BRITISH ENGLISH VS AMERICAN ENGLISH - WHICH COLO(U)R ARE YOU?

COLOR VS COLOUR

More and more people around the world are speaking English. We were curious to know which type of English they’re using: British English or American English? Since spelling is one of the most basic differences between British and American English, we analyzed the

spelling norm of the main English-language newspapers in 126 countries, specifically looking at “color” vs. “colour.”

Though “color” is the more popular spelling worldwide, the gap is small (54% to 46%). Moreover, many newspapers did not adhere to one consistent spelling of color and used both interchangeably. Proximity and historic contact with the United States or Great Britain explains

some of these preferences.

Color68 countries54% of the world

Colour58 countries46% of the world

AFRICA

AMERICAS

ASIA

OCEANIA

VS

VS

VS

VS

VS

Color11 countries

46% of Africa

Color18 countries

82% of Americas

Color23 countries61% of Asia

Color15 countries

42% of Europe

Color1 countries

17% of Oceania

Colour13 countries

54% of Africa

Colour4 countries

18% of Americas

Colour15 countries39% of Asia

Colour21 countries

58% of Europe

Colour5 countries

83% of Oceania

Angola

Egypt

The Gambia

Tanzania

Ghana

Uganda

Morocco

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Tunisia

Algeria

Kenya

Cameroon

Namibia

Libya

Rwanda

Botswana

Lesotho

Ethiopia

Nigeria

Malawi

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Bahamas Bolivia

Argentina

Canada

Trinidadand Tobago

Barbados

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Suriname

Ecuador

Guatemala

Venezuela

Honduras

Peru

Panama

Jamaica

Mexico

CostaRica

Dominica

DominicanRepublic

UnitedStates

of America

Armenia

Philippines

Nepal

Israel

South Korea

Japan

Indonesia

China

Malaysia Singapore

Afghanistan

Lebanon

Macau

Yemen

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Kuwait

Azerbaijan

Mongolia Thailand

Laos

Cambodia

Vietnam

Maldives

India Jordan

Hong Kong

Myanmar

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Oman

Kyrgyzstan

Brunei

Bangladesh

Bhutan

TaiwanKazakhstan

Iraq

Lithuania

Norway

Poland

Russia

Turkey

Ukraine

Netherlands

Monaco

Latvia

Czech Republic

Estonia

Greece

BelarusSwedenItaly

PortugalAustria

Ireland

Malta

Romania

Slovakia

SwitzerlandBelgium

Croatia

Spain Albania

UnitedKingdom

Cyprus

Finland

Germany

Hungary

Iceland

Georgia

France

Denmark

Luxembourg

Fiji Australia

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Vanuatu

HOW STRONG IS THE PREFERENCE?

EF EDUCATION FIRST

We had anticipated that these 126 countries’ English-language newspapers would have one consistent spelling preference. We were surprised to find that only seven newspapers used one spelling exclusively; the rest used both spellings interchangeably, some nearly split even. Even The New York Times had a few instances of “colour” and BBC a few “color.” Copy editors around the world seem tolerant of both spellings in today’s fast-paced, globalized news stream.

Very Strong

Strong

Moderate

Weak

Very Weak

54 COUNTRIES

29 COUNTRIES

15COUNTRIES

16 COUNTRIES

12 COUNTRIES

Rate of Usage for the Preferred SpellingVery Strong Preference 90-100%Strong Preference 80-89%Moderate Preference 70-79%Weak Preference 60-69%Very Weak Preference 51-59%No Preference 50%

EF Education First is the world’s leading international education company. Established in 1965 with the mission to break down barriers of language, culture, and geography, EF has more than 460 schools and offices in over 50 countries. EF specializes in language learning, educational travel, academic degrees, and cultural exchange

programs. EF served as the Official Language Training Supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and is currently the Official Language Training Supplier of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. EF publishes the EF

English Proficiency Index (www.ef.com/epi).

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