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From: ok@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Subject: Re: maintenance of overriding subprograms
Date: 1997/09/26
Message-ID: <60f651$m3e$1@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au>#1/1
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Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
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Date: 1997-09-26T00:00:00+00:00
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Richard A. O'Keefe wrote:
> This thread is based on initialise/initialize.
> I have real trouble with colour/color (I mean, English is French based,
> not Spanish based, right? (:-) (:-)).

Did no-one notice the smileys?
I am well aware of the history of English (including the substantial
influence of the native Celtic languages).
The point at issue here is the *writing* system, and it does actually
happen to be true that the English writing system is based on Norman
French scribal practices.  (The change from _written_ Anglo-Saxon to
_written_ Middle English is bigger than the change in the _spoken_
language.)

Concerning the OED and "ize/ise", I think it is worth pointing out
that the ize/ise variation extends into things the OED thinks it shouldn't.
In the last week, I have read two books where "surprise" was consistently
spelled "surprize".

Given the fact that there are two current writing systems for English,
not completely compatible, international standards would be well advised
to either _avoid_ words commonly spelled differently in these systems,
or to bless both versions.

For example, if plans to develop an international standard for Erlang
come to fruition, I will press for the existing
	-behaviour(Name).
declaration to be supplemented with a
	-behavior(Name).
declaration with identical meaning, despite the fact that the former is
my preferred spelling.

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Richard A. O'Keefe; http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/%7Eok; RMIT Comp.Sci.