Как правильно пишется favorite или favourite

A client recently asked me if I could write for a British audience. She quipped, “I’ve seen you use favourite around social, so I thought you’re familiar with the spellings used in the U.K.”

Her observation was, of course, on point. I was, in fact, using the British spelling of favourite. But what I didn’t realize was whether I was using it correctly. As mortifying as it is to admit, I was just using the -our version of the word because it seemed right. 

Then came another realization: I had to revise my spellings across the board. And, here I am, dear reader — sharpening my digital pencil to clarify what’s right, favorite vs. favourite, in the divided world of English language.

Let’s hit it.

What’s the correct way to spell favorite?

First things first, both favorite and favourite are correct spellings. The version that’s correct for you, however, depends on where you live and who you’re writing for — same goes for canceled vs. cancelled.

Primarily, you need to remember:

This latter version with a “u” is also the spelling that’s largely preferred in other countries that favor British English, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

That said, the spelling difference is applicable on all relatives of the word, including favorites, favorited, and favoritism in the US and favourites, favourited, and favouritism in the UK and other countries.

Here are example sentences using favorite and favor: 

Now change favorite to favourite in all these instances and you’ll be writing for a UK audience.

The definition of favorite 

Here’s an interesting fact about the word favorite: it’s used as a noun, an adjective, as well as a verb. This means the word basically has three definitions. Let’s look at each with an example.

Favorite as a noun

When something or someone is preferred over another, favorite is used as a noun. Synonyms for favorite as a noun are front-runner, darling, and preference.

Favorite as an adjective

When a noun is preferred over other things or people, favorite is used as an adjective to describe it. Synonyms for the adjective favorite are best-loved, most liked, treasured, special, and ideal.

Favorite as a verb

Lastly, when you like or mark something for the purpose of saving it for later, you’re using favorite as a verb.

That said, there’s a fourth definition of favorite as well: a record or address that you bookmark is called a favorite. For instance, she favorited a tweet on gender equality.

Origin of favorite

Essentially, both spellings — favorite and favourite are pronounced the same way as: FAY-vuh-rit, FAY-vrit, or ˈfeɪv rɪt. The same is true for the word’s etymology.

The word favorite traces back to the 16th century. It comes from an obsolete word, favorit in French that, in turn, comes from Italian favorito — past participle of favorire meaning “to favor.” The root of this chain traces to the Latin word, favor.

The difference between the spellings, however, comes from Brits and Americans following different dictionaries for their spellings.

Folks in the UK have by and large referred to Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language that uses the following spelling: favourite.

Americans, on the other hand, have referenced Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language. The earlier version of this dictionary (1806), used favourite. In the 1828 version, however, the spelling was cropped to favorite by excluding the “u.”

The same is true for the word “cancelled” being spelled as “canceled” in the later version of the dictionary. Perhaps it’s why Webster is known for his love for simplicity and for making spellings truly “American.” Or, he was inspired by Milton’s use of favorite (without “u”) in the 17th century — who knows, really!

Whatever the reason for Webster’s choice, the shorter — without “u” — spelling slowly gained popularity and is the preferred spelling in the US today.

Favorite vs. favourite examples

How to remember which spelling to use for favorite vs. favourite

Good question. Use these three tricks:

“U” is for UK and favourite

A simple way to distinguish between the American and British spelling is to remember that the extra “u” goes into the British version of the word — same as the “U” in United Kingdom.

Now, you’d argue there’s a “u” in US too. But, you can call US as the States, which doesn’t make the “u” mandatory (as it is in UK — you don’t say Kingdom, after all).

Refer to your styleguide

Whether you’re a student or a journalist/writer, you’ll have to understand which spelling your school or brand uses.

For example, if you’re in the UK, you’ll use favourite. Similarly, if you’re outside the UK but your school follows the GCSE or GCE system, you’ll, again, be using favourite.

In the same vein, the publication you write for will be using one spelling for consistency (we use favorite, for example). Get their style guide to see their preferred spelling. If you tend to forget, go back to the style guide before shipping content. Or, take a shortcut that we’ll share next.

Use Writer

Based on whether you set Writer’s setting to UK or US English, Writer can help you use the correct version. So, if you tend to move from country to country or write for audiences from different countries, Writer can help you use the correct spelling. Easy, isn’t it? Start a free trial today.

More resources

American writers and British writers spell some words differently, even when they mean the same thing. You can see these disparate spellings any time you read American and British publications. An article in The Wall Street Journal, for instance, might contain the word favorite, while an article in The Economist might contain the word favourite.

Many times, these spelling differences are the result of different standardization at the editorial level. As languages evolve, these standards can and do change, as well.

As a writer yourself, you will have to choose between these two variants when you use the word. Neither is incorrect, but there are definitely situations where favorite is preferable to favourite, and vice versa. The difference, like in so many writing dilemmas, comes down to your intended audience.

So, how should you spell favorite in your writing? Let’s find out.

What is the Difference Between Favorite and Favourite?

In this post, I will compare favorite vs. favourite. I will outline when these spellings are appropriate and showcase how they are used in example sentences, so that you can see them in context.

Plus, I will show you a helpful mnemonic device that will help you choose either favourite or favorite for your own writing.

When to Use Favorite

What does favorite mean? Favorite is an adjective. Favorite describes something which is preferred above all others.

Here are some examples,

• Geraldine’s favorite food is pizza, but she will never say no to hot wings, either.
• Robert has a favorite word, but he cannot repeat it in polite company.
• Dominique’s favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon is walk her dog in the city park.
• My new favorite heirloom white beans are the small, round Italian purgatory beans, fagioli del purgatorio, which have a tender, creamy texture. –The New York Times

Favorite is the standard spelling of this word in American English.

When to Use Favourite

What does favourite mean? Favourite is an alternative spelling of the same word. It is the standard spelling in British English. It can be used in all the same contexts as favorite, and carries the same meaning.

For example,

• Bob Baffert, whose Arrogate is the favourite for the $10m Dubai World Cup on Saturday, said here on Wednesday his colt is “the dirt version of Frankel”, the brilliant champion who won all 14 of his races in England in the same green, white and pink colours of Prince Khalid Abdullah. –The Guardian

The following two charts show the relative usage of favourite vs. favorite in American English and British English, respectively, since 1800.

As you can see, favorite has been preferred in American English since shortly before 1850, when it overtook favourite in usage. Favourite has always been preferred in British English.

These charts aren’t exhaustive in their scope, but they do help for identifying long-term trends.

Trick to Remember the Difference

Choosing between favorite and favourite is simple: you must consider your audience.

• For American readers, choose favorite.
• For British readers, choose favourite.

Since favourite contains an extra U, like United Kingdom, this should be an easy decision to make.

Summary

Is it favorite or favourite? Favorite and favourite are alternative spellings of the same word, which refers to something that is preferred above all others.

• Favorite is the American spelling.
• Favourite is the British spelling.

For British audiences, you should use favourite. This is easy to remember, since favourite and United Kingdom are both spelled with the letter U, unlike favorite.

In summary, favorite is the American form of this word. Favourite is the British form.

It is sometimes said that the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries separated by a common language. Despite the fact that English is the most widely used language in both countries, a distinction is often made between the English used in the United States—American English—and the English used in the United Kingdom—British English. The differences between the two varieties of English are usually subtle, but they exist nonetheless, particularly around spelling.

Favorite and favourite are both correct spellings, depending on whether you use American or British spelling standards. Favorite is preferred in American English, while favourite is preferred in British English. Sometimes, favorite or favourite can be used and the correct form depends on which style gu >Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites.

The Correct Way to Spell Favorite

The answer to that question might depend on where you are. If you’re in the United States, you would hear that “favorite” is the correct spelling. If you were pretty much anywhere else in the world where English is spoken, you would hear that “favourite” is the spelling you should use. “Favourite” and “favorite” mean the same thing, are pronounced the same way (FAY-vuh-rit or FAY-vrit), and are both correct spellings.

Definition of Favorite

“Favorite” (or “favourite,” if that’s the spelling you favour) is a word that can be used both as a noun and as an adjective.

When used as a noun, “favorite” can have two meanings. When we like someone or something more than other people or things, we can use the word favorite to let the world know:

Favorite is also a word that pops up frequently in relation to competitions. We call the person most likely to win the competition “the favorite”

We mentioned that favorite can also be used as an adjective. When we use it like that, favorite has only one meaning—“most liked” or “preferred”:

The Origins of the Two Spellings of Favorite

“Favorite” and “favourite” share a common backstory with other words in the English language. The word “color,” for example, is spelled with an “-or” ending in American English, while in British English it’s spelled “colour.” There are plenty of other examples: “flavor” and “flavour,” “honor” and “honour,” “rumor” and “rumour.” The list could go on and on.

For a long time, there was no consensus on how words ending with -or or -our should be spelled in Britain. We know that Samuel Johnson, the famous British lexicographer, had a strong preference for the -our versions of words, as is evident from his 1755 dictionary. On the other side of the pond, an equally famous American lexicographer, Noah Webster, wanted to make the English language used in America truly American. So, his 1828 dictionary recommended the -or spellings of the disputed words. To this day, Webster gets a lot of credit for influencing the way Americans write English.

Favorite vs. Favourite: Examples

The easiest way to notice the difference in spelling and its national character is by looking through different national publications or international editions of media outlets.

It is sometimes said that the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries separated by a common language. Despite the fact that English is the most widely used language in both countries, a distinction is often made between the English used in the United States—American English—and the English used in the United Kingdom—British English. The differences between the two varieties of English are usually subtle, but they exist nonetheless, particularly around spelling.

Favorite and favourite are both correct spellings, depending on whether you use American or British spelling standards. Favorite is preferred in American English, while favourite is preferred in British English. Sometimes, favorite or favourite can be used and the correct form depends on which style gu >Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites.

The Correct Way to Spell Favorite

The answer to that question might depend on where you are. If you’re in the United States, you would hear that “favorite” is the correct spelling. If you were pretty much anywhere else in the world where English is spoken, you would hear that “favourite” is the spelling you should use. “Favourite” and “favorite” mean the same thing, are pronounced the same way (FAY-vuh-rit or FAY-vrit), and are both correct spellings.

Definition of Favorite

“Favorite” (or “favourite,” if that’s the spelling you favour) is a word that can be used both as a noun and as an adjective.

When used as a noun, “favorite” can have two meanings. When we like someone or something more than other people or things, we can use the word favorite to let the world know:

Favorite is also a word that pops up frequently in relation to competitions. We call the person most likely to win the competition “the favorite”

We mentioned that favorite can also be used as an adjective. When we use it like that, favorite has only one meaning—“most liked” or “preferred”:

The Origins of the Two Spellings of Favorite

“Favorite” and “favourite” share a common backstory with other words in the English language. The word “color,” for example, is spelled with an “-or” ending in American English, while in British English it’s spelled “colour.” There are plenty of other examples: “flavor” and “flavour,” “honor” and “honour,” “rumor” and “rumour.” The list could go on and on.

For a long time, there was no consensus on how words ending with -or or -our should be spelled in Britain. We know that Samuel Johnson, the famous British lexicographer, had a strong preference for the -our versions of words, as is evident from his 1755 dictionary. On the other side of the pond, an equally famous American lexicographer, Noah Webster, wanted to make the English language used in America truly American. So, his 1828 dictionary recommended the -or spellings of the disputed words. To this day, Webster gets a lot of credit for influencing the way Americans write English.

Favorite vs. Favourite: Examples

The easiest way to notice the difference in spelling and its national character is by looking through different national publications or international editions of media outlets.

Favorite and favourite are different spellings of the same word. Favorite is the preferred spelling in the U.S., while favourite is preferred in all the other main varieties of English. These preferences extend to all derivatives, including favorites/favourites, favoritism/favouritism, and favorited/favourited.

Favourite has been the preferred spelling in British English for several centuries, but this does not mean that favorite is a late arrival to the language or even American in origin. In fact, the OED lists instances of favorite from as long ago as the 17th century. Milton used it in Paradise Lost and, and William Wordsworth used it around 1800 (and many more examples are easily found in historical Google Books searches). The preference for favourite was not well established in British English until the first half of the 19th century, which, as the below ngram shows, is around the same time Americans settled on what is now their spelling:

This ngram graphs the occurrence of favorite and favourite in a large number of American texts published between 1800 and 2000:

Examples

These U.S. publications spell favorite without the u:

He even once agreed to have a bull session over milkshakes with Vice Magazine, which noted his favorite flavor is chocolate. [Salon]

Windward School is showing why it was a big favorite to win the Southern Section Division 4AA crown. [Los Angeles Times]

Sheen’s favorite women seem to be 20-years-younger prostitutes, but women keep tuning in. [New York Daily News]

A new Mardi Gras parade group named after Chewbacca will give sci-fi fans a chance to break out their favorite intergalactic costumes. [Wired]

And these non-U.S. publication use favourite:

A mother trashed a cake shop after being told they had run out of her favourite flavour of cupcake. [Daily Mail]

The 45-year-old radio talk show host was a clear favourite among Island voters. [Vancouver Sun]

For Melburnians who leave behind the city’s bars and laneways in search of new experiences on foreign shores, favourite-food cravings are familiar. [Sydney Morning Herald]

It opened just a few weeks ago in what used to be Odyssey restaurant and, by the time I visited, already seemed to be a firm local favourite. [Liverpool Echo]

Comments

Very useful post. Thank you.

It’s FAVORITE….lol. It just sounds so silly spelling it “favourite” UGH.

Once again, another close-minded American… I’m American and even I can admit it…

Well, the English complain more about this more than Americans. When it comes to the English language, the Brits are far more provincial about “Americanizations” without the understanding that a lot of American usage are actually original forms going centuries back.

No, most of them are not.

My issues with Americanization are that American dominated spell-check dictionaries don’t include the alternative spellings and it’s annoying to see “errors” reported about words which I know are spelt correctly.

The simplification of spelling that Americans have undertaken removes etymological clues that can help in understanding words one has never seen before.

English is already a confusing language, but making the etymology more difficult to recognise causes grief for people who actually love their language.

Grigor – That is clearly not the case here as explained in the initial post…

it’s soccer, not football, just saying lol
In all seriousness, this is a different of Dialects. Both are correct for their respective regions. just like in the southern US Ya’ll is the correct abbreviation for “you all” whereas in the northern states just “you” is used.

Favorite, I’m not even American

If you’re not American, then you’re spelling it wrong. Everywhere else it’s spelt “favourite”.

shut up american idiot

Well then. You’re not my “favorite” person right now lol.

Honestly, I like ‘favourite’ better, as well as ‘colour’ and other words of the same category. I live in the U.S., and I think it’s PERFECTLY FINE to spell it that way even when there’s a dashed red line under the above words that I typed a while ago(favourite and colour).

I agree, I used to type favourite all the time until the day I realized that everyone spelled it favorite….favorite without the “u” just seems like there’s something missing. 😛

What’s your favourite colour? HEHEHEHEHEH

I’m not really sure I have one, but since you put me on the spot, I’d have to say ourange.

it’s spelled norange actually

orange*
(replying to comemnts from two years ago lalalalaa)

s/he was kidding tho and btw, comments*
(replying to your comment from two months ago)

*though* (replying to your comment from two months ago)

Since I am Canadian and we usually add the u in there that is the way it looks the best to me. When I see it spelled favorite I tend to break it up and read it as fav-o-right. The word confuses me without the u. I assume I am saying it wrong. Where as favourite, I world pronounce “favour-rit” which I suppose to Americans that would be weird too because of the u.

My favorite color is grey or gray!

Tell that to George Lucas. In Return of the Jedi, Jaba the Hut uses the word and in the sub title they use “favourite” referring to his favorite decoration……. Han Solo.

At least I know my brain’s working when spelling!

Americans have managed to over – simplify a language that
has been developing rather well for over a thousand years – I was going to say
vulgarise, but I thought that might be provocative.

Simplification is a development. The English language generally is clearly not “original,” whatever that means. Using the term “vulgarize” would be inaccurate, not provocative.

It is very useful information. Even, now I’m gonna ask my professor of communication skills that,
what’s the difference between them. 🙂

techincally, english originates from england. therefore, favourite is the “correct” spelling

So people in Mexico who speak Mexican Spanish are wrong about their dialect because it’s not the same as how the Spanish in Spain speak it? What about the dozens of other Spanish dialects?

I am American and I am from the south. You all is spelled you all. It is pronounced differently in the south but it is not correctly spelled in all those other ways. Y’all & Ya’ll and all the other variations are incorrect spellings of the words ‘You All’. That is a fairly simple concept to understand but unfortunately we have more than a few IQ challenged folks down here, just look at where our primary education ratings are. And there is nothing wrong with the word favourite. I’ve seen it in books all my life. It doesn’t matter what country we are in BOTH spellings are correct. Saying it is UGH. is another example of someone being IQ challenged. Favorite and Favourite are both nice words. There isn’t anything wrong with either of them. Why would people think such nonsense?

my girlfriend landmagrulan said I was wrong

I’m american and I only use British spelling cause I’m the british weeaboo, or so called “tea-aboo”

The English complain simply because their lack of understanding the origins in which their own words come from. The word “favorite or favourits” first off originated as a Latin word which started off with the beginning letters “favor”. So the Americans took the word and spelled it as it was originally spelled and changed the ending. This dates back to the late 16th century. Where as England took the word as well and added the “U” because their pronunciation with words has more of a hint of a French type sounding influence dating back to the early 17th century then the Americans did. So really their both wrong if you wanna get technical about it. But between the two the Americans actual have the more correct spelling of it and according to the earliest recordings found, the Americans also used the Latin word before the English as well by a small margin. But neither can take claim of its origin considering its a Latin word not English.

Источник

favourite или favorite в чем разница

It is sometimes said that the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries separated by a common language. Despite the fact that English is the most widely used language in both countries, a distinction is often made between the English used in the United States—American English—and the English used in the United Kingdom—British English. The differences between the two varieties of English are usually subtle, but they exist nonetheless, particularly around spelling.

Favorite and favourite are both correct spellings, depending on whether you use American or British spelling standards. Favorite is preferred in American English, while favourite is preferred in British English. Sometimes, favorite or favourite can be used and the correct form depends on which style gu >Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites.

The Correct Way to Spell Favorite

The answer to that question might depend on where you are. If you’re in the United States, you would hear that “favorite” is the correct spelling. If you were pretty much anywhere else in the world where English is spoken, you would hear that “favourite” is the spelling you should use. “Favourite” and “favorite” mean the same thing, are pronounced the same way (FAY-vuh-rit or FAY-vrit), and are both correct spellings.

Definition of Favorite

“Favorite” (or “favourite,” if that’s the spelling you favour) is a word that can be used both as a noun and as an adjective.

When used as a noun, “favorite” can have two meanings. When we like someone or something more than other people or things, we can use the word favorite to let the world know:

Favorite is also a word that pops up frequently in relation to competitions. We call the person most likely to win the competition “the favorite”

We mentioned that favorite can also be used as an adjective. When we use it like that, favorite has only one meaning—“most liked” or “preferred”:

The Origins of the Two Spellings of Favorite

“Favorite” and “favourite” share a common backstory with other words in the English language. The word “color,” for example, is spelled with an “-or” ending in American English, while in British English it’s spelled “colour.” There are plenty of other examples: “flavor” and “flavour,” “honor” and “honour,” “rumor” and “rumour.” The list could go on and on.

For a long time, there was no consensus on how words ending with -or or -our should be spelled in Britain. We know that Samuel Johnson, the famous British lexicographer, had a strong preference for the -our versions of words, as is evident from his 1755 dictionary. On the other side of the pond, an equally famous American lexicographer, Noah Webster, wanted to make the English language used in America truly American. So, his 1828 dictionary recommended the -or spellings of the disputed words. To this day, Webster gets a lot of credit for influencing the way Americans write English.

Favorite vs. Favourite: Examples

The easiest way to notice the difference in spelling and its national character is by looking through different national publications or international editions of media outlets.

It is sometimes said that the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries separated by a common language. Despite the fact that English is the most widely used language in both countries, a distinction is often made between the English used in the United States—American English—and the English used in the United Kingdom—British English. The differences between the two varieties of English are usually subtle, but they exist nonetheless, particularly around spelling.

Favorite and favourite are both correct spellings, depending on whether you use American or British spelling standards. Favorite is preferred in American English, while favourite is preferred in British English. Sometimes, favorite or favourite can be used and the correct form depends on which style gu >Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all your favorite websites.

The Correct Way to Spell Favorite

The answer to that question might depend on where you are. If you’re in the United States, you would hear that “favorite” is the correct spelling. If you were pretty much anywhere else in the world where English is spoken, you would hear that “favourite” is the spelling you should use. “Favourite” and “favorite” mean the same thing, are pronounced the same way (FAY-vuh-rit or FAY-vrit), and are both correct spellings.

Definition of Favorite

“Favorite” (or “favourite,” if that’s the spelling you favour) is a word that can be used both as a noun and as an adjective.

When used as a noun, “favorite” can have two meanings. When we like someone or something more than other people or things, we can use the word favorite to let the world know:

Favorite is also a word that pops up frequently in relation to competitions. We call the person most likely to win the competition “the favorite”

We mentioned that favorite can also be used as an adjective. When we use it like that, favorite has only one meaning—“most liked” or “preferred”:

The Origins of the Two Spellings of Favorite

“Favorite” and “favourite” share a common backstory with other words in the English language. The word “color,” for example, is spelled with an “-or” ending in American English, while in British English it’s spelled “colour.” There are plenty of other examples: “flavor” and “flavour,” “honor” and “honour,” “rumor” and “rumour.” The list could go on and on.

For a long time, there was no consensus on how words ending with -or or -our should be spelled in Britain. We know that Samuel Johnson, the famous British lexicographer, had a strong preference for the -our versions of words, as is evident from his 1755 dictionary. On the other side of the pond, an equally famous American lexicographer, Noah Webster, wanted to make the English language used in America truly American. So, his 1828 dictionary recommended the -or spellings of the disputed words. To this day, Webster gets a lot of credit for influencing the way Americans write English.

Favorite vs. Favourite: Examples

The easiest way to notice the difference in spelling and its national character is by looking through different national publications or international editions of media outlets.

Favorite and favourite are different spellings of the same word. Favorite is the preferred spelling in the U.S., while favourite is preferred in all the other main varieties of English. These preferences extend to all derivatives, including favorites/favourites, favoritism/favouritism, and favorited/favourited.

Favourite has been the preferred spelling in British English for several centuries, but this does not mean that favorite is a late arrival to the language or even American in origin. In fact, the OED lists instances of favorite from as long ago as the 17th century. Milton used it in Paradise Lost and, and William Wordsworth used it around 1800 (and many more examples are easily found in historical Google Books searches). The preference for favourite was not well established in British English until the first half of the 19th century, which, as the below ngram shows, is around the same time Americans settled on what is now their spelling:

This ngram graphs the occurrence of favorite and favourite in a large number of American texts published between 1800 and 2000:

Examples

These U.S. publications spell favorite without the u:

He even once agreed to have a bull session over milkshakes with Vice Magazine, which noted his favorite flavor is chocolate. [Salon]

Windward School is showing why it was a big favorite to win the Southern Section Division 4AA crown. [Los Angeles Times]

Sheen’s favorite women seem to be 20-years-younger prostitutes, but women keep tuning in. [New York Daily News]

A new Mardi Gras parade group named after Chewbacca will give sci-fi fans a chance to break out their favorite intergalactic costumes. [Wired]

And these non-U.S. publication use favourite:

A mother trashed a cake shop after being told they had run out of her favourite flavour of cupcake. [Daily Mail]

The 45-year-old radio talk show host was a clear favourite among Island voters. [Vancouver Sun]

For Melburnians who leave behind the city’s bars and laneways in search of new experiences on foreign shores, favourite-food cravings are familiar. [Sydney Morning Herald]

It opened just a few weeks ago in what used to be Odyssey restaurant and, by the time I visited, already seemed to be a firm local favourite. [Liverpool Echo]

Comments

Very useful post. Thank you.

It’s FAVORITE….lol. It just sounds so silly spelling it “favourite” UGH.

Once again, another close-minded American… I’m American and even I can admit it…

Well, the English complain more about this more than Americans. When it comes to the English language, the Brits are far more provincial about “Americanizations” without the understanding that a lot of American usage are actually original forms going centuries back.

No, most of them are not.

My issues with Americanization are that American dominated spell-check dictionaries don’t include the alternative spellings and it’s annoying to see “errors” reported about words which I know are spelt correctly.

The simplification of spelling that Americans have undertaken removes etymological clues that can help in understanding words one has never seen before.

English is already a confusing language, but making the etymology more difficult to recognise causes grief for people who actually love their language.

Grigor – That is clearly not the case here as explained in the initial post…

it’s soccer, not football, just saying lol
In all seriousness, this is a different of Dialects. Both are correct for their respective regions. just like in the southern US Ya’ll is the correct abbreviation for “you all” whereas in the northern states just “you” is used.

Favorite, I’m not even American

If you’re not American, then you’re spelling it wrong. Everywhere else it’s spelt “favourite”.

shut up american idiot

Well then. You’re not my “favorite” person right now lol.

Honestly, I like ‘favourite’ better, as well as ‘colour’ and other words of the same category. I live in the U.S., and I think it’s PERFECTLY FINE to spell it that way even when there’s a dashed red line under the above words that I typed a while ago(favourite and colour).

I agree, I used to type favourite all the time until the day I realized that everyone spelled it favorite….favorite without the “u” just seems like there’s something missing. 😛

What’s your favourite colour? HEHEHEHEHEH

I’m not really sure I have one, but since you put me on the spot, I’d have to say ourange.

it’s spelled norange actually

orange*
(replying to comemnts from two years ago lalalalaa)

s/he was kidding tho and btw, comments*
(replying to your comment from two months ago)

*though* (replying to your comment from two months ago)

Since I am Canadian and we usually add the u in there that is the way it looks the best to me. When I see it spelled favorite I tend to break it up and read it as fav-o-right. The word confuses me without the u. I assume I am saying it wrong. Where as favourite, I world pronounce “favour-rit” which I suppose to Americans that would be weird too because of the u.

My favorite color is grey or gray!

Tell that to George Lucas. In Return of the Jedi, Jaba the Hut uses the word and in the sub title they use “favourite” referring to his favorite decoration……. Han Solo.

At least I know my brain’s working when spelling!

Americans have managed to over – simplify a language that
has been developing rather well for over a thousand years – I was going to say
vulgarise, but I thought that might be provocative.

Simplification is a development. The English language generally is clearly not “original,” whatever that means. Using the term “vulgarize” would be inaccurate, not provocative.

It is very useful information. Even, now I’m gonna ask my professor of communication skills that,
what’s the difference between them. 🙂

techincally, english originates from england. therefore, favourite is the “correct” spelling

So people in Mexico who speak Mexican Spanish are wrong about their dialect because it’s not the same as how the Spanish in Spain speak it? What about the dozens of other Spanish dialects?

I am American and I am from the south. You all is spelled you all. It is pronounced differently in the south but it is not correctly spelled in all those other ways. Y’all & Ya’ll and all the other variations are incorrect spellings of the words ‘You All’. That is a fairly simple concept to understand but unfortunately we have more than a few IQ challenged folks down here, just look at where our primary education ratings are. And there is nothing wrong with the word favourite. I’ve seen it in books all my life. It doesn’t matter what country we are in BOTH spellings are correct. Saying it is UGH. is another example of someone being IQ challenged. Favorite and Favourite are both nice words. There isn’t anything wrong with either of them. Why would people think such nonsense?

my girlfriend landmagrulan said I was wrong

I’m american and I only use British spelling cause I’m the british weeaboo, or so called “tea-aboo”

The English complain simply because their lack of understanding the origins in which their own words come from. The word “favorite or favourits” first off originated as a Latin word which started off with the beginning letters “favor”. So the Americans took the word and spelled it as it was originally spelled and changed the ending. This dates back to the late 16th century. Where as England took the word as well and added the “U” because their pronunciation with words has more of a hint of a French type sounding influence dating back to the early 17th century then the Americans did. So really their both wrong if you wanna get technical about it. But between the two the Americans actual have the more correct spelling of it and according to the earliest recordings found, the Americans also used the Latin word before the English as well by a small margin. But neither can take claim of its origin considering its a Latin word not English.

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