Yesterday, MaryG wrote plough in her comment, whereas I shamefully revert to the American version – plow. I do think about it – about being a good Canadian I mean – but apparently I am not good enough. Not like MaryG, who is also my grammar guru when I need help.
Once upon a time, I promised to switch from our to or endings in words such as honour. It made sense, but when push came to shove, I couldn't do it, for I did not find it honourable.
So, honour it is, but plough it ain't. While I could occasionally be tempted to write plough, the thought of having to add an ed ending for the past tense is just too much for me to bear. Ploughed? Just no.
This is the difficulty of being a lowly Canadian, caught between our neighborly neighbour (see what I did there?) to the south and our British roots.
Then there are those problematic er vs. re endings. I do try to keep to re but when spellcheck keeps trying to correct me, I sometimes have to reassure myself by doing a bit of online checking because I get that insecure.
While er endings might make more sense than re, that dadgum Yankee refusal to double consonants is enough to try a Canadian saint's patience. I find that appalling, for I tells ya that appaling should be pronounced aPAYling according to the rules of pronunciation the way that I learned them.
So yeah, I am a pretty true Canadian . . . who also writes plow, for there is has to be an exception to almost every rule.
*Speed the Plough comes from a film that I used to show to some of my classes back in the early 70s about advancements in agriculture. I just thought of it, so I used it although it is only tangentially relevant to this post. 😎
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19 comments:
I rarely use the word plough.
Honour, colour, etc on the other hand...
Both of our countries have deep British roots and yet our languages have evolved differently. Makes one ponder if we will even understand each other in another 200+ years!
I have the same dilemma, caught between American and British spelling. One of the spellings that sticks in my pen, rather fingers is center. I find it hard to write centre…there it goes…center again.
Never heard of appalling spelled with one l. News to this Yank.
It must be the neighborly Canadian influence, but I have always thought of “plow” as a snow moving device “snowplow” and “plough” a farming tool a “plough” to till the Earth.
So, I have regularly used both spellings and used both as nouns and verbs, but had differentiated them (in my mind) based upon snow or agricultural use.
However, in looking at the dictionary, no such demarcation actually exists and they are interchangeable. I will, however, continue to use them in the two ways I mentioned above. 🙂
PipeTobacco
I did look it up, and it does seem to be a variant. Other than that I don't know how many write it that way, but there are other words where the consonant isn't doubled, and it just seems wrong.
I understand why the U.S. decided to change some words because they had so many immigrants who would find it easier to learn the new spelling. However, I do find some of them difficult to swallow...Scot living in Wales now...and being a retired teacher doesn't help. Centre is a particularly hated one, I still think that we took the French word so keep their spelling. But as someone who studied French and German at University and learned some Spanish and Swedish( now learning?? Welsh, if anyone can!) then I am a bit more forgiving than I used to be.
But an enjoyable topic to read about as I wait for the results of my covid test,Thanks.Megan
Spell check often has me checking the dictionary too. I think I always spell plow rather than plough. An interesting topic for the day.
Give me the proper spelling- honour instead of honor.
Well sais!
donut?
or doughnut?
I'm a bit of a rebel and use the north American spelling and other rules. It makes more sense that wall in North America use the same spelling.
And here I sit feeling ... what? Vindicated, celebrated, Truly Canuck. I like the variant use, depending on the age of the instrument, a la Pipe Tobacco. I will not slough it off, for sure.
And no, I am not going to toggle to an alternate keyboard to put in the accent grave.
I am about to order a book called 'The Only Grammar Book You Will Ever Need'. I will report on same.
Now, if I could only get my Afghan student to stop saying that he will meet me on the library. At least the tense is now correct. If he does not shortly learn these prepositions of motion, I am going to get an extension ladder and I will meet him ON the [censored] library.
Doughnut!
If I had all the time in world. I'm sure my grammar and such would be some what better.
Coffee is on and stay safe
No one I know spells appalling with one l. It looks weird that way! I love the differences; they fascinate me.
I tend to think of Plough as the noun and plow as the verb....I know, wonky thinking.
I agree with you. Mind you, my spelling days are over!
I read so much Brit-lit that half the time I never get the words right anymore. And I used to be such a good speller. Well, I still am -- but in two languages, both of them English!
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