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In the early 1800`s, a man by the name of Noah Webster ‘Americanized’ the spelling of many words. There are now a number of differences between how Canadians and Americans spell certain words.

It is important to keep these differences in mind when blogging. If you're blogging primarily for Canadians, then use the Canadian spelling. If blogging for Americans, use the U.S. spelling. If you're blogging for both, then keep in mind that the U.S. population is roughly 10 times that of Canada.

The following is a list of common spelling differences between Canadian and American words:

CanadaUnited States
abridgementabridgment
acknowledgementacknowledgment
amoebaameba
analyseanalyze
anaesthesiaanesthesia
arbourarbor
axeax
barrelledbarreled
behaviourbehavior
belabourbelabor
brunettebrunet
calibrecaliber
cataloguecatalog
cancelledcanceled
candourcandor
centrecenter
centimetrecentimeter
chequecheck
colourcolor
clamourclamor
crystallinecrystaline
cruellercruelest
crystallizecrystalize
defencedefense
dialoguedialog
aeoneon
favourfavor
favouritefavorite
fervourfervor
fibrefiber
flavourflavor
fuelledfueled
fulfilfulfill
funnelledfunneled
gaugegage
goitregoiter
greygray
gruellinggrueling
harbourharbor
honourhonor
humourhumor
jewellerjeweler
instalmentinstallment
imperilledimperiled
kilometrekilometer
labourlabor
labelledlabeled
labourlabor
levelledleveled
licencelicense
litreliter
louvrelouver
lustreluster
macabremacaber
manoeuvremaneuver
marvellousmarvelous
mattematt
medallistmedalist
meagremeager
metremeter
millimetremillimeter
mitremiter
modelledmodeled
mouldmold
moultmolt
moustachemustache
neighbourneighbor
paeanpean
paleolothicpalaeolothic
panelled/panellingpaneled/paneling
parlourparlor
practice (n) practise(v)practice (n/v)
pummelledpummeled
pyjamaspajamas
odourodor
rancourrancor
raquetracket
reconnoitrereconnoiter
saleablesalable
savoursavor
sceptrescepter
smouldersmolder
sombresomber
sulphatesulfate
sulphursulfur
tonneton
totalledtotaled
tranquillizetranquilize
tumourtumor
travellertraveler
tunnelledtunneled
theatretheater
vicevise
valourvalor
vapourvapor
vigourvigor
wilfulwillful
worshippedworshiped
queueingqueuing

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9 brilliant comments

Very interesting read, i knew Americans and English language varies in that, some words are different or mean the same thing just spelt differently. For example colour is English and color is American.
Very good table too.

free iPhone 3gs  #

Because I read a lot of British writers when I was young, I tend to favor British/Canadian spelling for some words. Going down your list, I'm probably 15% Canadian :-)

Tony Lawrence  #

Mostly people give priority to American spelling for such words as "color" instead of listing it under the Canadian spelling of "colour." Some people say to just use a British dictionary; however, Canadian spelling is different in many cases.You had done nice comparison.

Article Marketing  #

Not surprisingly, Canadian English is pretty close to British English. Increasingly (alas, I'm English) US English = International English so, unless your market is NOT international I regretfully recommend you stick with US English.

Chris  #

Well, brutal honesty compels me to note that far too many people can't spell very well anyway, so in practice you can probably mix and match as you please :-)

Tony Lawrence  #

I had never considered how these discrepancies in spelling might effect a markets entire perception nor that the differences between Canadian and American spelling were so great.

Jay Zuckerman  #

This table interests me because as someone from the United States, I personally use some of the spellings from the Canada column rather than the US column, especially in the case of matte and grey. Grey is a word that I've seen spelled both ways, but I have never seen matte spelled without the E.

David Millar  #

Awesome list. I've always wondered home many of these differences exist. This is a great resource. Thanks.

Cool Gifts  #

Although I'm English, I wish that someone would modernise (or is it 'modernize'?) the way we spell. It is so silly that here even we can't get to grips with license and practise being verbs and licence and practice being nouns. And why the silly 'u' in words like colour and favourite? We even put double L in things like travelled when travel has only one! No wonder foreigners find it hard learning English, when we struggle to learn how to spell ourselves.
With the internet demolishing international boundaries, I favour a single, standardised English. If this were based on logic and usage – despite being proudly British! – I would have to go with the U.S. version.

Mark C  #

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