GO
Is it
color or
colour? Having grown up amongst people from many different kinds of English-speaking countries, often the way they spelt things was an indication of where they came from. Why is it that the Americans
organize whereas the British
organise? I was educated within the British system, so I had words such as
colour, realise, organisation and
aluminium drummed into me. Since I entered the corporate world in a few large multinationals, suddenly I've had to let go of my Britishness, at least in the written word. As a copywriter, this is a pretty important facet of my job! It feels so unnatural, however, to write things the way I was always taught
not to. It's then that you realise how much of an impact your teachers and your education system have on your whole life. After spending all day at work writing American English, which feels rebellious and wrong somehow, I find it somewhat of a relief to be able to write 'correctly' again once I am home. I even see the influence of language now in my sons - they speak English to me and Dutch to my husband. If I accidentally say something to them in Dutch, they will frown and tell me what I should have said, which is the same phrase in English. That is what I love about language - the many nuances and colours of language and the way it influences our lives.
STOP
