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Re: debian-refcard



Adam Wilson wrote:
> Both are correct even within the same orthographic system: -ize
> should *technically* be used for words of Greek origin and -ise for
> those of Latin origin.  

And technically "localisation" is neither - it was coined in Modern
English on a model we'd borrowed from the French.
 
> I use -ise for everything basically because I think it looks better
> and I don't like the letter 'Z'. Such is the nature of spelling in
> English.  

The trouble with talking as if there was some objectively determinable
correct way of spelling is that the OED doesn't actually have a set of
basic logical principles behind its recommendations - you can tell by
the way they spell "could" with an L!   And even if it did, where
would it be claiming to have got them from?  What makes them the
*right* set of principles, bearing in mind that no other spelling
system in the world works quite like English?

All we've got is a choice of conventional standards; people in the UK
mostly use en_GB, in which "localise" has an S.  The fact that
everyone does that is what makes it look better to you, and it's also
what makes it correct.
-- 
JBR	with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
	sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package


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