I work in the phone industry and I am constantly writing the word dialled.

Auto-corrects cannot agree on the correct spelling.

My investigations indicate the primAry difference to be American vs. British English. I reside in Canada so British English is more widely used(at least where I am).

My business card reads "Dialed into your business"

This bothers me but I don't want to be a jerk in pointing it out unless I have a good reason.

Does anyone have any insights for me?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

Is it color or colour?

Same difference?

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

I use colour, flavour, honour, etc

So yes, there is a difference

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

So what's the difference between color and colour, apart from the spelling?

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

It's the audience. If I spell it as color in a forum such as this, no difference. If I put it on my business card, it says something about my preferences to my business associates

There are anti-American attitudes that I would prefer to avoid. Granted, the majority would not be aware of the difference in this case

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

Can't help with Dialed/Dialled - 'connected' doesn't have the same connotation. but for Color/Colour, how about 'hue' as a neutral substitute ?

Fred Wagner

Ah. The Ugly American perception.

Where ARE all those examples US imperialist aggerssion?

I guess that this world is at the worse, for the US of A.

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

==> This bothers me ...
==> I use colour, flavour, honour, etc So yes, there is a difference
==> It's the audience. If I spell it as color in a forum such as this, no difference. If I put it on my business card, it says something about my preferences to my business associates

The fact that spelling dialed with one 'l' bothers you says much the same thing about your preferences. There is nothing wrong with that; it's okay. If that's the way you feel, then that's the way you feel. That's fine. But be honest about it and even moreso, be consistent in your convictions. Why would you want to use the British spelling for some words, but not others? If you're going to use the British spelling for color, flavor, and honor, then use the British spelling across the board.

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I have always written dialled (without being aware of any left- or right-pondian influence on the word). Dialed reads to me like it should rhyme with "paled".

Annihilannic
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I agree with Skip. Who are these business associates with "anti-American attitudes" and how does the spelling of a word invoke their ire?

Would you need to change, say, your telephony supplier to please them if it was part owned by an American parent? Interesting concept.

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

I always have issues describing why I believe the things I do.

I probably should have just stuck to "It bothers me" and "It looks wrong to me" and "I think it looks wrong to others"

I would rather not have a word on my business card that looks like its spelled wrong

I suppose I was looking for validation that others see it as I do.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

I never said anti-American = ire

The result is more likely to end up with teasing. Much the same as if the word were misspelled.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

Quote:

I would rather not have a word on my business card that looks like its spelled wrong

Can't you have the cards reprinted?

Jim

I'm not the boss, and before I make a deal about it I was looking for a reality check. So far the feedback is negative

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

I believe the root of your problem is that you are in Canada. A commonwealth country that's awash in influence from the South. Not suggesting anything, just an observation.

Quote:

Canada. Leading the world at being North of the United States.

To me as foreign german, having learned british english in school, I would prefer dialled, even though I am also spoilt by being influenced by english language and song lyrics and tv shows and movies from all over the world. I don't speak or write pure british, american, canadian, australian or any other dialect of english.

I am perhaps even poor overall by your measures here in this forum, but I can share the pain in general. Such errors also hurt the eye on german business cards.

>I'm not the boss

Well, forward the decision. I'd just point it out, but not suggest reprinting. It's up to him/her to make that decision, you're out.

You can later always point out you know and have said so, if, and only if someone of your customers mentions it. That will make you no jerk to anyone, would it? Only to your boss, perhaps. Who's no jerk in the eyes of any normal boss ;)

Bye, Olaf.

Quote:

I'm not the boss, and before I make a deal about it I was looking for a reality check. So far the feedback is negative

You don't have to make a 'deal' about it. Just politely show the card to your boss in a nice way and ask if you could have the cards redone and show him the reason why. If he says no, then deal with it and accept it.

Jim

Quote (kwbMitel's business card)

"Dialed into your business"

Looking at the phrase overall I'd write it as:

"Dialled in to your business"

"into" doesn't look right to me in that context.

Annihilannic
tgmlify - code syntax highlighting for your tek-tips posts

Good point annilhilannic

Now that you've pointed it out that does seem odd

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

I've never canceled/cancelled service with someone over the color/colour of their flag, their preference of alumninum/alumninium, or their favorite football/futboll/soccer team.

I will make a point of trying to align my spelling with whomever I'm speaking to, but I don't let it bother me personally.
For display/consumption by my end-users, I align with whichever they are most likely to be familiar with.

Lodlaiden

P.S. If you ever need a chuckle, ask a British man to say taco. (tee hee)

You've got questions and source code. We want both!
Oh? That? That's not an important password. - IT Security Admin (pw on whiteboard)

Why, is it not "tah coe"? Do you say "tay co" or something like that?

Annihilannic
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I was raised to say tock-o, but from my british dealings I gather the approved way is tack-o.

Lodlaiden

You've got questions and source code. We want both!
Oh? That? That's not an important password. - IT Security Admin (pw on whiteboard)

If a Brit visits Texas, they can have a problem ordering dessert - they ask for 'peckin pie', while the locals know it as 'pa KAHN pie'.

Fred Wagner

They would have a tough time buying cigarettes in Texas, too. ;)

Jim

On the same subject but different words, can someone explain the following:

Answered not Answerred (definitely Answerred looks very wrong to me)

Transferred not Transfered (Both look Ok to me but spell checker says 2 r's)

Why?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

It has to do with syllable stressing. The general rule is that words which end in the 'er' sound and have the emphasis on the first syllable do not double the 'r'. However, when the emphasis is on the 'er' syllable, the 'r' is generally doubled up.
An'swer ==> answered
Trans fer' ==> transferred

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>If a Brit visits Texas, they can have a problem ordering dessert - they ask for 'peckin pie', while the locals know it as 'pa KAHN pie'.

Eaasily solved. I ask for "brownies" ...

Thanks CajunCenturion, the syllable emphasis escaped me

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

I was told that 'pa KAHN' is a nut and 'pee can' is a thing grandma keeps under her bed for emergencies.

sam

(Using the same indicators as CC) The stress in Transfer can be changed to Tran'sfer as in the Tran'sfer market of footballers from one club to another. They would then have been Trans ferr'ed.

Aspiring to mediocrity since 1957

Quote:

They would have a tough time buying cigarettes in Texas, too. ;)

Get's even worse when you throw slang into the equation.

"Bumming a fag" has a completely different meaning to some UK residents than it does to our US brethren.

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

http://alvechurchlounge.org.uk

As a Brit, I am unable to understand why those of you who write a version of English (e.g. Americans or Canadians) continue to call your language English?

Surely it's either American or Canadian?

If, whilst at college I spelt colour as color, I would be picked up on it and corrected.

Your teachers taught you to spell a word a certain way. They taught you your nationality's version of English which proudly differentiates you from the British.

.....and there's another thing....(now you've got me started)....


/start rant

One used to be able to tell when reading whether the author was British or schooled in Britain, or if they were educated elsewhere. No longer.

British newspapers have words like "authorized", "organized" and "recognized".

When I read that "both are correct", they are not!

And it's got nothing to do with language "moving on".

/end rant


Oh, I feel so much better for that. Thank you kwbMitel.

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

"organized" is the correct British English. Just check the OED. Many of the words that you might like to think end -ise should actually end -ize (it is derived from a Greek root rather than aFrench one). -ize is not an Americanism.

Having researched it I accept that both can be used however, according to the BNC (British National Corpus) the ratio of acceptable variances of the endings "-ise" and "-ize" are 3:2.

I cannot recall ever being told at college that both were acceptable and will continue to sneer at crappy British newspapers who spell those words any other way.



¦-)

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

If you are expecting to gain employment in America then I would suggest following their protocols.

I was born in, raised in, and educated in the U.S. although my education was mostly at religious institutions. I constantly find myself writing "cancelled" along with many other similar words for whom Americans use only one "L" (or "T", or ...) and spell-check is constantly objecting to it. It's getting quite annoying, really, and I'm about to switch my dictionary to "British English"

Frank Clarke
--America's source for adverse opinions since 1943.

@ Rexxhead - AFAIK, 'cancelled' is just fine with either one or two 'l's', and that is how I have learned it as well in an American High School, and most I know use the TWO 'L' variety... ;)

@ Olaf, yes I know where you are coming from, when I read a lot of English Translations, from German speaking partners, I begin to cringe quite a few times. But what gets me worse, is the pronunciation that they gets me the most time... Example: Item, most Germans I know (me excluded), pronounce it "Eat Them", this sets my neck hairs to a rise...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

"Surely it's either American or Canadian?"

For the most part it is American English
Canadians will have more British English but share some of the American English.....I believe this to be Noah's fault because his Websters dictionary is popular in Canada.

"Dialed" is the US version
Even this web site (American) shows that Dialled is spelled wrong.

General rule for the proper English language:
When adding 'ing' and 'ed' to verbs double the consonant beforehand.

It's a fact that Americans choose to spell things there way thanks to Noah Webster whom wanted to have a superior language to the Brits therefore changed up some words.

'Into' is old English and can be 'in to'.

In the end the business card looks fine to me since some of us in Canada spell it same way (thanks to the Americans), I am dual citizen - Brit and Canadian.

------
I aint got no grammar!

=----(((((((((()----=
curlycord
www.curlycord.com

Hello Mr. Webster ( )

Quote:

It's a fact that Americans choose to spell things there way thanks to Noah Webster whom wanted to have a superior language to the Brits therefore changed up some words.

1. Their
2. (commata) who
3. Noah Webster did not write An American Dictionary of the English Language with the purpose of a superior language, but that he wanted to show that the Americans spoke a DIFFERENT dialect than the British.

PS: into is modern English, derived from intō (which is Old English)... ;)

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

Quote:

General rule for the proper English language:
When adding 'ing' and 'ed' to verbs double the consonant beforehand.

I would disagree that's the general rule. In fact, I don't think one can make a claim that there IS a general rule.

If it's a one-syllable word that ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, and the last consonant is not 'w', 'x', 'y', or 'z', then double the last consonant and add the 'ed' or 'ing'.

If it's a two-syllable word that ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, then only double the last consonant if the second syllable is stressed. Do not double the consonant if the first syllable is stressed.

If a word end with two vowels and a consonant, then do not double the consonant - just add the 'ed' or 'ing'.

If a word ends with two consonants, then do not double the last consonant - just add the 'ed' or 'ing'.

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Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

what about a one syllable word, ending in a vowel?

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

The use of Z oe S in word

I see a lot of words in us publication using Z. Wher in UK and Australia it has been replaced with S I think at one stage some one had the idea of of only have 25 letter and not 26. I do not know what you would call zerbra with no Z's

TO, TOO and TWO there is a pile of other word with different meanings.

Never give up never give in.

There are no short cuts to anything worth doing

Quote:

I see a lot of words in us publication using Z. Wher in UK and Australia it has been replaced with S I think at one stage some one had the idea of of only have 25 letter and not 26. I do not know what you would call zerbra with no Z's

As the language is called "English" is suspect you will find that it is actually the USA that have replaced the 'S' with a 'Z'

A Maintenance contract is essential, not a Luxury.
Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

Actually, that's not something we can blame the yanks for (much as we enjoy to), as has been mentioned a few times in these forums. Good explanation here.

Annihilannic
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>as has been mentioned a few times in these forums

In this very thread. in fact.

authorise in English but when you look a US movies authorize there is many more examples.

Inflammable Vs Flammable adding to start of a word change the meaning possible Vs impossible

Never give up never give in.

There are no short cuts to anything worth doing

Re:Inflammable etc

Quote (- The Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson)

"We have at least six ways of expressing negation with prefixes:a-, anti-,in- il-, im-, ir-, un-, and non-. It is arguable whether this is a sign of admirable variety or just untidiness. It must be exasperating for foreigners to have to learn that a thing unseen is not unvisible, but invisible, while something that cannot be reversed is not inreversable but irreversable and a thing not possible is not nonpossible but impossible. Furthermore, they must learn not to make the elementary mistake of assuming that because a word contains a negative suffix or prefix it is necessarily a negative word. In-, for instance, almost always implies negation but not with invaluable, while -less is equally negative, as a rule, but not with priceless. Things are so confusing that even native users have shown signs of mental fatigue and left us with two forms meaning the same thing: flammable and inflammable, iterate and reiterate, ebriate and inebriate, habitable and inhabitable, durable and perdurable, fervid and perfervid, gather and forgather, ravel and unravel.

I love this book for its insights into our language and its many faults.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

Quote (Ralph Wiggum)

Me fail english? Thats unpossible!

Aspiring to mediocrity since 1957

==> Inflammable Vs Flammable adding to start of a word change the meaning possible Vs impossible
Actually, the original word was inflammable, derived from Latin with the prefix en-, which means "capable of", as in to enflame or inflame. Both spellings are acceptable. It is the The Latin un- that means not. However, English also get words from other languages where the in- prefix does mean not. Hence the confusion.

Somewhere around the 1920s fire protection officials became concerned that people would believe that inflammable meant not flammable rather than capable of flame, so they started using the word flammable to hopefully avoid the confusion.

==> It is arguable whether this is a sign of admirable variety or just untidiness.
I think it speaks more the admirable variety since over the years, English has imported words from a variety of other languages.

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>> I think it speaks more the admirable variety ...
I agree there CC...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

>authorise in English but when you look a US movies authorize there is many more examples

Are you actually reading what people are telling you?

Sorry Strongm but I must....

"there is many more examples" - Really?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

Presumably you are aware that it is not my grammatical error; I was quoting assets

When NEC released thee first G3 fax machine the manual stated "when the lamp is not lit" whats wrong with off. Just kidding but some one need to read and translate Japanise english to english.

Never give up never give in.

There are no short cuts to anything worth doing

assets, you are hardly in a position to criticise anyone's English!

Quote (assets)

When NEC released their first G3 fax machine the manual stated "when the lamp is not lit". Whats wrong with "off"? Just kidding, but someone needs to read and translate Japanese English to English.

On that subject though... I have one of those little infra-red controlled micro helicopters. The instructions have a diagram of the controls which is labelled "The elucidation of the controls".

Annihilannic
tgmlify - code syntax highlighting for your tek-tips posts

Sometimes, I think manufacturers do it on purpose, just to give us something to give out about -- YMMV

Paul
------------------------------------
Spend an hour a week on CPAN, helps cure all known programming ailments

<If a Brit visits Texas, they can have a problem ordering dessert - they ask for 'peckin pie', while the locals know it as 'pa KAHN pie'.
Actually, the Texans call it PEA-can. They like to emphasize the first syllable on things: DIS-play, AH-dear (idea), and so on.

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

<"Bumming a fag" has a completely different meaning to some UK residents than it does to our US brethren.
And then there's the ubiquitous "rubber"...

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

<"Bumming a fag" has a completely different meaning to some UK residents than it does to our US brethren.
And then there's the ubiquitous "rubber"...

<If, whilst at college I spelt colour as color, I would be picked up on it and corrected.
Reminds me of a story from my school days in England (as a visiting American boy). "Toad" Walker, our history teacher, required us to take notes on his lectures, which he would then look over and critique. I wrote "Wellington figured that he would be in a better position at Mont-Saint-Jean, so he moved northwards." (I did it on purpose, too.) This took place:

"Toad": Roodes. (He was from Wigan or some such)
Me: Sir.
"Toad": Roodes, you have written that Wellington figured that he would be in a better position at Mont-Saint-Jean, so he moved northwards."
Me: Yes, sir.
"Toad": Roodes, was Wellington an Englishman?
Me: Yes, sir.
"Toad": Then Roodes, you must realize that he did nothing of the sort. He "surmised" or "ascertained." Americans figure, Roodes, Englishmen do not.
Me: Yes, sir.

By the way, our different spellings have their rather prosaic genesis in the "Simplified Spelling Board" of 1906. Andrew Carnegie decided that English could become a universal language if it were easier to write, and so funded the board. Teddy Roosevelt loved the idea and ordered the U. S. Government Printing Office to use 300 of the new spellings, much to the general amusement of the American people, who generally ridiculed the idea. Some of those spellings caught on and are still in use today.

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

<I love this book for its insights into our language and its many faults.
A couple of notes: there's also "ig" as in "ignoble". "Invaluable" isn't a good example of this, because it means "can't be valued." "Priceless", similarly, means "without a price." The trouble with "in" is that it isn't always a negative; rather it can have the meaning of "inside". So "inflammable" is to "flammable" as "flame" is to "inflame." Same idea with "inhabitable". After all, there's "uninhabitable" as well. :)

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

<I love this book for its insights into our language and its many faults.
A couple of notes: there's also "ig" as in "ignoble". "Invaluable" isn't a good example of this, because it means "can't be valued." "Priceless", similarly, means "without a price." I was going to go into inflammable vs. flammable but CajunCenturion but I just noticed that did a much better job of it.

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

No idea how that happened...anyway, Cajun did a better job explaining that than I did. And I left out Noah Webster. I'm going to sleep now, bye. Fun thread! :)

An unforeseen consequence of the information revolution has been the exponential propagation of human error.

I am struck by the lack of similarity between deal and dial, both verbed nouns.

Dealed can be dealt, never dealled.

Dialed can be dialled, but never dialt.

What etymological differences have led to this oddity?

I would guess that the verbing of dial is much more recent than that of deal, hence the use of the more archaic form dealt.

To dial arrived with use of the telephone dial (the action: to dial is now generally obsolete in itself - we usually key in phone numbers now),

So why not use "Keyed into your business" - which suggests a close union and partnership - as well as indicating a more modern action than the dialling that was prevalent in the 19th and 20th centuries?