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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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