Other language pairs don't have world-wide influence like English, so it isn't much of a problem with the other languages due to limited usage of those languages. I can see an American being confused by the word litre or metre if it is encountered in English text of unknown origin and not knowing what it is suppose to mean.
I can also see a non-American English speaker coming across the words liter and meter and not understanding them as intended. You won't be confusing anybody in the US if you promote the -re spelling and explain the logic behind it. In fact since there is a logic, there would be less confusion, especially if you point out that the spelling difference affects the pronunciation. Jerry ________________________________ From: John M. Steele <[email protected]> To: U.S.. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 7:56:16 AM Subject: [USMA:44847] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 Sorry, Pat I'm out to convince my fellow Americans to go metric. If NIST SP330 recommends -er, that's what I'm using, just to avoid adding confusion.. When they change, I'll change. I think on this board, we are all sophisticated enough to recognize there are multiple spellings out there.. This "problem" exists not only in British/American English, but in other language pairs as well. The only sensible rule is "everybody use what they are used to." (Pardon the split infinite.) --- On Sat, 4/25/09, Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> wrote: From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44843] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009, 5:51 AM Dear John F-L, Jerry, Patrick, John M S, and All, This article might help you decide which spelling you will choose for metre or meter, and litre or liter, and in what circumstances you will use them: http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf Cheers, Pat Naughtin Geelong, Australia On 2009/04/25, at 4:47 PM, John Frewen-Lord wrote: I agree with Jerry on this one. Both spellings are acceptable to me, but the -re spelling makes a bit more sense as a whole (and as Jerry points out harmonises with the rest of the world). Still, I would suggest the -re spelling is acceptable in the US. I don't know about the latest editions, but my copy of ASTM E 621 - 84, Standard Practice for the Use of Metric (SI) Units in Building Design and Construction (Committee E-6 Supplement to E 380) uses the -re spelling throughout (see attached scan). John F-L ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeremiah MacGregor To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 4:03 AM Subject: [USMA:44833] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 I can't believe the US is so arrogant that they have to make such an issue over spelling. I don't see why both ways can't be accepted. We use centre and theatre in the US, so why not litre and metre? Maybe it is time for the US to adopt the ISO and IEC standards. Being different in a global market is the surest way to lose business. A bankrupt economy doesn't have the option to go against the grain. That is most likely the main reason the US is bankrupt. Jerry ________________________________ From: Patrick Moore <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 12:48:35 PM Subject: [USMA:44783] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 Here are two answers for why to buy IEEE/ASTM SI-10 when BIPM is free. 1. To spell meter etc., the BIPM uses the spelling –re, which is unacceptable in edited American English. I mention this, realizing that some readers in this group are livid that metricians in the USA persist in opening our eggs at the small end. But there it is, one answer. 2. Many ASTM and IEEE standards - and so (we hope) many industry contracts - specify use of IEEE/ASTM SI-10. For many purposes in the USA, it can achieve regulatory force in a way that BIPM does not. It would be nice to download IEEE/ASTM SI-10 for free. I am not making a recommendation here, just answering a question.. My original question, asking for the latest edition, was bibliographic. ________________________________ From: Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]> Reply-To: <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:04:56 -0700 (PDT) To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44717] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 Why pay for a publication from the ANSI when the same information is available for free from the BIPM. http://www.bipm.org/en/si/ Jerry ________________________________ From: John M. Steele <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:01:31 PM Subject: [USMA:44688] Re: IEEE/ASTM SI-10 Latest edition is 2002. Here is a link to it at ANSI: http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=SI10-2002 That edition corresponds to 7th edition of SI Brochure. I understand it is currently being revised to latest edition of SI Brochure and NIST SP 330. I don't know the schedule, or the extent of revisions. . --- On Wed, 4/15/09, Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: From: Patrick Moore <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44687] IEEE/ASTM SI-10 To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 11:29 AM What is the latest publication year/edition of IEEE/ASTM SI-10, "Standard for the Use of the International System of Units (SI): The Modern Metric System"? It is difficult to find it in the ASTM catalog or website or the IEEE site: many documents reference it but the standard itself does not come up, for me anyway. Thanks. <ASTM scan.jpg> Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ to subscribe.
