Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is having his very own "SpellingGate". A group of Canadian linguistics professors and the editor-in-chief of the Canadian English Dictionary, who operate under the moniker Editors Canada, have written an open letter to Carney, taking him to task for his too-English and not-Canadian-enough spelling habits. Like Carney doesn't have enough on his plate right now...
The group takes issue with Carney's tendency to use some English spellings like "catalyse" (instead of the more usual Canadian spelling "catalyze") and "globalisation" (instead of "globalization"). They say it's "a matter of our national history, identity snd pride", and that it "could lead to confusion about which spelling is Canadian". Carney spent seven years in the UK, working as the governor of the Bank of England, and "he obviously picked up some pretension while while was there".
"Pretensions"? Are they serious? Do these people have nothing better to do as the world goes to hell in a handbasket?
They of all people should know that Canadian spelling is an illogical hybrid mishmash of British and American spelling, not some pure monolithic thing. We use some English spellings like "colour", and some American spellings like "analyze". It even varies across the country, with the East tending towards more English spellings and the West more American.
And these esteemed professors are insisting that Carney - who, I'm pretty sure, is not the person who actually types out the budget document and PMO news releases - take the more American and less English route with words like "globalization" and "catalyze". How do they see that as "taking an 'elbows up' stance" in the face of American imperialism and trade disputes, as they claim?
The whole thing seems pretty poorly-conceived and badly-timed to me. They should be embarrassed.
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