[Cryptography] The Strange Story of Satoshi Nakamoto's Spelling Choices: Part 1.

[Mark Rousell]

On 07/01/2021 15:58, bit wrote:
>
>  
>
> It’s quite interesting. I think most people outside of UK assume that
> -ise etc., is your default spelling. For instance, BBC’s site seems to
> prefer it.

Yes, I think that "ise" is vastly more common today, to the extent that
many people don't seem to realize[1] that "ize" is legitimate. The BBC
tries to follow the common herd so has chosen to use "ise".

Nevertheless, "ize" remains legitimate (to the extent that the unwritten
rules of British English can be "legitimate") and as far as I can tell
is still common in certain circles.

> But the bigger issue is that Satoshi wasn’t just inconsistent, he was
> inconsistent even when it came to the same words: decentrali/s/z/ed,
> optimi/s/z/ed etc. You can find the chart on our site. Could this be
> natural? – I.E., would your typical educated Brit go back and force?
> Also, what about words like: optimi/s/z/ation?

I would not normally expect someone to go back and forth between
spellings in that way. I'd have thought that most people, especially
educated or intelligent people, would be consistent. (This might just be
my prejudice though).

However, rather than being consciously intentional, it could be normal
for a particular person. For example, it might (just guessing) be an
indication of dyslexia. Or perhaps, as someone else suggested, it could
simply be a sign that a person doesn't care about spellings (which I
suppose might qualify as intentional).

As for "optimization"/"optimisation", my Concise Oxford Dictionary shows
that "optimize" is the main spelling with "optimise" as an alternative.
Thus I'd both "optimisation" and "optimization" would be correct.

> Send regards to your mom ))
>
Passed on and appreciated. :-)

> Also, I have been curious about coding in the UK. When you learn to
> code – do you use British spelling for variables? And generally
> speaking – global dominance of American pop culture must be affecting
> spelling norms?

I can only speak for myself for certain but I'd usually use British
spellings for variables. I've not really noticed when I've seen other
people's code. It's not like words where there could be different
spellings are necessarily very common, if you see what I mean.

As for the word "programme" or "program", I personally use "programme"
for the programme of events you might get at a concert but "program" for
a computer program. But that's just me. I suspect/guess that most UK
programmers would use "program" for computer programs. My Concise Oxford
Dictionary of 1983 shows that "programme" is British English spelling
but "program" is for "US & Computers".

When it comes to American pop culture and spelling norms: To an extent.
It seems to me to apply to whole words or concepts (mostly ones related
to ephemeral pop culture as far as I can tell) more than spellings of
existing words. Remember that the UK has its own strong pop culture that
also integrates US pop culture and that pop culture is not necessarily
the same as the written word.

For example, most younger people probably still spell a word like
"colour" with the "our" rather than as "color" (which is not only US
spelling but also an archaic British English spelling).

Texting has had a far greater impact on spelling than pop culture (US or
otherwise) I think.


Footnote:-

1: Yes, my Concise Oxford Dictionary has an entry for "realize" with
"realise" as an alternate spelling.


-- 
Mark Rousell
 
 
 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/attachments/20210107/06f9b516/attachment.htm>