I always spelt this word with a 'u', eg.. 'manneurism' Now i do a search and see it's incorrect yet I also notice a lot of other people online using the same incorrect spelling. Now I am curious from where this orginated? "From where did I learn this and why?", I wonder. Have any of you guys been spelling this wrongly too? Thanks
I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen it spelt that way. Starting to write really caused me to question my spelling though. I'd always thought it was fine. Then my spell checker kept pulling me on certain words and I was horrified to learn I'd been spelling them incorrectly for years. Edit: oh... and while we're on the subject of spelling, (well, that and tense usage.) Can anyone tell me the difference between spelled and spelt? Les Mis comes to mind. "I dreamed a dream..." Could that be alternatively written: "I dreamt a dream..." Anyone?
A) I know exactly what you mean. When i was in primary school my teacher would actually consult me when she couldn't spell a word. It was an early source of pride which, I guess, left me thinking I was an ace speller growing up. Then i began to write stuff and realised how many things I could have sworn were right but turned out incorrect. B) I don't know exactly, but I would do it like this... "He spelled it perfectly" "It was perfectly spelt" Do you know what I mean here? It is like OK at the end of the sentence to use the latter, but again, I'm not 100% on the correct usage of this.
I've been reading up since I asked the question. It seems we, on this side of the pond, use them interchangeably. Perhaps that's why I never really stopped to consider it. From our perspective, there really shouldn't be a right or wrong.
In my personal perspective there isn't. I think I'd love this language a lot less were it static & unevolving. Languages evolve only because people can't use it flawlessly, it seems. If people know what you mean that is good enough in most situatuons. Sadly though for the writer they have other writers to contend with, lol. And we can be a pedantic bunch at times, i suspect.
Well, I would always spell gray with an 'e' and color with a 'u' after the second 'o'. But I'm from America, so of course they were wrong. The difference, OP, is that one way of spelling is used in AU, CA, UK, and NZ, while the other is used in America. Same goes for smelt, burnt, dreamt, etc. (And 'z' in the place of 's'.) We Americans are very different from y'all.
@barcelonic I agree. I'm all for tugging at constraints, and changing things up, but not when it comes to spelling. @HarleyQ. I think that's half my problem, the American English I read in books, often causes me to question my spelling. Tire/Tyre, for e.g. It gets to the point where I can't remember which is which. As for the 'Z's... I hate to see them, don't ask me why. I blame Noah Webster for my confusion.
@obsidian_cicatrix: I say write in the way you would if you're going for a UK/AU/NZ/etc feel, like if the MC is from there and/or you're publishing mainly for those countries. I've read a couple of books set in America with supposed American characters who called tennis shoes/sneakers trainers and sweat shirts/pants track suits (just a few of many). My mind just about blew up.
@HarleyQ. Yep... there's nothing quite like getting ripped out of the fictional bubble by an inappropriate term. I'm not considering publishing, so it's not a big issue for me. My characters speak much as I do, and have a European feel for the most part, so I'm happy to continue as I am. Now, if I ever did decide to write a novel set in a diner in Louisiana in the '50s, I might just have to reconsider.
As far as I can tell nobody here has confirmed this is, in fact, an Americanism. Are you referring to the op example yes - manneurism? Either it is an Americanism or it is incorrect. It seems incorrect going by various online dictionaries
I would say the same. I'd imagine if it were an Americanism, Webster's would recognise it as such, but the only entry is for 'mannerism.' Perhaps it is one of those words, like so many I've discovered, that sneaks by unnoticed, until something causes me to question it. Still, a lesson learned. (Or learnt. )
'spelt' is a variety of grain... 'spelt' for 'spelled' is not as common in the US as it is in the UK... same goes for any other 't' substitute for 'ed'... and i've never in my 75 years ever seen 'mannerism' spelled with a 'u' thrown in... and it's definitely not an americanism... where have you seen it that way, barcelonic?
I've never seen it either. Are you perhaps some place deep down in your noggin allowing the spelling of words like aneurysm to infect your understanding? FWIW Manneurysm gets a few hits in slang dictionaries.
Yeah, definitely not an Americanism. We dispense with the "decorative u", not add it. Perhaps there is a subconscious orthographic tying of this word with maneuver. They both share /man/ as a root meaning hand or of the hand.
Try being an American and living in the UK for nearly 30 years. I'm now mixing spellings like mad ...without realising/realizing it!
I've lived in the UK my whole life. When i was a kid i loved America and holidayed there 5 times and visited several of the south-eastern states but mostly Florida. The weird thing is that I too get awfully confused with Americanisms and I'm always being humiliated for using them because I don't watch television that's made in Britain (except the news perhaps and some comedy). For the last 15 years or so i've watched american tv exclusively. I feel I know people like Bill Maher and Conan as well as any American, and i'm sure Americans will find that hard to believe but, although I'm rare in this regard, there are people like me now the internet means people don't have to rely any longer on commercial scheduled broadcasting. I think this is just testament to the cultural influence that the US still continues to have around the world.
on the other side of the coin/pond, for the past 17 years i've been happily watching all the bbc and cbc i can get, thanks to the advent of satellite access and know the denizens of downton, midsomer, baker street, vancouver and sidney harbor, etc. as well as any UK-commonwealth-dweller... which is just testament to the cultural and artistic/entertainment influence the UK/commonwealth continues to have around the world...
I know you said, term, not, spelling, but re spelling the z-s and extra u's don't bother me. But the c-k totally does. skeptic-sceptic Sceptic isn't right, it just isn't.
i agree, gc... it begs to be pronounced with a soft 'c' like 'scepter' and seems to indicate an infectious condition of some sort...
If you had spelt it as "manurism" I could say your spelling stank. Spell is an irregular verb. As is sleep. You would have slept rather than sleeped, so you would have spelt rather then spelled.
Ahh. That would be the noun version of the word. Such an economic language. Why have two different words for two different uses when you can use the same for both? The linguistic equivalent of shampoo and conditioner.
A mannerism refers to the manner in which someone does something, right? Like an habitual gesture. You don't sigh in a lofty manneur, so why would it be a manneurism?
it's possible that some folks do habitually indulge in a kind of sigh that is overly dramatic and can indicate a feeling of superiority, so that could be called a mannerism and be perceived as being done in a 'lofty manner'...
