English

I am American and I am totally biased to liking American English more than British English. That said, I admit to being a fan of using the letter "u" in words like "flavour" or "colour" because I find it looks very elegant.

But, using an "s" in the place of a "z" is NOT elegant and I incredibly dislike it! Words like "emphasize" or "stabilization" are meant to be spelled with "z"s. My Merriam-Webster Dictionary agrees with me on this. When I type in a word with an "s", I am directed to a page which reads "British variant of..." and doesn't provide a definition. Hah! Take that British English.

I think the reason I take issue with an "s" taking the place of a "z" is that it would actually require a completely different pronunciation. An "s" is different than a "z". With an "s", "emphasize" (emphasise) should be pronounced more like "precise". But it's not. It's not like the British spell the word "size" any different than American English, so what's with messing up "emphasize"?

You know what really cracks me up about the whole thing? Merriam-Webster is an American dictionary producer and they recognize that these "s" spellings exist. But, you pop over to the Oxford Dictionary, which comes from the United Kingdom, and it doesn't recognize the existence of these "s" spellings. Odd, right?