Editing Canadian English (section)

== Spelling ==
{{Anchor|Orthography}}
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. Spelling in Canadian English co-varies with regional and social variables, somewhat more so, perhaps, than in the two dominant varieties of English, yet general trends have emerged since the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Canadian spelling. An empirical and historical survey of selected words|last=Ireland|first=Robert|year=1979|publisher= York University|pages=140–145}}</ref>
* Words such as ''reali'''z'''e'' and ''organi'''z'''ation'' are usually given their [[Oxford spelling]]s with a ''z''.
* Words such as ''an'''e'''sthesia'' and ''gyn'''e'''cology'' are usually or more commonly spelled as in American English rather than ''an'''ae'''sthesia'' and ''gyn'''ae'''cology'' as in British English.
* French-derived words that in American English end with ''-or'', such as ''col'''or''''' or ''hon'''or''''', retain British spellings (''col'''our''''' and ''hon'''our''''').
* French-derived words that in American English end with ''-er'', such as ''fib'''er''''' or ''cent'''er''''', retain British spellings (''fib'''re''''' and ''cent'''re'''''). This rule is much more relaxed than the ''-our'' rule, with ''kilomet'''er''''' (''kilomet'''re''''') being quite acceptable while ''meag'''er''''' (''meag'''re''''') and ''somb'''er''''' (''somb'''re''''') may not even be noticed.
* While the United States uses the Anglo-French spelling ''defen'''se''''' and ''offen'''se''''' (noun), most Canadians use the British spellings ''defen'''ce''''' and ''offen'''ce'''''. (But ''defen'''sive''''' and ''offen'''sive''''' are universal across all forms of English.)
* Some nouns, as in British English, take ''-ce'' while corresponding verbs take ''-se''&nbsp;– for example, ''practi'''ce''''' and ''licen'''ce''''' are nouns while ''practi'''se''''' and ''licen'''se''''' are the respective corresponding verbs. (But ''advi'''ce''''' and ''advi'''se''''', which have distinct pronunciations, are universal.)
* Canadian spelling sometimes retains the British practice of doubling the consonant ''-l-'' when adding suffixes to words even when the final syllable (before the suffix) is not stressed. Compare Canadian (and British) ''cance'''ll'''ed'', ''counse'''ll'''or'', and ''trave'''ll'''ing'' (more often than not in Canadian while always doubled in British) to American ''cance'''l'''ed'', ''counse'''l'''or'', and ''trave'''l'''ing'' (''fue'''l'''ed'', ''fue'''ll'''ed'', ''due'''l'''ing'' and ''due'''ll'''ing'' are all common). In American English, this consonant is only doubled when stressed; thus, for instance, ''contro'''ll'''able'' and ''enthra'''ll'''ing'' are universal. (But both Canadian and British English use ''ballo'''t'''ed'' and ''profi'''t'''ing''.<ref name="CanadianOxford">{{cite book
| title     = The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| year      = 2001
| author1   = Oxford Press
| last2   = Barber
| first2   = Katherine
| isbn      = 978-0-19-541731-9
}}</ref>)
* In other cases, Canadian and American usage differs from British spelling, such as in the case of nouns like ''curb'' and ''tire'' (of a wheel), which in British English are spelled ''kerb'' and ''tyre''. (But ''tire'' in the sense of "make or become weary" is universal.)  Some other differences like Canadian and American ''aluminum'' versus ''aluminium'' elsewhere correspond to different pronunciations.<ref>The Grammarist, "Aluminium vs. aluminum". Retrieved 2 June 2018. available at: http://grammarist.com/spelling/aluminium-aluminum/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620073205/http://grammarist.com/spelling/aluminium-aluminum/ |date=20 June 2018|website=[[Grammarist]] }}</ref> {{crossreference|selfref=no|(See below for an explanation of the Canadian spelling of ''tire''.)}}

Canadian spelling conventions can be partly explained by Canada's trade history. For instance, Canada's automobile industry has been dominated by American firms from its inception, explaining why Canadians use the American spelling of ''tire'' (hence, "[[Canadian Tire]]") and American terminology for automobiles and their parts (for example, ''truck'' instead of ''lorry'', ''gasoline'' instead of ''petrol'', ''trunk'' instead of ''boot'').<ref name="CanadianOxford" />

Canada's political history has also had an influence on Canadian spelling. Canada's first [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]], [[John A. Macdonald]], once advised the [[Governor General of Canada]] to issue an [[order-in-council]] directing that government papers be written in the British style.<ref>Richard Gwyn, ''John A.: The Man Who Made Us'', Random House Canada, 2007, pp. 3–4.</ref>

A contemporary reference for formal Canadian spelling is the spelling used for [[Hansard]] transcripts of the [[Parliament of Canada]] {{crossreference|selfref=no|(see ''The Canadian Style'' in [[#Further reading|Further reading]] below)}}. Many Canadian editors, though, use the ''[[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]]'', often along with the chapter on spelling in ''Editing Canadian English'', and, where necessary (depending on context), one or more other references. {{crossreference|selfref=no|(See [[#Further reading|Further reading]] below.)}}

Throughout part of the 20th century, some Canadian newspapers adopted American spellings,<ref>{{cite conference
 |author       = Dollinger, Stefan
 |title        = New data for an English usage puzzle: the long history of spelling variation in Canadian English and its linguistic implications
 |conference= 16th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics, Pécs, Hungary
 |date         = 26 August 2010
 |url          = http://www.icehl-16.pte.hu/files/tiny_mce/File/Abstracts%20of%20SECTION%20PAPERS.pdf
 |access-date  = 20 August 2017
 |archive-date = 10 May 2017
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20170510100742/http://www.icehl-16.pte.hu/files/tiny_mce/File/Abstracts%20of%20SECTION%20PAPERS.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> for example, ''color'' as opposed to the British-based ''colour''. Some of the most substantial historical spelling data can be found in Dollinger (2010)<ref>{{Cite journal
 |last         = Dollinger
 |first        = Stefan
 |year         = 2010
 |title        = New data for an English usage puzzle: the long history of spelling variation in Canadian English and its linguistic implications
 |url          = https://www.academia.edu/23083415
 |journal      = 19th International Conference on the History of the English Language, Pécs, Hungary, Paper Presented on 26 Aug. 2010
 |access-date  = 17 March 2016
 |archive-date = 4 April 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230404213647/https://www.academia.edu/23083415
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> and Grue (2013).<ref>{{Cite journal
| last         = Grue
| first        = Dustin
| year         = 2013
| title        = Testing Canada's 'honour': Does orthography index ideology?
| url          = https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/handle/1974/8649
| journal      = Strathy Student Working Papers on Canadian English
| access-date  = 17 March 2016
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160326043752/https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/handle/1974/8649
| archive-date = 26 March 2016
| url-status     = live
}}</ref> The use of such spellings was the long-standing practice of [[the Canadian Press]] perhaps since that news agency's inception, but visibly the norm prior to [[World War II]].<ref name=OC31Mar1990>{{cite news
| title = Practical concerns spelled the end for -our
| work  = [[Ottawa Citizen]]
| date  = 31 March 1990
| page  = B3
| first = William
| last  = MacPherson
}}</ref> The practice of dropping the letter ''u'' in such words was also considered a labour-saving technique during the early days of printing in which [[movable type]] was set manually.<ref name=OC31Mar1990 /> Canadian newspapers also received much of their international content from American press agencies, so it was much easier for editorial staff to leave the spellings from the wire services as provided.<ref name=TS08Mar97>{{cite news
| title = Let's hear what the readers say
| first = Don
| last  = Sellar
| work  = [[Toronto Star]]
| date  = 8 March 1997
| page  = C2
}}</ref>

In the 1990s, Canadian newspapers began to adopt the British spelling variants such as ''-our'' endings, notably with ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' changing its spelling policy in October 1990.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Contemplating a U-turn
| first = John
| last  = Allemang
| date  = 1 September 1990
| work  = [[The Globe and Mail]]
| page  = D6
}}</ref> Other Canadian newspapers adopted similar changes later that decade, such as the [[Canwest News Service|Southam]] newspaper chain's conversion in September 1998.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Herald's move to Canadian spellings a labour of love
| date  = 2 September 1998
| work  = [[Calgary Herald]]
| page  = A2
}}</ref> The ''[[Toronto Star]]'' adopted this new spelling policy in September 1997 after that publication's ombudsman discounted the issue earlier in 1997.<ref name=TS08Mar97 /><ref name=TS13Sep97>{{cite news
| title = How your Star is changing
| first = John
| last  = Honderich
| date  = 13 September 1997
| page  = A2
| work  = [[Toronto Star]]
}}</ref> The ''Star'' had always avoided using recognized Canadian spelling, citing the ''[[Gage Canadian Dictionary]]'' in their defence. Controversy around this issue was frequent. When the ''Gage Dictionary'' finally adopted standard Canadian spelling, the ''Star'' followed suit. Some publishers, e.g. ''[[Maclean's]]'', continue to prefer American spellings.{{cn|date=March 2025}}