Question on English Language to British Members

Unfair my good sir! I'm an American and I can spell correctly in both British and American English, and I do so without any thought of one being "right" and one "wrong". They are just different. Depends on your audience. Language evolves. The Americans spell things the way they do because these spellings were standardised by people, in America, who came long before them. You know all this man!

I know what you mean, but I find some British people in the UK that think many Americanised spellings make more sense to them.Centre or Center? How is one more right than the other, apart from a declaration on which came first? Which is phonetically closer to the actual pronunciation? I'm not exactly sure of the answer myself hehe, but I don't exactly think the interchanging of the position of the two letters in question there (a mutation if you will) makes any difference.I think many British just feel like we yanks bastardised their language, but if that's the case, so did much of the rest of the world.I do think you make valid points about a general dumbing down in American society. I'd have to admit that a disproportionately significant portion of my vocabulary has been acquired since migrating to the UK.I believe British intellectuals on the whole seem to utilise the language to better effect than their American counterparts.It is a shame that in some circles a high degree of literacy is something to be ashamed of.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.

Here's an exaggerated, hypothetical example: I think the British have a better grasp on the nuances of individual words, and when one is better suited to express your thoughts than another very similar choice.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.

Nice hehe. (I feel like I can type "hehe" in the Coffee House, but I try not to let it creep into my regular posts)Speaking of "billion", it reminded me of my confusion when I came across a reference to "one thousand million" in a (relatively old) British book recently. In my head I was seeing that as one billion, and so I had to chase up what was going on... -- from Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary

At work I am involved in the preparation of asylum appeals, and we have many judges who do exactly this. I find that those judges who use this style are often more clear and specific in their statements. I believe such punctuation provides for a more organised presentation, helping avoid mistakes in interpretation.I think it makes your writing better.Edited by Briterican, : No reason given.