The preferred Australian English spelling dictionary now available for Apple's MacBook Air and Mac computers using OS X.

If you're not happy with the spelling suggestions made by Apple's built-in Australian dictionary you're not alone. Most people don't like American spelling suggestions (which are secondary spelling variations in Australia).

Previous dictionary products I've supplied for Mac users have only worked with Microsoft Office products Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but not Outlook. Outlook use Apple's built-in dictionary and not Microsoft's dictionary. Now Outlook users on the Mac can have the preferred Australian spelling.

You can find the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary for Mac OS X at http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/mac/. 

Kelvin Eldridge 
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
Ph: 0415 910 703

Is it New Year's Eve or New Years Eve?

I recently noticed the Christmas opening hours advertising at the Ringwood Shopping Centre (Eastland) didn't quite seem correct. The advertising was missing the apostrophe. According to the Macquarie and Oxford dictionaries the spelling is "New Year's Eve".

I wondered if any other shopping centres had made the same mistake. It turns out Chadstone Shopping Centre also neglected to insert the apostrophe. The following is from Chadstone's website.

In the past I've made similar mistakes with apostrophes and noticed many others also make the same mistake. So if you find yourself putting in, or missing an apostrophe, don't be too hard on yourself. It is a very common error.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Is it camomile or chamomile?

This is one of those words which differ according to which dictionary you use. If you use the Oxford dictionary the spelling is camomile. If you use the Macquarie dictionary the spelling is chamomile.

Both spelling variations are acceptable to Microsoft Office.

A check of the usage of chamomile versus camomile on Australian sites using Search Australia 45,400 to 9,310, which supports the spelling in the Macquarie dictionary.

Until now the preferred Australian spelling has been suggested as being the Oxford spelling. This is now being updated to chamomile based on this review.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
 

Internet Explorer 10/11 does not check the spelling of capitalised words.

Microsoft have had years to perfect spellchecking on their products, yet it seems each new product somehow doesn't take advantage of the previous. Microsoft took a long time to catch up with other leading browsers in terms of spellchecking and could have easily passed the other contenders.

However, Microsoft hasn't implemented the usual features you'd expect to find in a good spellchecker. You have the ability to enable or disable the highlighting of misspelt words and autocorrect. You also have the ability to provide your own list of words to exclude, include and autocorrect. If you check the spellchecking options for Microsoft Word you'll find a whole range of other options.

I provide files for Internet Explorer which provides the preferred Australian English spelling. The word 'mom', which is normally included in the dictionary, is then marked as a spelling error. The problem however is the spellcheck does not appear to check capitalised words. The word 'MOM' for example does not appear as a spelling error and that isn't correct for Australia.

Hopefully Microsoft will correct this oversight in the future.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au    

An interesting article on words which are used today differently from what they originally meant

I thought this article was interesting. I’ve heard people argue over the meaning of decimate and how newsreaders use the word incorrectly, but in reality, whilst the word had a particular meaning in the past, usage means it now is used in a different way. I thought others may enjoy the article.

Explained: The words you are not using correctly... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Is it coathanger or coat hanger?

The spelling of the word "coathanger" was quite a surprise and is an example of how word processing programs such as Microsoft Office, are damaging the language and misleading people on how they should spell a word.

The problem is how word processors are generally designed. If a word doesn't exist in the dictionary the word processor will offer suggestions. One suggestion is, if the word can be broken into two words separated by a space, then the two single words are suggested.

In Microsoft Office the word "coathanger" is not present and thus "coat hanger" is suggested, which is not correct according to the leading authoritative dictionary resources used in Australia. A similar situation exists for the word "spellcheck" where "spell check" which is not correct is suggested. People often become so used to the misspelling they end up believing it is the correct spelling.

When I found this issue I had to double check both the Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries, and both include the spelling "coathanger".

If you check Australian usage using Search Australia, you'll find approximately 4,000 occurrences of "coathanger" and approximately 13,000 occurrences of "coat hanger". This is a staggeringly high percentage of people incorrectly spelling the word and shows just how dependent we are on our word processors.

The preferred Australian English spelling files for Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer will soon fix this issue as well as thousands of other existing issues with the Microsoft spellchecker.

It is possible that both the Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries are wrong and the Microsoft Office spellchecker is correct. This however is unlikely.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au  

Is it analogue or analog?

Until today I had no doubt the preferred spelling in Australia between analogue and analog would be analogue. But today I noticed the government promoting the Digital TV switch over where they are promoting the conversion from 'analog' to 'digital' TV. If you click on this Digital TV link you'll see the government ad.

When I check both com.au and gov.au sites for the usage of analogue and analog, there is a much greater use of the spelling 'analog'. But when I check all .au sites the spelling 'analogue' is slightly ahead. This is quite significant and requires further research.

Normally the words such as dialogue, catalogue would be considered to be the Australian English spelling, and dialog, catalog, would be the American spelling. The Australian spelling is the same as the British spelling. The British spelling is 'analogue' and the American spelling is 'analog'. So it comes as some surprise to me that in Australia 'analog' is a common spelling.

After reviewing the spelling I found the result to be rather interesting. In Australia the spelling analog is often used as an adjective (analog TV, analog computer). The word analog appears frequently in the electronics field.

I decided to use Search Australia (which limits searches to domains ending in .au) and performed various searches using both spelling variations. Usage varies considerably, but analog appears to be mainly used as an adjective with electronics. On the other hand, with 'analogue/analog clock' the main spelling is 'analogue'.

This does make me wonder that since America has heavily influence our electronic purchases, whether or not this has resulted in the American spelling gaining greater acceptance in one area.

At this stage I can't provide a definitive answer as to which is the preferred spelling. For me personally, the preferred spelling would be 'analogue'. My reason is that for most purposes this appears as the preferred spelling except when used as an adjective with electronics. There may be some cases where it would be appropriate to adjust the spelling (such as in electronics) where consistency may be preferable.   I'll leave it up to others to decide their preference.


Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au