[USMA:34523] Re: spelling

[Daniel]

I would agree with most spelling reforms or maintaining some spelling differences between British English and American English, but metre and litre should not be part of the reform.  There is a sound logical reason to retain the -re spelling for these two words.   They allow to the wrods to be distinguished as units of measure as opposed to other meanings the words with the -er ending have,   A meter is a device used to measure.  A metre is a unit of measure.  In compound words the pronunciation of the complete word differs depending on whether the word ends in metre or meter.   We say ther-mom-et-er  when we spell it with the -er ending.  We say key-low-me-ter when we spell it with the -re ending.  The common mispronunciation of key-low-me-ter as kill-om-et-er is directly a result of the mis-spelling of the word.   A perfect example is the difference between a device called a micrometer (my-crom-et-er) for measuring small distance and a sub-unit of the metre called micrometre (my-crow-me-ter).    How much more simple can it be, or is logic and sense anathema to the American experience?   The other example is the word tonne.  It is much better word the the ugly _expression_ of 1000 kg as a metric ton.  Keep ton to mean 907 kg and use the tonne to mean 1000 kg.  Or are the extra two letters too complex for most people in the US only to comprehend?          I agree largely with Jim Elwell's response to you, by the way.   As a footnote, I was born and educated in England. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]