The spelling of theatre in the US is used primarily for proper names and not in regular communication. The press style manual uses the er spelling in newspapers, and other publications.
Get the press to change its sty;le manual and you'll get the SI re spelling incorporated into the US society and publications. Stan Doore ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chimpsarecute" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "USMA" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 9:26 PM Subject: [USMA:28671] Re: Metric in Montgomery Co. > If I'm not mistaken, the French pronunciation of the re ending is that the e > is silent. Only when it is accented is it pronounced. > > I prefer metre when speaking of the SI unit of length and meter when > speaking of a device used to measure. For example: A micrometer > (my-crom-eh-ter) can be calibrated in micrometres (my-crow-me-ters). The > meaning and pronunciation both differ. The spelling difference alludes to > both the difference in meaning and pronunciation. > > A litre (lee-ter) is a metric unit of capacity, whereas a liter (lie-ter) > can be a marking pen such as a hy-liter or even a reference to being less > fattening. In both cases again, the spelling difference alludes to the > difference in meaning and pronunciation. Also, I've heard litre, when > spelled the wrong way pronounced like lit-ter, as in cat litter. The re > ending should alleviate this mispronunciation. > > The claim that Americans only use the er spelling is nonsense. Americans do > use the spelling theatre and centre on occasions. > > For these very sensible reasons I would stick with and promote the re > spellings for the units and leave the er spelling for non-metric terms and > concepts. > > Euric > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John S. Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: "USMA" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, 2004-02-13 20:29 > Subject: [USMA:28667] Re: Metric in Montgomery Co. > > > > On Friday 13 February 2004 11:09, Bill Hooper wrote: > > > Most people well versed in SI would recommend the spelling "metre" and > > > "litre" rather than "meter" and "liter". > > > > Not me. The spelling is usually "meter" and "liter" in American English. > The > > French pronounce the last e AFTER the r, so "metre" and "litre" are > phontic > > in their language. But here in the U.S. we pronounce the r last. I > suggest > > consulting an American dictionary to see what I mean. > > > > John > > > > >
