serves a few different purposes.

Why do Brits spell color colour?

Difference Between Color and Colour

Color is the spelling used in the United States. Colour is used in other English-speaking countries. The word color has its roots (unsurprisingly) in the Latin word color. It entered Middle English through the Anglo-Norman colur, which was a version of the Old French colour.

How do you say no in USA?

You can simply say: Sorry, or, not today. Or, I'm not interested, thanks. There are lots of different ways to express “no”. Memorizing some of these phrases will make easier for you to decline an invitation or not to do something you're asked to do.

Why American accent is different to British?

The first is isolation; early colonists had only sporadic contact with the mother country. The second is exposure to other languages, and the colonists came into contact with Native American languages, mariners' Indian English pidgin and other settlers, who spoke Dutch, Swedish, French and Spanish.

Why do Americans say color instead of Colour?

You can remember the difference between color and colour because “U.K.” has a “U” in it (and uses the spelling “coloUr”), while “America” does not (and uses the spelling “color”). You can also remember that the U.S. version is shorter because our culture is so often in a rush!

How did Americans lose the British accent?

The American accent was thus a dialect leveling of a number of different British dialects. In addition to that, though, was the influence of people from all over the world. The Dutch, for example, had already settled in New York — or, before that, New Amsterdam — and so they too contributed to the new American sound.

How does Crayola spell gray?

4. Does Crayola spell gray or grey? It will spell “Gray” as Crayola US-made pencil colours, thus to refer to “Gray” colour in American English, “Gray” will be used.

Is Crayola gray or grey?

In America, the correct spelling is gray. Just look on any Crayola crayon if you don't believe me. My high school refresher grammar teacher, Alfrava Latham, had a great trick to help those of us who read a lot of English classics remember which spelling is correct.

Is there a word greatful?

Remember, greatful is not a word so it has no meaning. Greatful and grateful sound alike, but only grateful holds “word status” and has an actual definition. Greatful is an incorrect spelling of grateful and is not a word at all. Therefore, using it should be universally avoided.

Is I was stood correct English?

It is perfectly correct to say, “I was stood at the bus stop” — but only if someone picked you up physically, walked you to the bus stop, placed you down and stood you there.

Is it correct to say I was stood?

No, it's not standard English. It's largely a dialect use, but some dialects are more wide-spread than others. You'll hear “I was stood at platform 6” or “I was sat watching TV” very often, and we all understand perfectly, but it is dialect and not standard English.