Webster's House in the USA

Color or colour? Which spelling and why? The reason for the change to simple spelling in the USA became clear to me years ago when I lived in the USA and I went to visit Webster's House. We had passed it and I saw the sign and I insisted that we stopped.

I had often seen Webster's Dictionary, a US dictionary which I had never bothered to consult or buy until I went to the USA where it was in every bookshop  and since I was in the USA it seemed a good opportunity.  (In England we tended to go for the Oxford Dictionary).

But until I visited the museum I never realised that Webster had compiled the entire dictionary himself, not just published it. What's more, he had completely revised American spelling and also published grammar books. Not ignorantly, but deliberately. Not copying what others did, but setting a new standard for Americans, especially American immigrants, to follow.

I believe there are other sites connected with Webster and dictionaries. In the UK you can visit many homes of authors. It would be interesting to note the dates of Webster's first publication and look at old books and see how he influenced spelling in the USA at what dates and which authors and if any authors changed their spelling in later books.

Probably the docents (in the UK we say guides) would be able to tell you, or sell you a book on his life.

Let me give you an indication of the kind of conundrum which still perplexes speakers and authors today, both native English speakers and Americans and speakers from other countries.

This is what I wrote on my grammar blog and on Facebook:

Angela Lansbury

A friend on Facebook asked whether to use span out of control or spun.

My first reaction is definitely span, past definitive action. It span once yesterday. 

Spun is the past participle and passive. What is a past participle? A participle is a part of a verb which has two words, usually has or had as the first word to indicate previous to another past event. For example, I did it yesterday. I had done it the day before, in fact I had done it every day of my life. 

Therefore, I would say, I span it yesterday but it had spun the day before yesterday and prior to that it had been spun for years. He had spun it around, and it had been spun by several people. 

Many verbs don't have a past participle. But the verb to do has this distinction, because you often need to know when an action had been done (wow - three words for that tense). 

CHECKING DICTIONARIES

However, I could be wrong. However sure you are, still check three classic references. I haven't time to check but any big dictionary such as the Oxford Dictionary, one of the larger versions. 

When I was a sub-editor we checked three dictionaries and usually then picked our house style dictionary.  If still not sure - we sub-editors all held adamant views, we picked the majority of the sources, that is if two out of three dictionaries gave one answer, we took that as the most popular. 

Alternatively check a dictionary of English grammar, or a German-English and English German dictionary with a list of past participles will show you lists of all the verbs. 

Nowadays you should be able to get major dictionaries on line. American Webster simplified spelling and grammar to speed things up and make them easy for immigrants. 

WEBSTER'S House

If in the USA visit Webster's house. 

http://www.noahwebsterhouse.org/visiting/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster_House

Angela Lansbury, former sub-editor and teacher of English O level and A level and EFL, travel writer.