Google is trying to change the English language

There has been a debate over this since 2004 http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/23414-2-30.htm & tons of other discussion elsewhere http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=google+uk+spelling+%E2%80%99optimisation%E2%80%99+vs+%E2%80%99optimization%E2%80%99&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq= .. I don’t think Google ever cares over this anymore? Hmm!

The above link didn’t work proper! Here’s it again..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6967071/Google-denies-censoring-anti-Islam-search-suggestions.html

Hi Patrick,
I actually came from abroad and now live and work in the UK. What I have learned so far, is that most foreign people I met, speak English in American accent and write English in American spelling. Including myself at first.
Reason? Hollywood. We have so many American films rather than English films on our TV channels. And in our schools and institution, Microsoft applications (such as Windows & Office), are always being set up in American English.
I think it is unavoidable, unless there are more English products and companies go global and influence foreign countries in all aspect (culture, education, etc.)
Nice post !

Andryo

While I do agree it is stupid that Google is trying to correct the spelling of search engine optimisation, I don’t agree that the Z usage is an Americanism as people have suggested on Twitter.

There are a couple of pages discussing it here:

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk
http://www.metadyne.co.uk/ize.html

I do realise I am being deliberately awkward here, especially considering I am dyslexic and to be quite frank I don’t give a damn in the first place.

However, if anything, it would appear that Google are trying to correct our bad English rather than force Americanisms on us :)

Watch everyone point out all my spelling and grammar mistakes now :(

P.s Sorry I posted the same comment on hobo-web.co.uk, he had almost the same blog post.

It’s not just Google, it’s the foundations of the web. I’ve been typing center instead of centre for years thanks to Americanised HTML spec.

Melissa,

Good point about the metric system for the U.S. but is still largely unadopted here in England (and the rest of the U.K). I grew up in the seventies and we were using both systems then but we don’t seem to have progressed much. Regressed in some ways as plumbers will tell you that you buy three quarter inch pipe but only by the metre.

We’ll have to converge sooner or later. I reckon the Indians will have the last word on this.

I would agree to spell like an American if they’d agree top stop measuring things with a dead Kings thumb and his servants foot.

It seems the change has been rolled back, blogged about it this morning. Hopefully it’ll stay like this.

Nice design btw Patrick, is this still Thesis or is it your own work?

Patrick – it’s fixed the ise/ize thing for SEO, but I’ve found some other words it’s serving up different results for, such as stationary and stationery etc. I think the evidence is pointing to what it shows being based on user behaviour in some way: http://www.malcolmcoles.co.uk/blog/googles-spelling-problems-are-worse-than-we-thought/ (I’ve stuck some google insight search volume graphs in that post).

Just found this blog, most interesting comments especially from Malcolmcoles with his stationary and stationery, the first spelling meaning fixed, or not moving and the second being writing paper and envelopes…. I learnt these distinct spellings with a very strict teacher at school many years ago. I see that some of the younger population insist on spelling definitely as definately and so on etc. (ect?) have also heard the word moisturization (isation?) recently – it’s not in my dictionary, it sounds like a ‘Bush-ism’. I love spell check and also love to add properly spelt words to my ‘dictionary’.

Why can’t they just do it so it works in google.co.uk? It can’t be that hard surely.

ps. I’m not Americanized yet dude – that’s totally bogus!

This is only my opinion, but I don’t see why British spelling should become more Americanised. We are losing our identity enough as it is without the spelling (that we have used for generations) being adapted to what becomes more convenient for globalisation.

Google should not forced Americanised version. Even when type this on my browser, it is suggesting Americanized in place of Americanised :) Thats funny…

Google doesn’t correct my spelling anymore, simply offering an option to search under the alternative spelling. Now if it would only quit correcting my grammar with ungrammatical ‘corrections’!

The -ize spelling isn’t the American way of spelling. In British English, you can use either -ize or -ise. The -ize version, however, is the version prefered by Oxford University Press and is always listed as the correct spelling, with -ise as an alternative.

This is only my opinion, but I think you’ve made an extremely poor decision. If I say to someone on the phone “I was thinking of using site optimiser dot co dot uk” whoever on the other end is going to type in the UK spelling and you’ve just spent brand building money sending traffic to a domain you don’t even own…

I also own a UK spelling site (searchengineoptimisation.org) without owning the Z, but given I own the correct spelling I am more than willing to give up the dyslexics and stupid, to ensure I rank well for “search engine optimisation” :)

I don’t think a wrongly spelled word in your business name gives off a good impression at all. There is only a downside, with very little to gain from doing it. Not like there is going to be much search traffic for “site optimizer” in UK I’m guessing…