In my work I have the misfortune to use Microsoft Word on a daily basis, it’s unavoidable. Why is this so bad? Because Word is the Devil’s program designed by Satan himself.
For example, when writing or editing a document and the language is set English US (as seems to be default no matter how many times you change it) it rightly flags up English spellings of words as being incorrect. Words such as “Customise” and “Optimise” in their English UK spellings are underlined in red.
That’s all fine, had I wanted to write in the illiterate Yankee language, that would be indeed wrong. However when you change the language to the correct English UK you would expect the American spellings, with the letter ‘Z’, to be flagged up as being wrong.
You’d be wrong.
Microsoft Word, in its infinite wisdom, says the spelling with a ‘Z’ or an ‘S’ is fine. It lets the Yank spelling through. Why? Because it’s a twat that’s why. You then have to read through each word very carefully to check that the spelling is correct, because Word is a lying bastard.
Get Bill Gates in here!
Darren Jamieson, aka MrDaz, is the Technical Director and co-founder of Engage Web and has been working online in a career spanning two decades. His first website was built in 1998 and is still live today.
This is pissing me off too. Who the f*** did those Americans hire (and presumably pay) to make sure the UK English was correct?
Wankers.
The reason is that both customize and optimize are correct English spellings, as is realize. These were the standard spellings for verbs made from adjectives or nouns. However, there are exceptions which should never, ever be spelt with a z… eg advertise, promise etc, and people got confused, so the French alternative (z is only ever used as a silent letter) was adopted….. s for all.
However, if you consult a good English dictionary you will usually find that the -ize ending is given first, and the -ise one as the alternative.
The same French influence renders connexion as connection…. and there are other examples.
So please don’t label good English as American abomination when it isn’t…. save your vitriol for the real thing…..’advertize’ for instance and that other word that it cannot spell (also French origin): liaise.