Which is correct: I cancelled my appointment or I canceled my appointment? Do I go to the movie theatre, or theater?
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The answer depends on where you are!
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As you know, English comes from England (or the UK) and arrived in North America many years ago. Since then, English has evolved in different ways. One of these changes is how we spell different words. Here in Canada, our English uses a mix of some British spelling rules and some American spelling rules, but we largely follow the British spelling rules.
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Here are three common spelling differences:
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L : Cancelled or Canceled?
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In the UK and Canada, the final consonant is doubled when adding most suffixes to words. For example:
Travel -> travelling
Model -> modelling
In the US, the final consonant is not doubled unless the syllable is stressed. So:
Travel -> traveling
Model -> modeling
Rebel -> rebelling
Control -> controlling
-re or –er: Theatre or theater?
Once again, Canada follows British rules here and uses ‘-re’ spelling. In the US, words that end in an unstressed ‘-re’ are usually spelt ‘-er’, however. So:
| Canada / UK | USA |
| Centre
Theatre Litre |
Center
Theater Liter |
U or not: Colour or color?
Words ending in an unstressed ‘-our’ in Canada and the UK are changed to ‘-or’ in the US. So:
| Canada / UK | USA |
| Colour
Flavour Behaviour Neighbour |
Color
Flavor Behavior Neighbor |
Whichever spelling style you choose, make sure you know your audience. So, if you are writing a resume for a company in the USA, it is a good idea to use American spelling. Likewise, if you are writing a resume for Canada, it’s good to use Canadian spelling. The important thing is to be consistent with the style that you choose!
Happy writing!
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