Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-08
UNIFORM oRTHoGRAPHY.
Difference in the Spelling of Words
English and American Style.
From Current Literature.

From Current Literature.
Horace, the Latin poet, says that custom
has made the power of deciding and the
right of forming the standard of correct
speaking; hence the oft-quoted dfctum.
'Usus est norma loquendi.'' Very closely
akin to speaking is the spelling of the
words spoken Where shall we find the
power of deciding and the right of forming
the standard OF correct spelling? You may
take up two different reputable newspapers
or magazines, or two books issued by two
different publishing houses, and the prob
ability is that you will find more than one
difference in spelling. Is the printers devil
or the proof reader the authority? Again
is the standard to be sought in this English
speaking country or in the land of the
birth Of the English tongue? In England
precisians abominate such forms as Ia
bor,' honor" color "splendor" and
they write 'rumour," while they have "hor-
ror.' On this side of the Atlantic certain
publishers use the English form, "labour,"
honour, etc, while the majority give us
what the British call IAN Americanisr
Some Standard authors of England write
connection" while others equally 'stand-
ard use "connexion." and here the two
forms are recognized.
In the birthplace of the English to,gua
theatre and centre" are required in COR
rect English, and although metre" becomes
meter in composition, in "gasometer"
the former SpelllnR Is held to be the true
form for the word when standing alone
Here you may frequently see theatre" in
the same journal as center and meter"
In British schools 1t is taught that when
words ending in double |" are compounded
each drops one H. hence we get "skilfuI."
In America you must use "skillful' if you
would be thought correct. The termination
'ize." as in recognize. Is almost univer-
sally in vogue, but our cousins generally
employ Use An English writer uses
practice as a noun and "prac tise'' as a
verb: an American writing the English
language makes no difference between the
two parts of speech. The diphthongs "ae"
and 'oe" are here usually contracted into
the single letter "e" or used fndiscrimi
nately. but the British are careful to re-
tain the diphthongal form, and 1t would in
deed be poor journal that did not possess
the two as permanent letters of their
fonts"
Now, all this may seem to some as a
very indifferent matter They may argue
that in this land of freedom we may spell
as we like. They may even go so far as to
think that each one of us may have his
own way of representing sounds, as the
man had his own way OF reading who held
the newspaper with the bottom of the page
upward But liberty Is based upon law
the free are the law-ablding. Without law
there is always tyranny. What are au-
thors to do who look upon litera ture as a
sacred thing? One who. perhaps, has
studied philology with enthusiasm and is
an authority" on spelling, sends a care
tully prepared manuscript TO the publisher
only to receive proof with his spelling
changed. He corrects II and returns 1t to
that invisible autocrat who has charge of
traditions of the Office and when the
book reaches the author he sees such forms
of words as make him feel ashamed There
can be no license In matters of spelling.
The republic of letters Is wider than any
boundaries of oceans and mountains. There
can be no English English" American
English" Canadian English" or Austria
liam English" Above all. there ought not
to be a multitude of invisible autocrats
each with a will of his own on the subject
of spelling. who. from their little dens.
stir I'D riots in the republic. We are ready
enough TO smile at the letters of Chester
fieldlan days, in which a word might be
written half a dozen ways in a single page:
but the laugh would be upon this twentieth
century IL Marian should come to Terra
and undertake to learn English from text
books issued from the different publishing
houses In different neutrality-suspicious. coun.
tries. BY all means let us have a f'norma
scribendi.'