Rename: American And Commonwealth Spellings

Commonwealth is incorrect because it excludes Ireland. Since Americans tend to throw hissy fits at the idea that their dialect doesn't use Standard spellings, I propose the page be renamed American And International Spellings.

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You're right that "Commonwealth" is a bit inaccurate, but I don't see how "international" would help matters. Does that imply that the USA isn't part of the world?

I have no better suggestions, though.

^International doesn't mean every nation, it just means across multiple nations, doesn't it? Sounds appropriate to me, anyway.

How about Right And Wrong English? :) We'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out which is which.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!

Jokes aside, that sounds more like it's about spelling and grammar issues, as opposed to alternative (but correct) spellings.

Seriously, if there is such a thing as "international English" that refers to what I think of as Commonwealth spelling, then I'm fine with using it. I've just never heard that term before.

Actually, my (vague and general, so don't yell at me too much if I'm wrong, plz!) impression is that to the extent there is an "International English," it's the language of international commerce (e.g., the English a French businesswoman might use in correspondence with a Brazilian counterpart, where English is the language they have in common), and tends to follow American norms, not British ones.

edited 26th May '11 6:36:34 AM by suedenim

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I have to agree with Sue. With what I know of the business world, international English tends to be American English. Unless you're dealing with India.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

The Irish spell like the English. The thing being named here is the spelling system, not the countries.

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Huh... this could be expanded and turned into a Useful Notes page. What about English Spelling Conventions, avoiding the use of any nationality other than the one that actually named the language?

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Fast Eddie,

I agree, but if that is true then do you think we should take out the part about how this would be called "'American and British English spelling differences', but the Australians complained, just like New Zealanders complained about All Black Article." That portion of the description leads me to believe that this is kind of about the countries too.

That being said, I like Thirty Two Footsteps's idea of renaming it English Spelling Conventions just because I think that is the most neutral name possible.

edited 26th May '11 10:22:19 AM by LouieW

"irhgT nm0w tehre might b ea lotof th1nmgs i dont udarstannd, ubt oim ujst goinjg to keepfollowing this pazth i belieove iN !!!!!1 d

It's not about the countries, though. That's a throwaway joke. It's about the guidelines for which spelling to use. Not about documenting the differences, or explaining where they arose from. It's simply an editing guideline about which one to use when.

edited 26th May '11 10:52:09 AM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

Apparently "Commonwealth" also include countries that don't even has English as it language, so it does seems a bit incorrect. But it really matter at all? It is just a guideline page.

At any rate, Sue is right. If a new name is to be chosen, "international" shouldn't be used.

Can't we just call it International English, as an umbrella for American and other Englishes?

So the title for the page would be International English, and then the article would be divided into "US English" and "British-Derived English" or "Other English". No need to make the division in the title.

Also, just as an aside, in the Asia-Pacific, countries like Singapore and Hong Kong use British English, not US English. Malaysia does too (for business) I think. Basically, you got an economically vigorous country that used to be a British colony, my understanding is that they will use British English for business. In my geo-political region, anyway.

edited 26th May '11 7:13:50 PM by Ckuckoo

What about Same Language Different Spelling, which covers any language, and no worry about what to call any form of any of them.

I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.

This is an administrivia page and specifically about English.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Will you people look at the page that is attached to the name "American And Commonwealth Spellings"? It's not about the differences between them.

It's an Administrivia page solely concerned with how they are to be used on the wiki. It does not need sections on the details of them, or how they differ, or where they are and aren't used, or how Irish English is different from British English, or anything else.

If you're talking about a page other than the one linked in the thread title, say so, so that the thread title can be fixed. If you're talking about a new page for Useful Notes, that's what YKTTW is for.

edited 26th May '11 8:52:22 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.