Writing is an art with good spelling.

Did anyone else ever say it? It doesn't seem likely that its just me. But, so far, it is.

I first used this as my subheader/ tag line for the Canadian Spelling blog. I still have the domain but the site isn't up.

I get annoyed about US spelling being taught or expected/ insisted upon, in Canadian schools. When I was in college, years ago, we were told to spell the US way. I went to Centennial College, the Warden Woods campus which is gone now. My nieces attend school in Newmarket and are taught US spelling. If they (or myself in college) don’t spell the US way our words are marked wrong. In college I had to write very well in order not o have a failing grade – because I refused to spell the US way in Canada. I still refuse.

This site is going to be about Canadian spelling and Canadian things in general. I love being Canadian. I was born here, though I have travelled, I still like Canada the best.

Schools here in Canada, Ontario (Newmarket, Ontario to be precise) are teaching students to spell the US way. Not Canadian. Why?

I don't know but it makes me angry. No modifying, polite, adjectives, just plain angry.

It is hard to find Canadian spelling online. It is not offered as an option. You can easily find options for US and UK spelling. All English spelling is not created equal. What about Canada, Australia and other cultures who use the English language in their own way?

People need to speak up, spell up! Tell site owners, webmasters, content marketers and the rest of them to offer Canadian spelling (or whatever English spelling you come from).

Most of all - Use your Canadian spelling yourself. Keep it alive, active and popular.

I thought I had all my sites set to Canadian English. But, I had missed a couple.

It doesn't come up a lot. There aren't huge differences in Canadian English versus British, Australian or US. But, when something does pop up wrong it bugs me. Especially when spellchecker is trying to correct Canadian spelling.

So, I fixed them all.

To do so yourself...

Start at Settings. Change your Site Language (find English, then the English version you use). Save that.

Then go to your Dashboard, Updates. At the bottom will be the option to update translations. If you have changed your language in Settings, there will be an update in translations. Go ahead and update it.

That's it. A simple process and a simple fix to have your site in your preferred English.

Spelling is tricky all on it's own. When you throw in different languages and cultures it gets down right complicated.

First, consider English and American spelling. Then throw in Canadian spelling, which is some combination of the two. Same for other countries in the commonwealth.

Have you seen words spelt with an s instead of a z? You would if you were English or from South Africa. Do you see words with a u in them or without a u in them? You would see them with added u if you were English or Canadian.

Which is right? How do you know which spelling to use? Will people think you just don't know how to spell? Possibly.

But the world is a big place, if you were writing locally you would spell for your readers. But, when you are writing on the Internet, your readers come from all over the world. Which spelling should you choose?

First, talk to your publisher or editor. Find out what they use for a standard. They call those style guides. It's a good idea for publications to have one. Not just for different spelling issues. If you're more or less on your own as for style, go with what comes naturally to you. It's hard to remember to spell a different way. Likely you'll miss a few anyway. You may hear from the odd reader who thinks you don't know how to spell. But, that just gives you something to chat about in your reply to them.

Is spelling an art or a science? I think I'll leave that as thought fodder for you.