My pet peeve is Americans using the Brit’s spelling. They are just trying to be cute.
I believe Brit bias may have coloured your judgment.
At theatres and shoppes everywhere you look.
It's enough to send one to hospital.
Back in my younger days, every aspiring poet, upon first discovering e.e. cummings, went through a stage where capitalization was shunned. Same phenomenon.
Not necessarily. I find much of my spelling to be British influenced, but it's entirely inadvertent. I read a lot of books published in the UK (because I am interested in British history) and what you read "colours" how you spell certain words. It is neither an affectation nor being playful -- it just happens.
I grew up reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and other great British writers. Not only were the books fantastic but they did wonders at expanding my vocabulary. I still spell words in the British way, such as theatre, grey, etc. I’m no snob, it’s just a preferred spelling
Ryght.
Ordinarily, I agree with your assertion. There’s nothing more pretentious than a “Shopping Centre” in the USA.....obviously, the property owner/developer is thinking that by using British spelling, he’s creating something high-class. I will however, absolutely defend H.P. Lovecraft, my all-time favorite American horror author. He was an admitted Britophile, and always used British spelling in his stories. “The Colour out of Space” just don’t have the same impact with it’s American counterpart, for me at least. So, I guess when Lovecraft did it, I’m cool with it. Other folks are just pretentious a$$h____s.
“whilst”. We don’t say that word yet so many iditos use it to try to sound British.