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GMM[_4_] GMM[_4_] is offline
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Default OT - the evolving English language

On 18/05/2015 23:47, Tim Watts wrote:
On 18/05/15 23:05, Malcolm Race wrote:
On 18/05/2015 20:37, Tim Watts wrote:
On 18/05/15 20:14, Jonno wrote:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4pJAgWIUAEZb7p.jpg



I'm going to start a campaign to put the "ph" back into sulphur.


and the u back into colour.


er - it's still there...

"sulfur" is the new official english scientific spelling since a decade
or two ago - apparently.


I'm not sure such merkanisms are official, but more likely the fault of
MS Word. I find that opening a document set to use US English
spell/grammar checking will re-set the default in Word, which then sees
UK-specific terms as wrong in all documents. I'm sure many people never
change their language settings from new either.
Many people use the full-fat version of autocorrect and therefore wind
up with the wrong thing without even knowing it. Others may be less
confident about their knowledge and when Word makes a suggestion they
believe it to be right and so accept it.
It doesn't help that the MS checkers seem to have been written by
someone with only a rudimentary grasp of English, of any flavour.
The only[1] solution is to turn off all autocorrects and take
responibility for your own errors. Apart from mine, of course, for
which I blame the keyboard....

[1] The other solution would be to teach English in school, ideally
primary school, but the standard of undergraduate (il)literacy indicates
that has been abandoned.