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| The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| Glenda Jackson brought up the spelling of 'theatre/theater" on the Stephen Colbert show (mentioned below in another post), but only indicated Americans don't know how to spell it correctly, without any further explanation. Okay, so according to "Grammarist" (see link below): "The main thing that most English speakers and learners need to know is that theater is the preferred spelling in American English, and theatre is preferred virtually everywhere else. ... The American preference for theater is a late-20th-century development (though the spelling itself is a centuries-old variant), so it is understandable that some people still resist it, and its newness means that exceptions are very easily found, but in this century the preference is entrenched." And they go on to explain: "Some Americans do make distinctions—for instance, that a theater is a venue while theatre is an art form, or that a theater is a movie theater while a theatre is a drama venue." Yeah, I've heard all that before. But playwright/teacher Milan ('THE RUNNER STUMBLES') Stitt, a great intellect (in my humble opinion) who once ran the playwriting departments at the Yale School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon and, many years before that, also ran the playwriting school at the Circle Repertory Company (originally called "Circle Theater Company"), used to tell his pupils (me among them) "It's 'theater,' because we are NOT a FRENCH 'theatre' company." If that's the rationale behind the American preference for the spelling of 'theater,' I wonder why the British (and the rest of the world, apparently) cling to it so? |
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| Link | http://grammarist.com/spelling/theater-theatre |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: 37Rubydog 10:29 am EDT 05/17/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| They cling to it so as not to be American :) That said, in a recent concert, Stew commented on the two spellings, saying that Eisa Davis walked around sounding like the improved Eliza Doolittle referring to her work in the "thea-truh" |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: knud17 06:49 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| I love this post, and I love how many times any form of the word etymology has been used. I do love the origin of words and yet had never looked this one up in regards to its spelling. I have always used -re. Not sure if I was just being a drama snob or not, but when asked for justification I used the spelling for "theatrical" as a reference point. Seeing that it goes back to Greek etymology (which makes sense) I like it even further. Aaron |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: whereismikeyfl 07:05 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - knud17 06:49 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| If you use -re because of 'theatrical" do you spell it centre because of "central"? | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: knud17 09:45 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - whereismikeyfl 07:05 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| The only debate I've been in was about theatre. Honestly, nobody has ever brought up the other words and their spelling to me until reading this thread, so I've never given it any thought. In the conversation they asked what reasons might have been and I gave an off the cuff answer that was more of pondering than anything. | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: SpeechTeacher 02:01 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| It is important to note that every legitimate theatre in New York spells it THEATRE, yet the New York Times' ABC's spells it THEATER. In other major cities in the US the British spelling is usually employed. It seems to me that theater folk prefer theatre. | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MFeingold 08:57 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - SpeechTeacher 02:01 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| Not "every" legitimate theatre in NYC uses the -re spelling. All Broadway theatres use it because - if I'm not mistaken - that form is mandated or at least preferred by the League. But a great many other theatrical institutions prefer the -er spelling, so that, for instance, Lincoln Center TheatER operates the Vivian Beaumont TheatRE, causing copy editors no end of headscratching. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 10:19 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MFeingold 08:57 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| No, actually, all of the Lincoln Center venues are -ER. State Theater, Rose Theater, Beaumont Theater, etc. LCT is very firm about their -ERness. All of the Jujamcyn venues are -RE, but the company is Jujamcyn TheatERs. Liberty TheatERs was the same for a time, running venues spelled -RE. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MikeR 02:08 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - SpeechTeacher 02:01 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| Lincoln Center Theater, which includes the Vivian Beaumont Theater, the Mitzi Newhouse Theater, and the Claire Tow Theater, is most certainly a collection of legitimate theaters. | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: davei2000 02:08 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - SpeechTeacher 02:01 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| The Public Theater doesn't. | |
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| The Brits have their way...... | |
| Posted by: bythesea2007 09:43 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| and we have ours. We don't write humour or behaviour. We broke away from Britain to establish our own identity. | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: TGWW 08:56 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| "Some Americans do make distinctions—for instance, that a theater is a venue while theatre is an art form, or that a theater is a movie theater while a theatre is a drama venue." United Artists, a Long Island based movie chain, at one time the largest in the world was called UNITED ARTIST THEATRES. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: dbg 02:12 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - TGWW 08:56 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| I've always done it just the opposite in regard to "theater is a venue while theater is an art form." All the Broadway venues, save the new sign for the refurbished (Helen) Hayes, use "theatre" and have for as long as I have been attending shows. I've always thought it was something like "Marie is studying theater at NYU, and she's going tonight to see Angels in America at the Neil Simon Theatre." My Webster's dictionary shows both as seemingly interchangeable, and a Google search for universities with degree programs shows "a Master's degree in Theater," as well as "theatre courses," so I guess you can use what you want. | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: sf 08:41 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| "If that's the rationale behind the American preference for the spelling of 'theater,' I wonder why the British (and the rest of the world, apparently) cling to it so?" Because it's our language, and we can't help it if you get it wrong. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Last Edit: MockingbirdGirl 08:18 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 08:12 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - flaguy 06:50 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| If that's the rationale behind the American preference for the spelling of 'theater,' I wonder why the British (and the rest of the world, apparently) cling to it so? The rest of the world "clings to it" because they are using the older form that is closer to the etymological root. The Greek theatron is what gave us Latin theatrum, English theatre, French théâtre, Spanish theatro, et cetera. But in the 19th century, American Noah Webster published his Essay on the Necessity, Advantages, and Practicability of Reforming the Orthography of Words Correspondent to the Pronunciation, in which he advocated simplified spelling. (It's also why defence, honour, travelled, etc. have different American spellings.) The British, unsurprisingly, consider Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language more authoritative than any upstart Yank's claims. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: StageDoorJohnny 01:03 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MockingbirdGirl 08:12 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| It's always struck as a silly argument/ Both spellings are pronounced the same way (in English), it's not like the surname Colquhoun which is pronounced 'Cahun.' In the end it's a pointless argument | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 02:10 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - StageDoorJohnny 01:03 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| Luckily, it isn't actually an "argument" anywhere outside this forum! :D | |
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| well . . . | |
| Posted by: StageDoorJohnny 10:37 pm EDT 05/17/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MockingbirdGirl 02:10 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| and occasionally on Facebook and among my colleagues at school :) | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MFeingold 08:36 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MockingbirdGirl 08:12 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| MockingbirdGirl is quite right. The -re spelling comes from the word's classical (ancient Greek) origin - which is why both the British and the French (and Spaniards, Italians, and Slavs) use it. The -er spelling actually came into American English through academia, where it was derived from the German. Apparently Saxons had trouble with that Greek/Latin double consonant (Theatron, Theatrum), so they inserted a vowel. But we're not German academics (most of us aren't, anyway), so there's no reason for Americans to use any but the classic spelling. |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Last Edit: davei2000 12:25 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| Posted by: davei2000 12:24 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MFeingold 08:36 am EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| One could just as logically say there's no reason for us not to. Do you use "centre," fibre," "sombre" "kilometre"? Why are the British ok with "letter," "member," "minister," "monster"? | |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 02:14 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - davei2000 12:24 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| Do you use "centre," fibre," "sombre" "kilometre"? Why are the British ok with "letter," "member," "minister," "monster"? Letter comes from the Latin littera, so etymologically, there was no reason to ever spell it -re in English to begin with |
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| re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... | |
| Posted by: MFeingold 08:50 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
| In reply to: re: The correct spelling of "theatre/theater" ... - MockingbirdGirl 02:14 pm EDT 05/16/18 | |
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| And with "center/centre" we are actually the only holdouts, because even the German "Zentrum" duplicates the Latin "centrum." Maybe it's all just American exceptionalism. |
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