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Canadian spelling of the English language combines British and American conventions, the two dominant varieties, and adds some domestic idiosyncrasies. For many words, American and British spelling are both acceptable.
I started creating the table below by referring to Writing Tips Plus, The Canadian Press Stylebook and The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling before referring to Editing Canadian English, which has the most information. The table highlights the nine areas where Canadian, British and American spellings are most likely to vary.
Word FamilyCanadian Oxford SpellingConcise Oxford (british) SpellingMerriam-webster (american) SpellingWords with -our or -orlabour honour humour laborious honorary ...labour honour humour laborious honorary ...labor honor humor laborious honorary ...Words with -re or -ercentre fibre sombre meter (device) metre ...centre fibre sombre meter (device) metre ...center fiber somber meter (all uses)Words with -yze, -yse, -ize or -ise and ...analyze paralyze organize analysis ...analyse paralyse organise analysis ...analyze paralyze organize analysis ...Words with -ce or -sedefence offence licence (noun) license ...defence offence licence (noun) license ...defense offense license (noun and verb) ...Jul 4, 2018 · Canadian English favors a mix of British and American spelling. In Canada, for example, the word “favor” would be spelled “favour,” which is the same as in the UK. Some key spelling conventions are summarized below. Canadian English: Prefers -ize and -yze word endings (e.g., organize and analyze)
Mar 2, 2021 · Many people think that the biggest difference between Canadian English and American English is the spelling — after all, Canadians use British spelling, right? Not really. Canadian spelling combines British and American rules and adds some domestic idiosyncrasies.
“Canadian” is the correct English spelling for both the noun and the adjective. “Canadiens” is the correct spelling in French for the name of the Montreal hockey team; and as part of the official team name, it is used in English in reference to the team, but not in any other context.
May 31, 2019 · Spelling. One domain where Canadian English shows a more balanced mixture of American and British standards is spelling, reflecting a continued belief among many Canadian educators and others in positions of linguistic authority that British English is more correct than American.
Aug 20, 2015 · Canadian does exist as a separate variety of English, with subtly distinctive features of pronunciation and vocabulary. It has its own dictionaries; the Canadian Press has its own style guide;...
