Drop the U

[ezapf]

When and why did 'U' get dropped in so many common words in American English?

colour - color

neighbour - neighbor

favourite - favorite

...and surely there are many more.

[Quizmonster]

1828 was the key date, that being when Webster's Dictionary was published in the USA. Click http://www.bartleby.com/185/31.html for further details.

[Ewood27]

I remember seeing a film where the Pilgrim Fathers' ship ran into a storm and they had to use their printing press to shore up the deck.  My theory is that they lost some of the cast letters overboard and were short of u in particular, so  they dropped it wherever possible.

 

Later, of course, they produced their own supplies of letters and went overboard the other way, by saying "transportation" instead of "transport" etc.!

 

Flights of fancy are often far more entertaining than boring old facts.

 

[beale]

It's because Americans can't spell.

[ezapf]

     Thanks for the answers. Great job as usual, Quizmonster. Good story, Ewood. I was fully expecting to see more answers like beale's.

     I always try to check my spelling and grammar before I hit the submit button and I know many people will think I forgot a few letters here and there.

     Inconsistency bothers me and I often wonder why things get changed when there is no obvious reason.

[BenDToy]

I once heard an American woman asking if she had to "signaturise" something. Or the one who had been "burglarised". I ask you......!

[greenday]

Should their country be referred to as the SA if they are so unhappy about using the letter U?

[dml54]

What about aluminum?  They kept the U and missed out the I.

[Carlos26]

Interestingly, language is continually changing so such variances aren't uncommon. There's a continuing debate, apparently, in schools as to whether to restrict or allow change to continue. Think of how language changed or, rather, evolved since shakespeare.  There's been no significant interruption (unless I'm being a fool) and it's simply time and streamlining of the language affecting these changes.

 

[Quizmonster]

There is no question as to whether people - in schools or anywhere else - should "allow change to continue". The simple fact is that change will continue, as it always has done.

So far as I know, the French, with their Acad�mie, are the only nation which tries to keep its language 'pure' and basically unchanging. However, they are fighting a losing battle...despite their complaints, the French people themselves still insist on calling the weekend 'le weekend'. There are multitudes of similar examples.

Language changes...end of story.