Tom Box tbox-7i5HoP2kWQc@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
2014-08-11 18:58:34 UTC
It is interesting that CP and CN used the spelling "parlor",
not "parlour". This surprised me when I first noticed it,
and I checked a number of timetables to confirm that I hadn't
spotted a misprint.
Canadian Pacific timetables from 1927 and 1970 both say "parlor".not "parlour". This surprised me when I first noticed it,
and I checked a number of timetables to confirm that I hadn't
spotted a misprint.
Both railways consistently used -or endings, not just for
"parlor". For example, from the Sept 30, 1934 CPR public
timetable: "Through tickets via Canadian National or Canadian
Pacific will be honored..." (not "honoured").
Have a look at the inscription on the façade of the Toronto
Harbor Commission building, from 1917: <http://goo.gl/maps/PxFqX>.
I was just passed a link to 1914 issues of a Canadian
engineering publication called Electrical News. In a story
about the Montreal Tramways, it refers to the standard "colors"
of their streetcars.
What we consider Canadian spelling and usages, and American
and British too for that matter, are sometimes more variable
than we think.
Just so. The Toronto Globe changed from "colour" to "color" inengineering publication called Electrical News. In a story
about the Montreal Tramways, it refers to the standard "colors"
of their streetcars.
What we consider Canadian spelling and usages, and American
and British too for that matter, are sometimes more variable
than we think.
1886, and most English-language Canadian newspapers used the
-or form for many years.
That is sometimes attributed to Canadian papers' use of American
wire service copy, but those same papers consistently used
-re spellings instead of -er, e.g. "centre", not "center", so
the U.S. wire service explanation doesn't seem to hold water.
The same 1934 CPR timetable that says "parlor" and "honored"
also says "travellers cheques", not "travelers checks".
I think at some point Canadians reverted
The Globe's successor, the Globe and Mail, changed back from"color" to "colour" in 1990. Other newspapers soon followed.
"Senior" used to be written "seniour" in some texts, but the
latter form is obsolete throughout the English-speaking world,
and I'm not aware of any harm done by its abandonment, nor of
any movement to revive the -our form.
to older spellings of some words which had been simplified,
"Colour" is not an older spelling than "color". The latter isfar older, since it's the Latin spelling. Likewise for honor,
senior, valor, rigor, etc. (though not parlor, which is not
Latin). There are examples of the -or form in English dating
back many centuries, though it seems the -our form was more
popular at the time Samuel Johnson compiled his dictionary
(1755), which contributed to making that form the standard.
perhaps to distinguish ourselves from Americans.
Indeed, petty anti-Americanism, one of the more unfortunateaspects of the Canadian character, seems to be the motivation
of those who insist on writing "colour". (I have no objection
to those who choose to write "colour", only to those who
insist that it's the One True Canadian Spelling, and that it's
verging on treason to write "color".)
"Color" better reflects both the etymology and the phonetics of
the word, and it saves the time, space and ink to write that
superfluous "u". Canadian newspapers used the -or form for over
a century with no ill effects. The only reason I can see for
abandoning it was it was perceived as American, and therefore
bad.
Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada
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Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
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