Originally posted by Parallax Here! Here! instead of Hear! Hear!
Supposably instead of supposedly
And, of course, the big one - Everything that has a superfluous u stuffed in after an o (colour, flavour, behaviour, harbour, honour, humour, labour, etc.)
To 'U' or not to "U'...that is the question.
That is the British spelling of course and I confess I generally use the British spelling rather than the American spelling of some words.
When (1950's) I was in elementary school in Canada our teachers taught us to use the Brit spelling. No surprise Canada is part of the Commonwealth. When it came to getting school supplies, etc...we were told to get the Oxford Dictionary and not the Webster's Dictionary...again primarily due to spelling issues.
As to which spelling is correct...as far as U goes, that is a good question, one open for debate. However the British do have one strong point in their favour...favor...
...it is the English language.
On the other hand the USA has had a huge influence on the evolution and the spread of the language and any healthy language does undergo and should IMHO change. You make the point about the 'u' being superfluous and I can't deny that point. It is a good one.
As an aside, years ago a relative (American from Chattanooga) showed me a family heirloom. It was a Webster's Dictionary...printed from what I recall in the mid 1840's. I looked through it and it was fascinating to see some of the words and their meaning...and spelling from so long ago. I do remember looking up Passenger Pigeon and it said something about a plentiful pest....and a good use was to use the bodies for filling potholes in roads.
But as we know, things change and so do word definitions, uses, spellings....