Oxford spelling

Oxford spelling (or Oxford English Dictionary spelling) is the spelling used by Oxford University Press (OUP). It can be recognized for its use, as in American English, of the suffix -ize instead of -ise. For instance, organization, privatize and recognizable are used instead of organisation, privatise and recognisable. The spelling is favoured on etymological grounds, in that -ize corresponds more closely to the Greek root, -izo, of most -ize verbs.^[1] The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is published by OUP, explains its use of -ize as follows:

[I]n mod.F. the suffix has become -iser, alike in words from Greek, as baptiser, évangéliser, organiser, and those formed after them from L., as civiliser, cicatriser, humaniser. Hence, some have used the spelling -ise in Eng., as in French, for all these words, and some prefer -ise in words formed in French or Eng. from L. elements, retaining -ize for those of Gr. composition. But the suffix itself, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr. -ιζειν, L. -izāre; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic. In this Dictionary the termination is uniformly written -ize. (In the Gr. -ιζ-, the i was short, so originally in L., but the double consonant z (= dz, ts) made the syllable long; when the z became a simple consonant, (-idz) became īz, whence Eng. (-aɪz).)

In the last few decades, the suffix -ise has become the more common spelling in the UK. Many regard -ize as American English, though it has been in use in English since the 16th century.^[2] The OED lists the -ise form of words separately, as "a frequent spelling of -IZE...". In digital documents, Oxford spelling can be indicated with the language tag en-GB-oed.

The use of -ize instead of -ise does not affect the spelling of words ending in -yse, such as analyse, paralyse and catalyse, which come from the Greek verb λύω, lyo, not from an -izo verb.

Usage

Several major newspapers and magazines in the UK use -ise. The Times had been using -ize until the early 1990s, when it decided to switch to the -ise spelling.^[3] The Times Literary Supplement has continued to use Oxford spelling. Oxford spelling is also used in academic publications; the London-based scientific journal Nature uses it, for example.

The Oxford spelling is the de facto spelling standard used in style guides of international organizations that belong to the UN System, for example the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization and UNESCO. UN treaties and declarations, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights follow Oxford spelling. Other international organizations that adhere to this standard include the International Organization for Standardization, the World Trade Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Baccalaureate Organization.

The University of Oxford requires the use of "s" rather than "z" spellings in its public relations material.^[4]

Language tag comparison

The following table summarizes a few general spelling differences between the four major spelling systems. Note: en-GB simply stands for British English; it is not specified whether -ize or -ise should be used. The language tag en-GB-oed, however, requires the consistent use of -ize and -ization.

en-GB	en-GB-oed	en-CA	en-US
analyse	analyse	analyze, analyse [5]	analyze
behaviour	behaviour	behaviour	behavior
centre	centre	centre	center
defence	defence	defence	defense
globalisation, globalization	globalization	globalization	globalization
realise, realize	realize	realize	realize

See also

• Spelling differences: -ise, -ize
• Canadian English spelling
• Macquarie Dictionary (Australian usage)
• Oxford English Dictionary
• Oxford comma

Notes

1. ^ Ritter, R.M. New Hart's Rules, Oxford University Press, 2005; p. 43.
2. ^ "Are spellings like 'privatize' and 'organize' Americanisms?". AskOxford. Oxford University Press. http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
3. ^ "Questions answered, January 13, 2004". Times Online. Retrieved on 2008-12-06.
4. ^ University of Oxford Branding Toolkit: Spelling
5. ^ The spelling "analyse" is listed first, ahead of "analyze", by The Winston Canadian Dictionary, Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Toronto, 1960, 1974.

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.)
• The Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. (20 vols.)
• The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press (latest edition: on WWW)
• United Nations Editorial Manual, New York: United Nations Publications, 1983

External links

• IANA Language Tag Registration Form for en-GB-oed
• AskOxford: Are spellings like privatize and organize Americanisms?
• British Medical Journal: -ize right
• World Wide Words: The endings "-ise" and "-ize"