I will be the first to admit I am a terrible speller. I rely heavily on spell check and auto-correct. So when my daughter comes home each week with a new list of words to practice spelling, I get excited. It helps to sharpen my own skills to see the words. And now that she is in Grade 3, the words are getting a little longer, and it is so beneficial for me to help her.
However, I was shocked recently when she brought home her list and there was American spelling for the words. She had a list that contained the words neighbor and honor. I instantly told her that she must have copied the words down wrong, despite there being a checkmark beside them. I looked at the original list from the teacher. And there they were … spelled incorrectly (if you are north of the border—which we are.)
I thought I was missing something or maybe there was some sort of change that happened with the curriculum that I was not aware of. My daughter insisted the words were right.
I am not usually one to call the teacher out. Or be that parent. But after sleeping on it, I thought maybe I need to say something but first I had to do my research. Why are there spelling differences for certain words in the United States and Canada?
It all started in 1755 when Samual Johnson created a dictionary in England. He chose the most common spellings at the time, without trying to make it simpler or more logical.
In the early 1800s an American man named Noah Webster, who was a strong supporter of the American Revolution, changed the spellings of certain English words. He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy. He also wanted the words to be spelled more like they sound.
When Canada was just being formed, both American and British spellings were being used, but our first prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald put a stop to that and stated that all parts of the British Empire should hold to the system used in England.
One teacher explained to me that they teach the children both spellings but the American version is used sometimes in the younger grades because American English has more similar sounds than British English — which is exactly what Webster was trying to do, make it easier, and simpler. Kids can sound it out better.
Meanwhile, some words have changed since Macdonald put his foot down and a few American spellings become standard in Canada. We’ve adapted some endings such as “ize” instead of “ise” in verbs such as organize and civilize.
It can be confusing. We use some American and some British spellings. After triple-checking the most updated Canadian dictionary, we still use the ‘our’ in words such as flavour and colour, unlike our neighbours to the south.
I am not overly a traditionalist, I believe in change and I know things adapt. But as of right now, these are how the words are spelled in Canada and Canadian students should be taught the Canadian way.
