Gray vs Grey. Color vs colour.

[RodgerM]

Which one is it really?

[wits]

It can be either for grey, although I prefer e, and color is color.

[OrangeNinja]

Isn't it American and British English thing? O:

[Jagged Tooth]

Grey and Colour

[JupiterSWarrior]

I usually alternate between "gray" and "grey", but, for me, color does not have a "u" in it.

As for grey vs gray, I think I'll try to remember that "gray" is the name of a person I know, and "grey" is the color. But I doubt I'd stick to this because, as I said, I do alternate between the two.

[ChevronZA]

It's "Grey" and "Colour". In case you were wondering "tyres" go on a car and a "cheque" book is something you get from a bank.

Stupid Americans are messing up English.

[SilentHawk]

Most of the world spells them as "grey" and "colour", the US spells them as "gray" and "color".

[Cheezburgers]

Its grey and colour because thats how it was before the Americans decided that English wasnt good enough for them and they needed their own unique, slightly changed version that would make them feel special.

[Snorkel]

I say grey and colour, unless it's the surname Gray.

[Blinxx]

I don't really think it matters.

[RodgerM]

I don't really think it matters.

Well, I'm taught one way way back when and then see people using another now days that is becoming more popular . I just find it interesting that people torture and mangle words and it comes up as fine somehow. Someone had to start it somewhere that they wanted to type and spell it differently before it became accepted to some group as proper I suppose ?

[Snorkel]

Well, I'm taught one way way back when and then see people using another now days that is becoming more popular . I just find it interesting that people torture and mangle words and it comes up as fine somehow. Someone had to start it somewhere that they wanted to type and spell it differently before it became accepted to some group as proper I suppose ?

color/colour is definitely a US English vs UK English thing.

gray/grey - I think gray is more common in NA and grey in UK, but I think they're both acceptable spellings in both places.

[A Guy]

It's "gray" and "color".

[Blinxx]

Well, I'm taught one way way back when and then see people using another now days that is becoming more popular . I just find it interesting that people torture and mangle words and it comes up as fine somehow. Someone had to start it somewhere that they wanted to type and spell it differently before it became accepted to some group as proper I suppose ?

Torturing and mangling languages is nothing new. The Norman conquest in 1066 had a massive effect on our language, and before that old English was mostly Germanic. If it weren't for this torturing then our language would be incredibly different...possibly inconceivably so.

Language evolves just like anything else does and I see little point on stating how something should be spelt 'correctly'. If language didn't evolve, it would fall into the obscurity that Latin has fallen into.

What does irk me though is laziness in language. Phrases such as "going forward", "blue sky thinking" just annoy me as they're meaningless clichés.

[Snorkel]

There are a whole WHOLE lot more of these OP.

airplane vs aeroplane
jewelry vs jewellery
harbor vs harbour
defense vs defence...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

[A Guy]

There are a whole WHOLE lot more of these OP.

airplane vs aeroplane
jewelry vs jewellery
harbor vs harbour
defense vs defence...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

And here I thought people spelling it "defence" were just spelling it wrong. Can't blame me, I find people misspelling like crazy, so I never can tell if it's a real word or not. Although, I'm pretty sure "alot" is not a word, and I see it alot!

Lol, I've never seen it spelled "aeroplane".

[ribbins]

I usually type Gray and Colour.. but not all the time.. :|

[MisterPixel]

The worst offender in English/Americanish is when Americans say "Could care less" when what they actually mean is "Couldn't care less."

This is particularly bad because this mistake results in it meaning the exact opposite of what is intended.

[Solona]

Grey and colour. Never seen Grey spelt with an "a" before in my life.

[Snorkel]

The worst offender in English/Americanish is when Americans say "Could care less" when what they actually mean is "Couldn't care less."

This is particularly bad because this mistake results in it meaning the exact opposite of what is intended.

It's not even an American thing (well, that's the culture where the phrase has become popular), it's more a kids these days thing.

Was reading an extremely American novel from the 70s or 80s the other day and was pleased to discover that the author used "couldn't care less"

It's just a lazy derivation that's occurred recently.

[Snorkel]

Although, I'm pretty sure "alot" is not a word, and I see it alot!

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

:D

[Reebdoog]

I always mix up grey/gray. But it's colour for me, unless I'm programming... then I need to remember to stick with color

[Snorkel]

Yeah that's annoying color/colour and center/centre in programming.

One that I find really weird is liter/litre. I didn't even realise until L4D2's "Follow the liter" mode that it was spelt like that in the US...I try to mentally pronounce it "lighter" and then I realise what it actually is.

[ChevronZA]

Yeah that's annoying color/colour and center/centre in programming.

One that I find really weird is liter/litre. I didn't even realise until L4D2's "Follow the liter" mode that it was spelt like that in the US...I try to mentally pronounce it "lighter" and then I realise what it actually is.

Same thing happens with "doughnut" for me, when I see "donut" I mentally say "do nut".

[markcocjin]

Same thing happens with "doughnut" for me, when I see "donut" I mentally say "do nut".

What school did you go to? Did you grow up in the slums? Your spelling is horribly wrong either way.

It's spelled as deauxnaught.

[HammerLegionary]

grey color

[Nova Prospekt]

Hmm.

I always thought colour wise, it is grey.
I think there is an expression in which Gray is used, that is "I'm feeling a bit gray today"?Idk, i heard it somewhere that that's where 'a' is put in grey

What somehow annoys me is honor vs honour.

[ggplayer]

What is it about the letter 'u' that Americans hate?

Did Sesame Street introduce the letter U as a terrorist?

[Shape]

Grey and colour.

Soon gry and colr will be added to the dictionary dumbing more people down.

[escalator2nwhr]

There are a whole WHOLE lot more of these OP.

airplane vs aeroplane
jewelry vs jewellery
harbor vs harbour
defense vs defence...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

my favourites are:
pernickety v persnickety
scallywag v scallawag (wtf america?)
moustache v mustache
titbit v tidbit (the bits in america don't have ♥♥♥♥')

and of course... ♥♥♥ v ♥♥♥♥

ise vs. ize is the only thing i actually find a bit irksome... a 'z' should be a rare letter only appearing when you have to spell something fun... like razzamatazz

oh and don't get me started on advice/advise/advize... that's just a mess :(

*edit* oh and it is colour and grey...
btw, are there different letter values in scrabble US vs. UK... a 'z' has to be worth more to an englishman

[Domothy]

My surname is Gray, so I've written it down more than most, I'd wager. I'm English too, so colour reigns supreme for me, but I do write down the colour gray as gray simply because of my name. :)

[frogsmoothy]

Grey and Colour

This. This is usually the accepted answer in the UK, not sure about the US.

[Nitronumber9]

Gray is a colour, Grey was a character in an RPG.

[Europhoria]

Never seen it written as gray before. It could be one of those things my brain automatically corrects.

Torturing and mangling languages is nothing new. The Norman conquest in 1066 had a massive effect on our language, and before that old English was mostly Germanic. If it weren't for this torturing then our language would be incredibly different...possibly inconceivably so.

Language evolves just like anything else does and I see little point on stating how something should be spelt 'correctly'. If language didn't evolve, it would fall into the obscurity that Latin has fallen into.

What does irk me though is laziness in language. Phrases such as "going forward", "blue sky thinking" just annoy me as they're meaningless clichés.

Ah I wouldn't worry about it. At the end of the day when all things are said and done, it all comes down to you, the individual and how you handle the situation. You could keep banging your head against a brick wall or you could go back to the drawing board and shift your thinking to a new paradigm which will prove to be a quantum leap in your quality of life.

[Seph64]

To me, the words are 'grey' and 'colour'.

I hate it when people take words and change their meanings or spellings.

Take gay for an example. In today's world, it means a person of a specific sexual orientation. It's original meaning was, "to find joy," or "be in joy".

Or the word dumb. This one REALLY takes the cake in being butchered. Here's a world that describes a person/thing/animal who can not speak, and it has been changed to "Stupid". Yeah, I think whoever changed that meaning is thinking of the German word, "dumm".

In today's world, the Hercule Poirot story, "Dumb Witness" would have to be renamed to "silent witness" because the dumb refers to the witness' (in this case, a semi intelligent dog) inability to speak, not to the IQ of the witness.

But... That is life...

"Life, do not talk to me about life."

[Excygy]

Gris et Couleur ;)

[weegie]

oh and don't get me started on advice/advise/advize... that's just a mess :(


You give someone advice, as if it were an object.

You advise someone, which is the action of giving advice.

I have never read Advize before anywhere. I just think that is people being stupid and spelling the word wrong.

You do not advice someone, or give them advise. Seems fairly simple to me

[cegrogan]

Grey goose?

[Dmytry]

Grey and colour. Makes americans think I'm brit. Ditto for centre, metre, and the like.
Except in programming where I decided to always standardize on the shortest pronunciation, so it is color not colour.

[AsheMan]

Aluminum. Just listen to a Brit say the word.

[real4xor]

And here I thought people spelling it "defence" were just spelling it wrong.

I`d think they`re typing about removing fences or something if they spell it like that. hahah.

But yeah, it`s actually the correct british spelling.
:o I`m the one spelling it wrong. Need to update spelling library.

[Ghostbreed]

I couldn't care less.

[joeylawn]

What school did you go to? Did you grow up in the slums? Your spelling is horribly wrong either way.

It's spelled as deauxnaught.

Eau, Geaux Away.....;) :D

jk

[RodgerM]

I couldn't care less.

I guess soon this soon will be OK to talk this way then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGA1a4nyVs

Since nobody seems to care how people are changing the way to converse.

"Welcome to (internet here support) sir"
"Hey man I got a dawng ole internet problem man say man I click fiezhfows.EhXie Eh and it go boom man". :p

[joeylawn]

Never seen it written as gray before. It could be one of those things my brain automatically corrects.



Ah I wouldn't worry about it. At the end of the day when all things are said and done, it all comes down to you, the individual and how you handle the situation. You could keep banging your head against a brick wall or you could go back to the drawing board and shift your thinking to a new paradigm which will prove to be a quantum leap in your quality of life.

LMAO

And, of course, there's your language - Strine. ;) :D

you wowser

[hoilst]

Its grey and colour because thats how it was before the Americans decided that English wasnt good enough for them and they needed their own unique, slightly changed version that would make them feel special.

Yeah, people who can't write proper English suck...

[Seth.Sekhmet]

GREY. As in Sasha Grey...

[Modiga-Disabled]

I don't really think it matters.

Of course it matters! Some people are doing things differently and that's just wrong. Conform!

[Parliamentarian]

I don't know about the SPELLINGS, but I recently found that it was the British people who's accents changed over time, and not the Americans.

So perhaps the Brits just also started adding random letters to words just to be fancy.

[surgeon]

Aluminum. Just listen to a Brit say the word.

Excluding 'Aluminum', there are only 3 elements that end in '-um'. There are 75 ending in '-ium', so which is the odd one out?


Also, people say color makes more sense than colour because you don't pronounce the 'u'. How many other words have silent letters? English isn't pronounced as it's written, you have words like knock, pneumatic, light; an 'e' that changes the sound of a vowel at the other end of the word; 'oo' as in book, or as in shoot.

[Excygy]

GREY. As in Sasha Grey...

lol. she wants to be a REAL actress now.

good luck.

[Parliamentarian]

Excluding 'Aluminum', there are only 3 elements that end in '-um'. There are 75 ending in '-ium', so which is the odd one out?


Also, people say color makes more sense than colour because you don't pronounce the 'u'. How many other words have silent letters? English isn't pronounced as it's written, you have words like knock, pneumatic, light; an 'e' that changes the sound of a vowel at the other end of the word; 'oo' as in book, or as in shoot.

Aeröplane

[Seph64]

I guess soon this soon will be OK to talk this way then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGA1a4nyVs

Everytime that guy talks, Stewie meets this girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEJ63LRDADY&feature=related).

[Bud042]

They're both correct

I say grey/color

[Azof]

It Americans making things easier for them to understand.

[youknow]

My environment tells me grey and color, but my mind tells me it really doesn't matter.

[Snowy Winters]

Grey and Colour are correct. :)

[iliketurtles!]

I go by Grey and Colour.

[chaplain_wu]

Isn't it American and British English thing? O:

Of course it is.

It's just people not liking other people and they want them to be just like themselves.

I don't give a ♥♥♥♥ because whenever I see "color" I have the intelligence to know s/he's referring to "colour" and not execute AI script rag on nonAmericans "0" to "1". Too bad moslt people don't and think everyone else has to change.

Likewise my American friends know that whenever I type "grey" they know it as "gray". THey're not a bunch of tards that can't think straight.

[SayHelloRosco]

I prefer grey and color.

[DudeNtheRoom]

It's not colowr. It's color.

[bluz74]

Can we agree that it's a grey area?

[DudeNtheRoom]

Can we agree that it's a grey area?

Considering ppl are from all colors of the rainbow.....probably not.

[awes0meaxel]

gray and color. :p

[Snorkel]

I don't know about the SPELLINGS, but I recently found that it was the British people who's accents changed over time, and not the Americans.

I remember hearing about that, and the conclusion they reached wasn't that American accents don't change over time, but that the American accent is closer to how people spoke in England when the first settlers left.

Of course it's been changing too. And diversifying (just which US accent is it that sounds closest to how the English accent used to sound? Boston? Texas? West Coast? :) ) Not to mention get all kinds of interesting influences from Italian, Irish and other European influences :)

[Pythagoras]

Can you still read it?

If the answer is yes, then who cares?

Language is a dynamic thing, and it can be whatever the writer wants it to be. Limiting language to a set of rules is just going to kill creativity.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY

[Polendino]

Grey has an e. Colour has a u.

[Jbotski]

Aluminum. Just listen to a Brit say the word.

It just sounds so tinny.

[megamike360]

It's "Grey" and "Colour". In case you were wondering "tyres" go on a car and a "cheque" book is something you get from a bank.

Stupid Americans are messing up English.

You've gone and tipped me over the edge, now im friggen PISSED OFF.
The way the British speak is no better than the way Americans speak or vice versa, so kindly shut it.

[Soviet Mudkip]

The line between the two is very graey. :cool:

[joeylawn]

another element difference:

UK: Caesium

US: Cesium

Also, in the UK, it used to be Sulphur, but I believe they have also changed to sulfur.

[marie pavie]

Let's call the whole thing off.*






*for any granma's lurking here.

[Snorkel]

Also, in the UK, it used to be Sulphur, but I believe they have also changed to sulfur.

Really? I usually see sulphur. Weird.

Actually my UK English inline spelling checker addon says it's sulphur too. :)

Didn't know about that one.

[IcarusNine]

Really? I usually see sulphur. Weird.

Actually my UK English inline spelling checker addon says it's sulphur too. :)

Didn't know about that one.

Can we keep them both?

'Sulfite' is just so tidy, while 'sulpherous' is just so luxuriously elegant. Please don't have me abandon my children any more than absolutely necessary!

[joeylawn]

Really? I usually see sulphur. Weird.

Actually my UK English inline spelling checker addon says it's sulphur too. :)

Didn't know about that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur#Spelling_and_etymology

[Snorkel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur#Spelling_and_etymology

Ah, well I'm not using it in chemistry, so it's OK to keep spelling it as sulphur :)

[surgeon]

I remember hearing about that, and the conclusion they reached wasn't that American accents don't change over time, but that the American accent is closer to how people spoke in England when the first settlers left.

Most American accents actually sound very similar to Irish and even some Scottish accents, sometimes if I hear someone speaking only a few words at a time it takes a while to figure out where they're from. It wouldn't be surprising considering how many Irish/Scots emigrated to the US.

Apparently a lot of US words like fall for autumn were English at the time though, and it was actually us that made up the new words later on, not the other way around.

[AlecJ32]

I feel as though grey makes more phonetic sense. However, in my country you're labeled as ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ if you don't spell it with an 'a'.

[CastorTroy]

I'm an American but I spell grey and colour just to perpetuate the fact that English is a difficult language to pronounce. Don't you think it's funny that rough, through, though, plough, and cough all sound different but are spelled with the same last four letters?

I don't really use the word gray that is synonymous with "grim" much but if I did, I'd probably spell it "gray".

Also, people use the words accent/dialect interchangeably but linguistically, an accent is a foreign influence on a language while dialect is a local/regional influence on a language.

"Chinese Accent"
"Southern Dialect [of English]" as opposed to "Southern Accent"
British and American would be dialects of English.
I like studying languages so I thought I'd throw that in there.

[Polendino]

another element difference:

UK: Caesium

US: Cesium

Also, in the UK, it used to be Sulphur, but I believe they have also changed to sulfur.

Newly printed periodic tables still say "Sulphur" here in Australia. That's all I can say.

[skippy72294]

From the US..
to me it's "colour" and "grey"

[ohaidar]

I use colour and gray (gray because I don't know which one's which country).

Aluminum. Just listen to a Brit say the word.

UK: A-la-min-ium
US: A-loom-in-um

That's some screwed up American right there.

[lostprophetpunk]

Isn't it American and British English thing? O:
Correct.

Such as color vs colour. They are spelt differently as the spellings come from different countries.

[devilsrefugee]

What does irk me though is laziness in language. Phrases such as "going forward", "blue sky thinking" just annoy me as they're meaningless clichés.

at the end of the day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK34Z-P5kE0) :D

[~~ArdEnuff~~]

Aluminum. Just listen to a Brit say the word.
We don't use that word.

Instead we use aluminium.