User talk:SJKnight

Edit on 19 April 2007

Thank you for experimenting with the page Doctor Who on Wikipedia. Your test worked, and it has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you may want to do. Take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. AxG ҈ ^►talk 19:53, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Spelling

Please note that the established Manual of Style specifies that "articles that focus on a topic specific to a particular English-speaking country should generally conform to the usage and spelling of that country." Thus, even though it was well intentioned, the Americanization of words within Doctor Who is not appropriate as it is a British entertainment export. Thanks for contributing, though! -- LeCour^T:C 20:06, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Please refrain from repeatedly undoing other people's edits, as you are doing in Doctor Who. If you continue, you may be blocked from editing Wikipedia. The three-revert rule (3RR) prohibits making more than three reversions in a content dispute within a 24 hour period. Additionally, users who perform a large number of reversions in content disputes may be blocked for edit warring, even if they do not technically violate the three-revert rule. Rather than reverting, please discuss disputed changes on the talk page. The revision you want is not going to be implemented by edit warring. Thank you. -- LeCour^T:C 20:08, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

• You wrote:

Yes, though should you care to study English to any degree you will know that the '-ize' variation of words is in fact not an Americanization but the original British spelling.

Unless words derive from French they ought to be spelt '-ize', and most higher authorities on the English language favour this version due to this, the OED itself stating:

"The suffix…, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Gr[eek] -?????, L[atin] -iza-re; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling in -iser should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic."

I am in fact British and feel no need to Americanize anything, merely to correct it.

Granted, the -ize and -ise forms are generally interchangable, but it is still common practice to spell many words in British-English with the -ise suffix. While I do not necessarily disagree with you (or the OED) on the principle of eventually accepting the more-phonetic spelling and veer away from the French, the OED statement you quote is an opinion, not a steadfast rule. Cambridge University Press prefers the opposite. Right or wrong, Wikipedia is a place of consensus and the current consensus is to spell the word with an S.

Interestingly, the word "recognise" (according to the OED -- to which I am a paid subscriber) originates from the Old French stem "recognoiss", and has been generally spelled with the -ise suffix in British governmental documents since at least 1531 -- the most notable exception being William Pitt III who used the -ize suffix in 1792. The online OED also lists "recognise" ahead of "recognize" as an acceptable form. So the S appears quite reasonable and not incorrect, therefore should remain.

More importantly, I reverted your edit mainly because you had violated the three-revert rule by "correcting" the spelling four times. I believe that your actions were very well intentioned, so I chose not to request blocking of your account as is standard practice, choosing instead to assume good faith and inform you of the violation of which you may not have been aware. If you still feel strongly that the spelling should be changed, feel free to bring it up on the talk page. (And thank you for the clarification on my usage of "Americanization".) -- LeCour^T:C 22:53, 19 April 2007 (UTC)