this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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English usage and grammar
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Perfect, I've got a question for you. Whenever I read articles I notice that many write, for example, internalize. With 'z' instead of an 's', there are many such words which end on '-lize' where I would expect an 's'. My understanding thus far was, that American English uses the 'z' and British English the 's' but is that always the case? Can I always change it to the version with 's'?
Look in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and they'll usually have -ize as the preferred spelling. The tendency in the 19th century was for American English with the Webster's Dictionary to go with -ize and in Britain it was mixed. In the late 20th century, the BBC and the Guardian began to make the -ise spelling more mainstream in Britain. With the Internet, both spelling styles began to appear everywhere. However, its never been a clear cut rule. American English has words like "advise," "surprise," "compromise," and "despise".
I'm often using a variety of computers and apps throughout the day the have me going back and forth between dictionaries and spellings, so I find myself using a mishmash of both. I suspect that's happening with a lot of people. When I am doing a project, I just note with style I need to use and remain consistent. Other then that all bets are off.
The "-ise" spelling is the one usually given as primary by the Cambridge dictionary, while the Oxford dictionary prefers "-ize". Oxford's reason for this is etymological. They give an interesting explanation under the entry -ize. I attach a snapshot below.
Edit: in summary, many of these verbs come from Greek forms corresponding to "-ize", and the change to "-ise" came later through French. The Oxford Dictionary people don't see why the French derivative should be preferred to the original form. As a consequence, they use "-ize" for verbs that have that etymology, but not for others: for instance the dictionary gives realize but also analyse, because the latter doesn't have the Greek "-ize" etymology.