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| [[category:spelling]]{{lock}}Our '''spelling policy''' derives from [[Tardis:Manual of Style#Type of English|our manual of style's commitment to using British English]]. Put simply, it requires editors to use British spellings in most articles. | | [[category:spelling]]{{lock}} |
| | :''Want to know how to make your computer check for British spellings? Go to [[Help:How can I get my computer to spell check in British English?]] |
| | Our '''spelling policy''' derives from [[Tardis:Manual of Style#Type of English|our manual of style's commitment to using British English]]. Put simply, it requires editors to use British spellings in most articles. |
| ==General guidelines== | | ==General guidelines== |
| British spellings should always be employed in the main [[namespace]]. To give an exceptionally brief overview, this means using ''-our'' in a lot of words, such as ''colour'' and ''favour''. It also means the general, but not universal, preference for the suffix <br>''-ise'' over ''-ize''. | | British spellings should always be employed in the main [[namespace]] — also called "namespace 0", or just "main". To give an exceptionally brief overview, this means using ''-our'' in a lot of words, such as ''colour'' and ''favour''. It also means the general, but not universal, preference for the suffix <br>''-ise'' over ''-ize''. Of course, it goes a bit deeper than that. By most accounts, there are about 1800 differences between US and UK English, with other parts of the English-speaking world chipping in a few hundred other variations. |
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| As of 30th May 2011, we have not, as a community, decided upon a single reference work that will be used to settle spelling disputes. Nevertheless, there are a number of online resources which do offer assistance in this regard:
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| *[http://www.oed.com/ The Oxford English Dictionary.] The "mother" of all British English dictionaries, the OED has the disadvantage of not being free to everyone. Unless your local library subscribes to it, you'll have to pay to use it. Contact your librarian for info.
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| *[http://www.ldoceonline.com/ Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English] has a reasonable reputation and is entirely free.
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| *[http://oxforddictionaries.com/page/spellingbritamericanspell/british-and-american-spelling Oxforddictionaries.com], not to be confused with ''the'' Oxford English Dictionary, offers a good overview of the basic differences between American and British English.
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| *[http://www.tysto.com/articles05/q1/20050324uk-us.shtml An excellent comprehensive list of US/UK differences]
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| *[http://www.bg-map.com/us-uk.html Not exactly a spelling guide, but a useful phrase translation list]
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| *[http://www.travelfurther.net/dictionaries/ TravelFurther.net's American-British dictionary] is a less academic guide to inter-English difficulties
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| None of the above resources are considered definitive by this site. They will ''likely'' guide you in the correct direction for proper British spelling. However, if and when we decide on a definitive dictionary for this site, spellings in ''that'' dictionary will supersede any given on the above sites.
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| ==Dictionaries native to your operating system==
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| Some computer operating systems provide dictionaries by default. The OED is also available to Mac users as a native part of OS X, depending on their localisation settings. Mac users with American localisation have the O'''A'''D, instead — but even the OAD leverages its connection to the OED to give common British spellings. The OAD/OED has been standard in OS X since at least version 10.4.0.
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| Windows users are less fortunate, with no dictionary being a part of the core software at least through and including Windows 7. There ''is'' an [http://www.windows7download.com/win7-oxford-dictionary-of-english/chyfxkny.html OED version available for Win7], but it's not free.
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| Linux/UNIX users will find that their dictionary experience will usually be controlled behind the scenes by the ''dict'' executable directory. ''kdict'' and ''gdict'' are GUI expressions of ''dict'', often included as a a part of the KDE and GNOME environments, but it is not known to what degree these are useful in settling questions of British spelling. Linux users are advised to go [http://www.arachnoid.com/linux/dictionary.html here] for a good primer on the ''dict'' core that's still a part of most Linux environments.
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| ===Cross-platform dictionaries===
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| There are at least a couple of cross-platform dictionary possibilities, which are free:
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| *[http://wordweb.info/free/ WordWeb]
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| *[http://stardict.sourceforge.net/ StarDict]
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| Both allow the user to load in whatever dictionaries they want, including the OED. Note that this wiki doesn't actually recommend these pieces of software, nor guarantee that you'll be able to use them, nor warrant that they'll be harmless to your computing environment. You must investigate them yourself and decide if you find them suitable.
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| ==Spell-checking software==
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| Because the differences between British and American English are much greater than simply -our and -ise, it's '''strongly''' recommended that you set your computer or browser's spell checker to British English whilst editing this wiki. Once that's done, you will likely be in compliance with our Manual of Style, unless you choose to simply ignore your spell checker.
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| For Mac users, this is a fairly simple process. Simply go into your "International" control panel, and, under the "language" tab, make "British English" the first on the list. This instantly makes spell-checking on all Apple software default to British English spelling. Safari, for instance, will then automatically spell-check in British English. It will ''not'', however, affect spell-checking on non-Apple products, like Firefox. You will have to download and use [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/british-english-dictionary/ a Firefox British English dictionary add-on] to achieve British spell-checking in that browser.
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| For Windows users, it's a bit more complicated. There are several points at which the wrong settings can foul things up. However, a good place to start is [http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/step-by-step-preparing-your-computer-to-type-and-edit-text-in-another-language-HA010243138.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA010351416 this Microsoft document on changing the language environment of Office]. You will likely need to perform a quick Google search on the subject in order to get specific advice on your particular Windows environment, however.
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| Linux/UNIX users are advised to seek out advice from their favourite UNIX forum.
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| ===Caution with spell-checkers===
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| Though we do recommend that you change your spell-checkers to British English, we add a note of caution. Spell-checkers have difficulty assessing context, or in dealing with words that have valid alternate spellings. There are some words for which there's a dominant British spelling, and a dominant American spelling, but where the other country's spelling is seen as an acceptable secondary spelling. Spell-checkers have no facility to advise you that you're using the "less-common-but-still-acceptable" British spelling of a word. The perfect example of this is ''jail''. This is also spelled ''gaol'' in British English. But most British English spell checkers pass both, meaning we're left without a single spelling. Another example is ''smidgen'', which can also be spelled ''smidgeon'', and ''smidgin'' without upsetting your British spell-checker. ''Dreamed'' and ''dreamt'' are also like this, both being valid spellings of the simple past and past participle of ''to dream''.
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| Nor can they help with words that have different spellings as different parts of speech. For instance, ''licence'' is always incorrect in American spelling; regardless of part of speech, ''license'' is the appropriate American spelling. In British English, however, ''license'' is a verb, whilst ''licence'' is a noun. For this reason, British spell-checkers pass both ''license'' and ''licence'' — which doesn't help a lot. Another word like this is ''tyre''. The noun — the four wheels on your car — is absolutely, unambiguously ''tyre'' in British English. But ''tire'' is also the valid spelling of a word in British English: the completely unrelated verb ''to tire''. Americans are thus helped not at all by a British spell-checker. They type "tire", meaning ''wheel'', and their British spell-checker passes it on the basis of being the ''verb''. Likewise, ''practise'' and ''practice'' both pass British spell-checking, because the Brits see the former as a verb and the latter as a noun. Americans use the ''-ice'' ending for both, which means their British spell-checker would fail to alert them if they used ''-ice'' for the verb.
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| Point is, even with spell-checking, and diligent effort on the part of American editors, errors can creep in.
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| ==Rulings about specific words== | | ==Rulings about specific words== |
- Want to know how to make your computer check for British spellings? Go to Help:How can I get my computer to spell check in British English?
Our spelling policy derives from our manual of style's commitment to using British English. Put simply, it requires editors to use British spellings in most articles.
General guidelines
British spellings should always be employed in the main namespace — also called "namespace 0", or just "main". To give an exceptionally brief overview, this means using -our in a lot of words, such as colour and favour. It also means the general, but not universal, preference for the suffix
-ise over -ize. Of course, it goes a bit deeper than that. By most accounts, there are about 1800 differences between US and UK English, with other parts of the English-speaking world chipping in a few hundred other variations.
Rulings about specific words
From time to time, forum debates have raged as to the proper spelling of words. The following is a list of those rulings:
The following spellings are therefore deemed correct, by community consensus:
Redirects
If the title of an article includes a word that is spelled differently in American English than British English, the British form must be used in the title. However, a redirect should be created for the American spelling so as to allow readers to find the article by typing in the American spelling in the search bar. For example, you can find Target Novelisation, by entering Target Novelization in the search bar.
Where applicable
This policy is applicable only in namespace 0 — that is, on a page whose name does not have a prefix like Tardis:, Category:, Forum:, Howling:, or Help:. It also applies where elements from other namespaces may appear in namespace 0. Thus, category names must use British spellings, because category names are visible in namespace 0. Also, the text of templates visible in the main namespace are subject to this policy.
It does not apply to your own user pages, the forums, talk pages, help pages, MediaWiki pages, template documentation, or even project pages like this one. As a rule of thumb, if the text can't be seen on a "normal" page, this policy doesn't apply to it. However, it does apply to the names of templates, because the bot will try to correct those names.
As an example, it applies to World Zones Organisation, the title of {{Infobox Organisation}}, any text that displays on a normal article page as a result of using the template, and the title of Category:Alien defence organisations.
But it does not apply to the text at category:Alien defence organisations, nor to the text at template:Infobox Organisation, nor in a forum thread called Forum:Organization or Organisation?, nor in template documentation.
This policy is also not applicable in namespace 0 if the topic in question is spelled in a non-British way within the narrative of a story, or, if merchandise, on its actual packaging. Thus, if a Doctor Who novel were to refer to the American movie, The Color of Money, the American spelling of "color" should stand. Or if a novel were to refer to a title that spelled a word differently than we have agreed to generally spell it, we go with the spelling provided in the DWU text. A good example of this is: Similarities in Proto-Cultural Artifacts of the Second Dynasty of the Zyrs. Despite the fact that we have, as a community, chosen to spell the word artefact, the spelling artifact must stand in the case of this particular fictional book title.
Bot enfocement
From time to time, a bot shall enforce this policy on every page in the main namespace. Errors in the category tree structure may mean that the bot occasionally strays into namespaces where the policy does not apply. Do not take the bot's activities as an absolutely accurate reflection of the policy. In general, the benefits of bot correction of tedious spelling differences are thought to outweigh its inability to stick strictly to the appropriate namespaces.
The details of what this bot is checking for can be seen at Tardis:Spelling policy/user-fixes.py.
