PREFERENCE IN ENGLISH SPELLING. 41 



as a pillar-box. There no one would ask at a store for a wash-bowl 

 and pitcher, however much he might need these useful household 

 articles, but he would call at the shop for a jug and basin. An Amer- 

 ican in London must not say street car, but tram or road car; not 

 engine (which is pronounced injin), but locomotive-engine; not en- 

 gineer, but engine-driver. In England many ordinary household 

 articles are known by names as different from those in our country as 

 if the language there were altogether a foreign tongue. Small wonder, 

 then, that a keen-witted American maid remarked, a propos of the dif- 

 ference between British English and American English, that London 

 was a delightful place if you only knew the language. 



Nowhere is the difference between American English and British 

 English more marked and interesting than in the varying practise of 

 spelling on both sides of the Atlantic. Let us note some of the chief 

 points of variation. 



Our British cousins assume an exasperating air of superiority 

 when they mention the matter of our spelling and, as self-appointed 

 conservators of the language, point out what they are pleased to style 

 the offensive eccentricities of American spelling. The British journals 

 ever and anon draw attention to our manner of writing such words as 

 favor, honor, center, program, almanac, tire, curb, check and criticize 

 and the like, which they spell favour, honour, centre, programme, al- 

 manack, tyre, kerb, cheque and criticise. Now, in the case of most of 

 these words, we submit that the American spelling is nearer the his- 

 torical spelling, simpler and more logical than the British method. 

 As for the words typified by honor, our method is simpler and nearer 

 to the ultimate etymology. These words, it hardly need be observed, 

 are borrowed from the Latin through the French. The British main- 

 tain that for this reason the spelling ought to conform to the French 

 fashion. But they overlook the fact that these words have not always 

 been written in English according to the French manner of writing. 

 Dr. Johnson, the eminent lexicographer of the eighteenth century, 

 wrote honor beside honour, neighbor beside neighbour, harbor beside 

 harbour and the like. Indeed, the great Cham allowed himself con- 

 siderable latitude in the matter of English orthography. Moreover, 

 the Norman-French forms of these words were written in a variety of 

 ways, as our, eur, ur, and also or. Even on the historical ground, 

 therefore, there is not lacking some authority for the American spell- 

 ing. If the English were consistent, they would be forced by the logic 

 of their argument to write uniformly govenour, errour, emperour, 

 oratour, horrour and odolour as well as honour and favour. But prac- 

 tise shows their glaring lack of consistency, since they do not spell 

 these words ordinarily with u. It ought not to be regarded as a re- 

 proach upon American spelling, because in our desire for simplicity 

 and uniformity we have rejected the u in this entire class of words 



