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Australian English spelling
Based on Kelvin's dictionary

FREE Word Check

Try out Word Check, the new online tool I provide for FREE, to enable Australians to check if they are using the preferred Australian English spelling.


Word Check



DICTIONARY NEWS

Outlook Express - British and Australian spelling.

21 October 2009

If spellchecking is not working in Outlook Express you can now have the British dictionary. If you have access to the right file, you can even have Australian English for spellchecking.

Click here for the Outlook Express page.

Version 4.0 - Microsoft Word/Office Exclude file now available.

10 July 2009

Want to use the preferred Australian English spelling in Microsoft Office, Word and Outlook.

You can now add an Exclude file and improve the quality of the Microsoft Office, Word and Outlook spellchecker.

The Exclude file marks over 2,400 secondary spellings as incorrect. Now those "ize" words such as "organize" will appear as incorrect. The aim of the Exclude file is to provide Microsoft users with better Australian English spellchecking. For more information visit the Microsoft Word/Office page.

21 January 2009

Try out the Australian English Word Check (alpha).

Word Check when complete will provide the following spelling features:

  • Australian English spelling. Not British or American.
  • Check words with spaces such as deja vu.
  • Confirm if a word should be hyphenated such as email and not e-mail.
  • Confirm you are using the preferred Australian spelling such as mosquitoes and not mosquitos.
  • Avoid using American spelling.
  • Avoid using archaic and obsolete words.
  • Easily check the plural of a word.
  • Easily check the correct prefix and suffix usage.

Currently Australians do not have access to a free Australian English dictionary.

Now Australians have a FREE online Australian English word tool for checking the spelling of a word and they can also look up the definition.

Word Check uses the latest version of Kelvin's dictionary of preferred Australian English spelling.

Word Check still requires much work. I've released Word Check at this stage as many people are benefitting from my work.

You can find Word Check via this link, Australian English Word Check.

I trust you will find Word Check to be a handy online facility.

   
   


Contents

Introduction

The Kelvin dictionary
Australia's first prescriptive spellcheck dictionary

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Introduction

For most of my life I've found many words, which strangely have two or more ways they can be spelt. As an example, the following are ten pairs of words.

Do you know the correct spelling?

leucaemia, leukaemia
whiskey, whisky
daks, dacks
transshipment, transhipment
bonzer, bonza
wagon, waggon
organise, organize
co-operate, cooperate
ice cream, ice-cream
sulphur, sulfur


You may be surprised to learn that all of the words are considered to be correctly spelt in Australia. Based on my observation and testing, most people, even quite educated people, will know the preferred Australian spelling of five to eight of the words. Feel free to test yourself. Write down your choice and then check the word using Word Check.

As I've been creating the dictionary I've found made some surprising observations:

  • There are many words commonly used in Australia which are not included in software such as Microsoft Office/Word. When adding a list of words I've researched, I've often found Microsoft doesn't include 10-15% of the words. Microsoft's spellchecker is one of the best available to Australians, but this research shows there is still room for improvement. Word Check includes many words which aren't found in Microsoft's software.
  • I've found quite a few errors in the leading authoritative references. It is rare that we get to crosscheck the authoritative references we all take for granted.
  • The authoritative references often disagree on the preferred spelling of a word in Australia.
These observations are not meant to reduce the value of the existing spelling tools and references we use as they are very good. It is really an observation that we can all do better.

The Kelvin dictionary is my preferred way to spell based on thousands of hours of research. How you wish to spell is your personal choice. If you want to take advantage of my work, Word Check is free and available for you to use now. With your financial support I hope to make my work available to you in a variety of ways.

The Kelvin dictionary

Australia's first prescriptive spellcheck dictionary

Until the mid 1900s dictionaries guided people on how to spell. They were known as prescriptive dictionaries. Then things changed. The dictionary makers started to document how people spelt.

Modern dictionaries document the words we use and are known as descriptive dictionaries. They no longer guide us on how to spell. If you check a word in a modern dictionary you will often see the word spelt in more than one way. The first listed spelling is the spelling which occurs more often in current usage.

For example the Macquarie Concise dictionary has the entry "colour=color". This means the Macquarie dictionary now considers both spellings to be correct and equal. The Kelvin dictionary only includes "colour" which is the preferred spelling as shown by usage and confirmed by the Australian Oxford dictionary.

In Australia there are thousands of words with this dual spelling, and many with three, or even four ways to spell a word. The dual spelling of words leads to confusion and inconsistent spelling in documents.

I have found it is rarely considered wrong in Australia to spell using the preferred spelling of a word, but it is often considered wrong to spell with a secondary spelling. For example it is never considered wrong to use "colour", but "color" is often considered wrong.

For decades I was confused with the dual spelling of words. My work with the dictionary files gave me an understanding of how the Australian English language has evolved and the skills needed to create the first Australian English prescriptive spellcheck dictionary.

The prescriptive spellcheck dictionary (known as the Kelvin dictionary) is what I have always wanted. No more confusion as to when to spell using "ise" or "ize", or any of the thousands of words with dual spellings.

As I identify and research each additional word, the Kelvin dictionary will become an increasingly valuable resource for all Australians.

The Kelvin version is great for:

  • Every Australian (and I have noticed some other countries such as New Zealand) wishing to spell using the most commonly used spelling variation.

  • Those whose native language is not Australian English, where two ways to spell a word adds complexity.

  • The next generation of spellers who are confused with the dual spelling of a word. (I have on occasion asked my daughters to ask their teachers to spell some words. Different teachers in the same school spell differently, which can only cause confusion for the next generation.)

  • Those who want consistent spelling in a document. (When you cut and paste text to create a document, your readers will pick up words being spelt in two ways, which in general reduces the perceived quality of your document.) Using two different ways to spell a word in the one document is always considered incorrect.

  • Those who are in tertiary education. Some academics incorrectly believe there is only one way to spell a word and enforce their incorrect beliefs on their students.

  • Those who are applying for jobs. The real word is very different from the world of school. Some people have said to me, schools don't care about spelling. In the real world spelling can affect your chances of getting a job, or your perceived ability. Don't take the chance your resume ends up on the desk of a word snob, affecting your future opportunities.

The Kelvin dictionary provides my preferred way to spell. It should however be kept in mind how you spell is your choice.

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