4° POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to adopt certain emended spellings, such as thru (through), tho 

 (though), catalog (catalogue) and the like, but the majority of our 

 periodicals show by their practise very meager approval of spelling- 

 reform. No publisher, so far as known to the writer, has ventured as 

 yet to use the emended spelling in a book issued by his firm. Yet all 

 admit the need of spelling-reform and believe that, if adopted, it 

 would save the coming generation a vast deal of humdrum work in 

 acquiring an accurate knowledge of English orthography. 



We Americans, however, with our characteristic spirit of independ- 

 ence have made bold to break away from British tradition and custom 

 in the writing of certain English words and have introduced a few 

 minor reforms in our spelling. But the English people have not fol- 

 lowed our lead in this matter, being content to allow our adopted 

 American spelling, together with our distinctive pronunciation, serve 

 as an earmark to distinguish American from British English. It is 

 the practise of some reputable British journals to disparage our spell- 

 ing, wherever it makes a departure from English traditions, and to 

 refer to it by way of reproach as ' American spelling. ' Some few years 

 ago the St. James Gazette, intending to express its disapproval of our 

 spelling, deprecatingly remarked that "already newspapers in London 

 are habitually using the ugliest forms of American spelling and those 

 silly eccentricities do not make the slightest difference in their circula- 

 tion." Viewed in the light of subsequent events, perhaps this ought 

 to be considered as the forerunner of 'the American invasion.' 



As every one knows who has visited the mother country, there is a 

 perceptible difference not only in the spelling, but also in the pronun- 

 ciation, between American English and British English. Of course 

 the language is the same in America as in England ; and yet there are 

 some appreciable minor points of difference. For example, the Eng- 

 lishman gives the broad sound to the vowel a as in father, when it is 

 followed by such a combination of consonants as in the words ash, 

 fast, dance, can't, answer, after and the like. In America, on the 

 other hand, while this pronunciation is heard in some circles, it is 

 clearly not the ordinary pronunciation and is not general, as in Eng- 

 land. There is also a noticeable difference in the pronunciation of 

 long o, the Englishman giving the vowel a distinctive utterance quite 

 unlike that ordinarily heard in America. The pronunciation of the 

 word been is a shibboleth by which a man of British nationality may 

 be almost unfailingly distinguished. The native Englishman pro- 

 nounces the word so as to rhyme with seen, never bin. In addition to 

 these points of pronunciation there are certain locutions which never 

 fail to betray an Englishman. The English call an elevator a lift, 

 overshoes galoshes, napkins serviettes, candy sweets. In England a 

 baby-carriage is called a -perambulator, which is generally abridged 

 'pram' merely; a lamp-post is known as lamp-pillar and a letter-box 



