[accent, spelling]

[wispfox]

I'm finding myself both amused and bemused to be apparently unable to decide if I want to be using the British spelling of words (eg 'humour' or 'humor'), and periodically not being able to decide which pronunciation I want to use for certain words.

Hell, sometimes I use different pronunciations _in the same sentence_, especially if I'm talking to someone who pronounces certain words differently than I would, but in a way that also makes sense to me. (or, worse, if it's a way I used to try to pronounce a word until I realized that no one around me did).

*shakes head* I'm _so_ glad I'm not trying to teach anyone English, because I'm confusing _myself_, here!

(for that matter, I've never been able to figure out if it's spelled 'gray' or 'grey')

Comments

[regyt.livejournal.com]

Both are valid, but I prefer grey.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I have no preference. I don't think I even stay with the same one in a sentence. I might even avoid the word because of the confusion factor. ;)

[terminalwriter.livejournal.com]

(for that matter, I've never been able to figure out if it's spelled 'gray' or 'grey')

Many a flamewar has waged over that in rec.arts.tv.sf and the B5 groups. Beware the pandora's box you so carelessly open! ;-P

[bluepapercup]

gray vs. grey ---

I just use whatever one looks better at the time. Skies are gray, shirts are usually grey, faces are usually grey as are eyes, ocean is usually gray. Oh, and wool cloth is always gray.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Huh! Neat. That's fascinating that you have specific things which are one or the other!

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Really? I'd thought wool cloth was grey!

Kittens are grey. I think that things that make me happy are grey, and things that are a bit depressing (even beautiful-depressing) are gray.

[rosefox]

I think of gray as being darker than grey, and yes, also gloomier.

[beowabbit]

I use -our and grey, but I usually use -er instead of -re. I can never remember whether -ce is Commonwealth and -se is Murkin or the other way around, and I can never remember which one I usually use. Usually I use -ize these days. I guess I'd make a good Canadian.

[imlad.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on all accounts. English is a third language, but it is my active one on all fronts - from work to the most hyperbolic confessions of love. Put alcohol into me and I will go faux British - which how I learned my English to begin with. I also still have the tendency to add the "u" into humor, behavior and neighbor. What's your excuse?

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

My excuse is some combination of the fact that I have a tendany toward hanging around with non-USians when they are around, the fact that my current place of employ keeps importing and/or borrowing people from the UK and Australia, and the fact that my sweetie australian_joe and I generally talk on the phone every week, he visits the US every so often, and we exchange email fairly often. :)

I also blame the fact that I tend to speak like the people I'm talking with, pick up accents _really_ easily (more easily once I stop having periodic accent-related parsers errors), and just really like learning new words/phrases/turns of speech.

Wee! Excuses! ;)

[imlad.livejournal.com]

Those are great excuses - love 'em!

gray or grey

[lerryn.livejournal.com]

*flutie noises* Yes ... *more flutie noises*

[khavrinen.livejournal.com]

Hell, sometimes I use different pronunciations _in the same sentence_,

One of my favorite little snippets of Janet Kagan (http://users.inetcentral.com/erickagan/index.html)'s delightful first contact/murder mystery novel Hellspark (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812542754/qid=1097922993/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6487084-9196744?v=glance&s=books) is the scene where Alfvaen asks Tocohl if it is "Hell Spark" or "Hell's Park" :

"That's a state secret," said Tocohl.
"That's a joke, Alfvaen," Maggy said, her prim tone making it sound much like a child's confidence, "Tocohl told me."
...
"Alfvaen, the correct pronunciation is to alternate the two pronunciations -- to use first one, then the other, even in the same sentence."
"How odd. Why?"
"For the same reason anybody does anything in any language; because."


I haven't kept an official count, but I think Hellspark is the book which I've re-read most often; though the ending is hardly a mystery any more, I just love the way she plays with words. When you can read the same scene for the fiftieth time and still end up giggling out loud, you know the author's doing something right...

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Hee! Nice. One of these days, I may even read that. At least, I'm putting it on my list of books to read. Sounds fun!

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

According to dictionary.co.uk (http://www.dictionary.co.uk), grey is the British spelling and gray is the American. My problems in this areana stem from having adjusted to British spell-checkers for a year or so! In general, I go with the spelling most common in the place I am, on the theory that it's a polite thing to do :)