Why is "center" in Canada spelled "centre?"

[roadman65]

I was noticing that in Canada the word "Center" is spelled C-E-N-T-R-E instead of its usual spelling.

Also "liter" is spelled "litre" as well as "honor" is spelled "honour" and also "ton" is spelled "tonne."  Why is all of this?

[oscar]

I was noticing that in Canada the word "Center" is spelled C-E-N-T-R-E instead of its usual spelling.

Also "liter" is spelled "litre" as well as "honor" is spelled "honour" and also "ton" is spelled "tonne."  Why is all of this?

Canada follows British, rather than U.S., spellings.

While U.S. places will sometime use "classy" British spellings like "centre", it's rare for Canadians to use U.S. spellings. Only time I've seen "center" in Canada was on a business in Brandon, Manitoba. I suspect that was a typo by a U.S.-based signmaker.

BTW, "tonnes" are metric tons (1000 kilograms), about 10% heavier than U.S. tons (2000 pounds).

[briantroutman]

It's the British spelling–which often synonymous with being the "old"  (or should I say olde) spelling.

At points in American linguistic history, various groups have actively campaigned to economize the language by removing silent letters or changing spellings to be truer to the pronunciation of the word. So words like plough and colour become plow and color. Some efforts, such as turning night to nite, have been less successful.

Language and cultural historians will attribute these efforts to various causes, whether it be simplicity, consistency, or merely Americans' desire to break free from tradition. Honestly, though, it's a continuation long trend that has been in place for centuries before the founding of this country. If you go back to older forms of English, you'll see odd constructions like " twoo Stoppes of pipes, of woode vernisshed yellowe and painted with blacke..."  Americans only accelerated the transformation.

[SignGeek101]

Canada uses centre because it's the British spelling. Kilometre, litre, are other examples.

https://goo.gl/maps/CbezR

Others include the inclusion of the 'u' in colour, flavour etc.

The double 'l' like in 'traveller' is often used in Canada as well.

Canada doesn't follow UK strictly, as there are words like tire, (rather than the British 'tyre') that are copied from the US.

Here are more: http://www.lukemastin.com/testing/spelling/cgi-bin/database.cgi?action=view_category&database=spelling&category=A

[Brandon]

It's the British spelling–which often synonymous with being the "old"  (or should I say olde) spelling.

It's not quite "olde" spelling.  Prior to 1750 or so, many words had multiple spellings, and spelling often was decided locally.  When words began to be put into dictionaries, sometimes a dictionary maker in America (Webster as an example) would choose one spelling or choose to simplify the spelling while the dictionary maker in Britain (Johnson as an example) would choose the other spelling or choose not to simplify it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary

Many of the US spelling changes were codified after the split with Britain; hence, Canada uses a lot of British spellings.

Even to this day, there is no consensus on some words such as "aluminum" (US) aka "aluminium" (UK), or "tire" (US/Can) aka "tyre" (UK), or "curb" (US/Can) aka "kerb" (UK).  The latter two are due to the US/Canadian auto industry and the location of where it is based (Detroit/Windsor).

[SteveG1988]

Last letter of the alphabet: Zee in the USA, Zed in the commonwealth.

Gallon in the USA: (rounded) 3.8L

Gallon in the UK: (rounded) 4.5L

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English

Sometimes we keep words that are not used in the UK. Diaper for example is Nappy over there. Diaper is archaic to them.

[Big John]

Even weirder is that the US liquid gallon (as you posted) is smaller than a US dry gallon.

[Brandon]

Last letter of the alphabet: Zee in the USA, Zed in the commonwealth.

Gallon in the USA: (rounded) 3.8L

Gallon in the UK: (rounded) 4.5L

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English

Sometimes we keep words that are not used in the UK. Diaper for example is Nappy over there. Diaper is archaic to them.

The gallon is different as the ounce was standardized (1820s, IIRC) after the US split from the UK.

I have no idea why there are two different names for the letter "z".

[empirestate]

I have no idea why there are two different names for the letter "z".

Well clearly, it was because some American decided to set the alphabet to a tune and needed the last letter to rhyme. :-)

Also, is "gaol" still a current spelling in the UK?

[TXtoNJ]

To expand on the above - "centre" is spelled that way through a prescriptivist notion that since it derived from "centrum" and spelled "centre" in French, that this is the proper way of spelling it. "Center" is spelled that way through a descriptivist notion that this is how it is actually pronounced.

[SteveG1988]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_words_not_widely_used_in_the_United_Kingdom

[SignGeek101]

To expand on the above - "centre" is spelled that way through a prescriptivist notion that since it derived from "centrum" and spelled "centre" in French, that this is the proper way of spelling it. "Center" is spelled that way through a descriptivist notion that this is how it is actually pronounced.

Litre and metre are obviously from France originally as well.

[sammi]

I have no idea why there are two different names for the letter "z".

Well clearly, it was because some American decided to set the alphabet to a tune and needed the last letter to rhyme. :-)

It wasn't just some American; we're talking about Noah Webster here. I learned about the history of the name for this letter in my writing systems course.

When the Romans adopted the Greek alphabet for Latin, they called each letter by the sound. For example, B was called bē ('bee'), D was called dē, and so on. Z wasn't one of those letters they borrowed, so it didn't have a Latin name.

But we needed Z when borrowing Greek words into English, so it also needed a name. While other countries took Z they borrowed its Greek name zēta, which turned into zed. Webster, on the other hand, followed the pattern from the Romans and called it zē ('zee').

[jakeroot]

As noted above, Canada's use of "tire" and "curb" exists because of influence by the American car industry (particularly now given the number of cars built in Canada). But some words like "cheque" were carried over because of British influence on the banking industry in Canada.

Likewise, the US often uses "theatre" because of how strong the British drama scene was here in America.

Canada also does not use the "s" as often as the British. Words like "organisation" and "realise" are spelled with a zed in place of "s". Though older Canadians, particularly in Western Canada (who are often first-gen expats from the UK) will use the "s" because that's the way they were taught, so seeing words like "organiser" is not unheard of (though my expectation is for that practice to die down over the next few decades).

I was noticing that in Canada the word "Center" is spelled C-E-N-T-R-E instead of its usual spelling.

How exactly did you determine "center" as being the usual spelling? We're the only country in the world to spell it with "-er".

[vtk]

I'm pretty sure I've heard somewhere that, after the American revolution, as Americans started settling on simpler spellings, the British consequently chose to settle oppositely, as a deliberate move to be less like the Americans.

[empirestate]

Likewise, the US often uses "theatre" because of how strong the British drama scene was here in America.

For what it's worth, people working in the theatre industry almost invariably prefer that spelling. You might also assume that "theater" is used for the building, while "theatre" refers to the art form that goes on inside it, but I haven't actually observed that correlation (with the exception that non-stage-related uses like "movie theater" and "theater of war" do seem to favor the "-er").

[TXtoNJ]

I have no idea why there are two different names for the letter "z".

Well clearly, it was because some American decided to set the alphabet to a tune and needed the last letter to rhyme. :-)

It wasn't just some American; we're talking about Noah Webster here. I learned about the history of the name for this letter in my writing systems course.

When the Romans adopted the Greek alphabet for Latin, they called each letter by the sound. For example, B was called bē ('bee'), D was called dē, and so on. Z wasn't one of those letters they borrowed, so it didn't have a Latin name.

But we needed Z when borrowing Greek words into English, so it also needed a name. While other countries took Z they borrowed its Greek name zēta, which turned into zed. Webster, on the other hand, followed the pattern from the Romans and called it zē ('zee').

It gets even more fun with the Greeks - the Greek B is "bee-tuh" in BE, while it's "bay-tuh" in AE.

[Brandon]

It gets even more fun with the Greeks - the Greek B is "bee-tuh" in BE, while it's "bay-tuh" in AE.

That's always struck me as odd.  The AE pronunciation follows the Romance languages much more closely as the "e" sound is more like "ay" in those.  We do the same with many other words where the Brits will use the long form of the vowel while we use the short form, following the examples in French and Spanish.  Why the Brits use the long vowel in those is a complete mystery to me as the languages they are taken from do not use that vowel; they use what is the short vowel in English (or close to the short vowel) (ah, ay, ee, o, ooh).

[kkt]

Yes, Canadian usage is generally more like British than USAian, but there are exceptions too.

[kkt]

Likewise, the US often uses "theatre" because of how strong the British drama scene was here in America.

For what it's worth, people working in the theatre industry almost invariably prefer that spelling. You might also assume that "theater" is used for the building, while "theatre" refers to the art form that goes on inside it, but I haven't actually observed that correlation (with the exception that non-stage-related uses like "movie theater" and "theater of war" do seem to favor the "-er").

I suspect theatre is "re" because it was already a fixed spelling in the theatre community before Noah Webster simplified spellings in his dictionary.

Now the Library of Congress subject heading is "theater" and Microsoft Word claims the correct spelling is "theater" but as you say all usage in the theatre community is "theatre".

[english si]

Also, is "gaol" still a current spelling in the UK?

Yes, though we don't tend to use the word, preferring 'prison', and 'jail' is becoming much more common.

That's always struck me as odd.  The AE pronunciation follows the Romance languages much more closely as the "e" sound is more like "ay" in those.  We do the same with many other words where the Brits will use the long form of the vowel while we use the short form, following the examples in French and Spanish.

Greek isn't a Romance language, so why does what they do matter? And the Yanks are the ones saying it with a longer vowel.

English: UK is /biːtə/, US is /ˈbeɪtə/
Greek: ancient is /bɛːta/, modern is /' vita/

i (UK English / modern Greek) is close front vowel
eɪ (US English) is diphtong with a close-mid front vowel and a near-close near-front vowel
ɛ (Ancient Greek) is an open-mid vowel

So neither English versions got it correct, but at least the Brits match modern Greek!

We Anglophones schwa, rather than put an 'a' on the end, because of vowel shifts.

Why the Brits use the long vowel in those is a complete mystery to me as the languages they are taken from do not use that vowel; they use what is the short vowel in English (or close to the short vowel) (ah, ay, ee, o, ooh).

The great Mediaeval vowel shift and then ongoing developments?

Why the Americans use odd spellings is a complete mystery to me as the French spelling (in this case, unlike beta, a relevant etymological source) clearly has 'colour', 'metre'. Except it isn't - why, having taken a word from another language, do we have to pronounce it the same way as they do? Paris is case in point. Hell, the Americans can't even say town names they copied from the English the same way!

Long vowels are why Americans struggle with authentic British accents. Hell, it's why northerners can't speak southern properly 'grarse' isn't how a southerner pronounces 'grass', 'barth' isn't how we pronounce 'bath': both northerners and southerners can agree there's no r in those words, but northerners confuse the 'broad A' with an ar sound, which is noticeably different to the southern ear, but not to the northern one.

[TXtoNJ]

To be fair, people have been speaking English in North America for a long time now. Consider that the amount of time between Chaucer and the beginning of English colonization (227 years) is much shorter than the amount of time since the beginning of colonization (408 years).

It's somewhat astonishing that we're able to understand each other as well as we do, given the amount of time. Just goes to show the effect of technology on linguistic evolution.

[Rothman]

To be fair, people have been speaking English in North America for a long time now. Consider that the amount of time between Chaucer and the beginning of English colonization (227 years) is much shorter than the amount of time since the beginning of colonization (408 years).

It's somewhat astonishing that we're able to understand each other as well as we do, given the amount of time. Just goes to show the effect of technology on linguistic evolution.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

[freebrickproductions]

IDK why, but whenever I see "centre" I always pronounce it as "cen-tray" in in my head.

[SignGeek101]

IDK why, but whenever I see "centre" I always pronounce it as "cen-tray" in in my head.

Quite a few words in the English language have pronunciations that don't match the spelling. The word 'Colonel' is an example.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/13076/11-weirdly-spelled-words%E2%80%94and-how-they-got-way

Then there's the words like 'cheque' (as in the piece of paper that has a disclosed amount of money on it for someone) which are debatable.