How is it spelled -ise or -ize ?

Warrigal

Warrigal

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Location
Sydney, Australia
This came up as a side issue in another topic area and it made me think.

As a school girl in the 1950s I was plagued by this question and was never taught which I should use and when.

These days I just use -ise all the time thinking that I really don't care any more.

I now discover that in British English speaking countries this is the new norm, although in scholarly writing the -ize form is still used with a number of exceptions.

This excerpt explains why -ize is still used in America and in scholarly texts.

The endings ‘-ise’ and ‘-ize’

Q From Sid Murphy: In words including the ending -ize or -ise, such as organize and categorize, does British English spell them with an s or a z? I would also appreciate a comment on derivation.

A The broad rule is that the -ize forms are standard in the US, but that -ise ones are now usual in Britain and the Commonwealth in all but formal writing. For example, all British newspapers use the -ise forms; so do most magazines and most non-academic books published in the UK. However, some British publishers insist on the -ize forms (Oxford University Press especially), as do many academic journals and a few other publications (the SF magazine Interzone comes to mind). Most British dictionaries quote both forms, but — despite common usage — put the -ize form first.

The original form, taken from Greek via Latin, is -ize. That’s the justification for continuing to spell words that way (it helps that we say the ending with a z sound). American English standardised on the -ize ending when it was universal. However, French verbs from the same Latin and Greek sources all settled on the s form and this has been a powerful influence on British English. The change by publishers in the UK has happened comparatively recently, only beginning about a century ago (much too recently to influence American spelling), though you can find occasional examples of the -ise form in texts going back to the seventeenth century.

I like the -ise forms myself, in part because being British I was brought up to spell them that way, but also because then I don’t have to remember the exceptions. There are some verbs that must be spelled with -ise because the ending is a compound one, part of a larger word, and isn’t an example of the suffix. An example is compromise, where the ending is -mise, from Latin missum, something sent or placed. Some other examples spelled -ise are verbs formed from nouns that have the s in the stem, such as advertise or televise.

At the risk of sounding like a style guide, but in the hope you may find them useful for reference, these are the words always spelled in -ise, whatever your local rule about the rest: advertise, advise, apprise, chastise, circumcise, comprise, compromise, demise, despise, devise, disfranchise, enfranchise, enterprise, excise, exercise, improvise, incise, premise, revise, supervise, surmise, surprise, televise.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ise1.htm
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Click to expand...
 

Great question Warrigal, I believe that both
versions are allowed in most cases, whether
they are accepted is another thing though.

The cause is the "Spell Checker" in every PC
in the World, they are all by default American
English and most people do not know how to
change it to your own version.

I prefer the "ise" except where it should be "ize",
there is one case that I know of where both are
required as they make words that mean different
things:
Prize = To receive and award for achievement.
Prise = To lever something like a cover or a heavy
object in order to get underneath.
There are probably more that I don't remember,
but your own memory and dictionary will keep you
right.

Mike.
 
Mostly "ize" but sometimes "ise". Spell check doesn't like it when
I use favourite and centre. My roots are British and this how we
were taught to spell.
 

I've always used 'ize' and never gave it much thought over the years. When I see 'ise' it seems strange to me.
 
Never had any problem deciding on ize or ise. I'm American schooled, so If I see an "ise" when I know the word as "ize" then I know it's got to be a British spelling or wherever else English is spelled that way.
 
I became annoyed with my PC always defaulting to US English, even when I loaded a UK dictionary and set it as default. In the end I deleted the US one. Being British, normally I would use 'ise' although seeing 'ize' doesn't trouble me. What does immediately identify text as being US, is the missing 'u' in many words eg. neighbor instead of neighbour. However, what is wrong, for example, is it's misuse in newspaper articles referring to the British Labor party. It's a 'Proper' name and it is the Labour party.
 
I have made it a dogmatic practice to never learning anything that requires me to open a book.
However, the English language has held a limited fascination for me.
To the point of making it a short study.
Long story short
I discovered the language is a bastard child of French, Spanish, Latin, even Teutonic.
Making it somewhat rich in vocabulary choices for the same meaning
Ascend can be ‘go up’,or ‘rise’
And what was once slang, is now accepted jargon
Grade school English marms of the ‘50s would develop facial tics over how this language of today has evolved.
Can’t imagine legalese.
Maybe the law makers, like the medical profession, will stick with a dead language like Latin.

Oh well, no need to fret over the unstoppable.

I mean, who knows what lize ahead?
 
4702152a9bd55b7a96023df5f7857620--english-spelling-spelling-words.jpg
 
There are real answers to these questions, but idle chatter among the ignorant will not produce results. The task requires intellectual effort. This should be your first book in the project. It provides an excellent introduction to the English language.

https://www.amazon.com/Story-English-language-Mario-Pei/dp/B0006BQ9EY/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517755082&sr=1-24&keywords=mario+pei#customerReviews

Learning why English spelling is what it has become is the second step. The cited work is British, not because of different spelling, but because of the scholarship.

https://www.amazon.com/Spell-Out-En...5599&sr=1-8&keywords=english+spelling+history

English spelling is wonderfully etymological. Therefore, a comfortable relationship with etymological dictionaries is a requirement. I have only listed two, but your library should contain as many as you subsequently discover.

https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Dictionary-English-Etymology/dp/0198611129/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517756758&sr=1-1&keywords=onions+english+etymology

https://www.amazon.com/Barnhart-Dic...1517756201&sr=1-12&keywords=english+etymology

Correct usage will aid in understanding spelling. Search for an original first edition of the following. There is a reprint with commentary, but it's not completely the same. I couldn't find an example on Amazon so I have cited the revised for convenience. However you need the original first edition of 1926. Check eBay; it's not expensive.

Follow my prescription: you will never whine about the English language again.

https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Modern-English-Usage-Classics/dp/019958589X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517756973&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=Fowler+Modern+English+Usage+first+edition+1926





 
The spellchecker here must be British. I always used the spelling advertize. The spellchecker doesn't like it, underlines it in red, but doesn't change it.
 
Am I correct in thinking that in US English, many words which sound the same are spelled the same? For example, in Retiredtraveler's list, there are words like Program. In UK English, a Program means computer code and Programme is a production on TV or radio. Both pronounced the same way, but spelling depends on context. Similarly, I receive a pay cheque and I check to see if they've paid me enough. (they never do !)
 
The word I always have trouble with is euthanize (euthanise) because I think it should be spelt as I say it - euthanase because it is derived from euthanasia.
 
Weird as it might seem, I was taught the British way of spelling though I got my primary education in the USA. Later on, that caused me trouble since everyone else was spelling things in the American fashion. Sometimes the difference in the endings are a matter of British or American stylistic choices.
 
No big deal as long as the reader understands what is being said. IMO
 

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