Australian Dictionary - Australian English Dictionary - Spellcheck (spell check)

MyAnswers: Nine words added to Word Check.

2013-05-10T17:03:00.001+10:00

The following MyAnswers solution 2353 is now available:

Nine words added to Word Check.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)

Search Australia new features including searching using your choice of Google, Bing or Yahoo, quick access to a JustLocal postcode page and check if you're using the preferred Australian English spelling.

2013-05-09T11:04:00.001+10:00

Search Australia was added to JustLocal to give those who wish to search a search engine which focuses on Australian sites and removes many of the directories which have now taken over the internet. I’m pretty happy that if I search for ‘fish and chips’ in a local suburb, if the business has a web presence I can now see their page. Of course many small businesses don’t have a web presence which doesn’t help them or their customers. I’ve shown a number of local businesses how a site I’ve put on the internet for them can generate hundreds of leads a month but in the end they don’t seem to care.

The worst example of not providing up-to-date information is when I went into a fish and chip shop in Doncaster Road. After placing the order via telephone the order was some 15% dearer. Every customer was complaining because like me they were ordering from an out-of-date menu and the business decided to increase their prices without letting them know. Had the business put their menu on the internet I would have known before I ordered and so potentially could everyone else. I’ve never used the business again so an out-of-date menu can and does lose businesses customers. A single page site assists hundreds of customers a year and is easily paid for by a single repeat customer. Small business can’t see if they don’t provide the tools people need they’ll go elsewhere and the bigger companies ARE providing online menus.

But I digress. The real purpose of this post is to let users of JustLocal know of three new features I’ve added to Search Australia, the search engine available on every JustLocal page and also available as an Add-in to Internet Explorer. If you add a single letter at the start of the search phrase you can select your preferred search engine, go to a JustLocal postcode page, or find out if you’re using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word.

1. Type in g, b, or y and go directly to Google, Bing or Yahoo. If you add a space and then your search query (such as ‘g fish and chips templestowe’) you’ll get search results for local fish and chips shops without all the directories. That is hopefully if they have a site you’ll get the actual business’ site.

2. Type in j and you’ll go to JustLocal. Type in j followed by a space and a postcode (such as ‘j 3106’) and you’ll go to the JustLocal postcode page. That’s a pretty convenient method to go direct to your local JustLocal postcode page. Keep in mind if your area isn’t covered you’ll get a place holder page with generic ads. As soon as a business or person in your area takes up the mantle to promote JustLocal in your area the generic page will be replaced with local information.

3. Type in w followed by a word and you’ll go direct to the Word Check page to check if you are using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word. You do need a password to see the answer. All clients of mine are provided with the password. In fact if you use Search Australia from JustLocal and type in ‘dictionary’, you’ll have access to Word Check for a while. A thank you for trying out Search Australia.

On top of removing dozens of directories now cluttering search results when using Google (not Bing or Yahoo) and the ability to enter a single word or couple of words to go to the top searched for sites by millions of users, these new features should make Search Australian even more useful. Clients are welcome to request the list of top site search terms. I don’t currently publish the terms on the internet because of the work involved collating the list so please feel free to ask for a copy to assist you in your searches.

Don’t forget, the most convenient way to use Search Australia is to use the link to add Search Australia as your default search engine in Internet Explorer. Then you can perform a search direct from the address bar in Internet Explorer. If everyone in Australia used Search Australia (heaven forbid as my server wouldn’t hold up to it) if could potentially save many hundreds of millions of searches when people are looking for major Australian companies, a TV guide and even the weather. Search engines want you to end up on their page to make money from advertising. I want you to get quickly to the site you want to get to.

For me the real test of whether or not something I’ve developed is worthwhile is whether I use it myself or not. Search Australia is my preferred search tool. It doesn’t stop me from using Google, and in fact if I want to use Google I simply enter the letter ‘g’ and I go direct to Google. I can quickly decide which search engine I’d prefer and not be stuck with just one. With one or two words I access most of the popular sites such as ANZ, eBay, Gumtree, Freeview (TV guide) etc., so it makes sense to use Search Australia rather than end up hunting through Google results that have become so cluttered. I hope you find Search Australia useful too.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

Alert: Please log off Google services such as Gmail and YouTube when using my sites.

2013-05-07T11:02:00.001+10:00

Disturbingly I’m now seeing up to 50 per cent of people reaching my sites who may be logged on to a Google service and so could be tracked at the individual level.

I use Google’s blogger, Analytics and sometimes Google advertising on my sites. If you are logged on to a Google service your activities can be linked to you as an individual. What you are doing on the internet can thus potentially be tracked to you as an individual.

What people don’t know is when you visit a site which has advertising on it, that advertising is often provided by Google. Many sites use Google’s Analytics software to record statistics for their sites. As you move from site to site your activities can potentially be recorded as an individual.

As you read the major daily news sites, as you search for information, when you go to many sites on the internet your activities can be tracked to you as an individual. In addition it is also possible your location is being tracked without your knowledge because often the internet address you use to access the internet is known to be in a certain area.

It is up to each person to decide whether this matters to them or not. If it does matter to you then consider logging out of all Google services (and potentially other services). When you are logged on to services you can be tracked individually and a profile of you and your activities can be created. Some of this information can potentially end up in the wrong hands. The most obvious outcome is you’ll be directly marketed to and could end up paying more for products and services.

We can’t stop the government and companies collecting information, but most people aren’t aware that their activities on the internet can be tracked to them individually. Because more than 90% of Australians use Google for searching, if they are logged on to Google services (my logs are indicating up to 50% of people may be logged onto a Google service when they reach my sites) then your activities across the internet may be being recorded.

Log off online services as soon as you are finished with them. Don’t keep services such as Gmail and YouTube logged on and running in the background. This doesn’t just apply to Google. Any service that you are logged in and has software they’ve created installed on another site could be doing the same. The type of services that come to mind are social networking services. Where a site you visit displays a button from a social networking service you don’t know what that code does and neither do I. The code could be tracking you. By logging off you reduce some of your online activities being tracked.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

Victor Harbor is spelt using the American spelling.

2013-04-29T13:44:00.001+10:00

Where does a person interested in the preferred Australian English spelling go for a short break? A place in Australia that uses American spelling. Yes. I thought I'd drop into Victor Harbor and see what I could uncover about the strange spelling for an Australian location.

What I did find didn't really give me a definitive answer, but it did show people using the different spellings of 'Harbor' over a period of time from around 1890 through to 1940/50. More recently however it does feel the spelling has settled and standardised on the American spelling.

I visited the Victor Harbor Information Centre and asked the question about the spelling. They've obviously been asked the question many times before as they had an information page titled "Why is Victor Harbor spelt without the 'U'?"

According to the information page "All six (6) Harbors in South Australia are spelt witho a 'u'." The harbours listed were: Outer Harbor, Franklin Harbor, Rosetta Harbor, Victor Harbor, Blanche Harbor and Yatala Habor.

The reason given for the spelling being, "It can be surmised from the above spelling of all South Australian Harbour's with the 'u' that it originated probably from a spelling error made by an early Surveyor General of South Australia." (Note the use of the possessive apostrophe is from the information page.)

Personally I'm not convinced that it was necessarily a spelling error. It is hard to guess why something was done in the past using our current frame of reference. The township name was gazetted in 1914 as the 'Municipal Town of Victor Harbor'. Once gazetted that would tend to become the norm for government use. Spelling error perhaps, or could it be spelling preference? Who really knows!

I also decided to check the six listed harbours and found interestingly using Google maps that some appeared to be spelt with 'our' but that it was easy to be confused. If checking the spelling it is best to use the South Australian State Gazetteer using the PlaceNames Online tool. All of the above spellings were confirmed using the Gazetteer. Also interesting is you'll find inconsistent spelling such as the 'Outer Harbour Post Office' where the spelling for the Post Office differs from the spelling for the location.

One of the features of Victor Harbor is Granite Rock which is a lovely walk across a walkway over the water. A plaque on the rocks dated 1924 had the spelling 'Victor Harbour'. I'm sure the spelling caused no end of discussion for locals of the time.

In the end perhaps we just need to consider the spelling of place names have a history and accept the spelling as correct, even if it does vary from the usual convention.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Is it jewelry, jewellery or jewelery?

2013-04-22T16:52:00.001+10:00

A while ago I was in Delphi (Greece) and walked outside the hotel and across the road was a big sign on the shop 'Jewelry'. Weird I thought.

The American spelling is 'jewelry' and the Australian spelling (which appears to be the same for the UK) is 'jewellery'.

The spelling 'jewelery' is referenced in Wiktionary as being a legitimate spelling in Britain along with 'jewellery'. So far I've not found an authoritative reference to confirm the spelling 'jewelery' to be a correct spelling in the UK, America or Australia.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

British English, American English and Australian English site now live.

2013-04-19T23:46:00.001+10:00

Recently a number of overseas people have used a copy of my dictionary work and in particular one person was using my Australian English Exclude file for editing British English documents. In order to edit the document they would set the spelling to Australian English, use my Exclude file which would then provide the preferred British English spelling. I'm thankful to this person for letting me how they were using my work as I then built a British English copy of the Exclude file to assist them. It is feedback like this which helps me determine what people need and what could be useful. Whilst creating the copy of the British English Exclude file is done at a loss, it is hoped in time that it will generate enough revenue to pay for itself.

That got me thinking that over the years I have built a number of online services and created a number of word lists. Some of the word lists are open source so I could provide those word list files for a small distribution fee and that would help those wanting a British, American, or Australian English word list files. I could also provide the online tool Word Check for each of the languages. Any feedback from users could then be used to improve the word lists which to me is how open source can work.

To get the ball rolling I've now created the site www.English-Dictionary.com.au as an umbrella site with links to a range of dictionary resources I've created. Word Check is now available for Australian, British and American English. Word Check is password protected with the password being provided to anyone contributing either by purchasing a dictionary file or providing a link to either of the dictionary sites www.English-Dictionary.com.au or www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au.

My commercial work will still continue as it currently is. The open source material will evolve based on the feedback of others.

There is still quite a bit to be done with the site www.English-Dictionary.com.au, but I felt it is best to launch the site so that others can take advantage of the material rather than wait until everything is done (where really nothing is ever fully done).

Enjoy,

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

British English Word Check Hints and Tips

2013-04-19T23:19:00.001+10:00

This blog entry aims to provide a collection of hints and tips for using the British English version Word Check. British English Word Check is an online service which enables you to check the spelling of a word and if you haven't entered the correct spelling, a list of suggested words will be presented.

Please feel free to suggest words, or to challenge existing words (in a nice way of course). The input you provide will help evolve the British English dictionary word list. The British English word list is open source licensed as LGPL and is available for a small distribution fee.

TIPS:

Word Check requires a password. This is available to clients of Online Connections and anyone purchasing a dictionary product.
Word Check in many instances is more accurate than a spellchecker as it allows you to check against the list of actual words, which can include spaces, hyphens, periods and apostrophes.
Word Check doesn't allow you to create words using prefixes and suffixes which may not be actual usage. For example typing non-non as a word is often valid when using a spellchecker.
Word Check is case sensitive. Enter the word as you would write it. For example type in England and not england. If you type in england without the first letter being capitalised, the result will be Not Found.
If you wish to look up the meaning of a word don't use plurals or possessives. Use the base word. Also generally use lower case unless the word requires the first letter or all letters as upper case otherwise the word's definition won't be found.
In general enter words in lower case and with the letters correctly capitalised. For example enter London and not london. Entering london will result in the message Not Found but a list of suggestions will be provided.
If you enter a word in all capitals, as would be used in a heading, the word will be compared with the words in the dictionary converted to capitals. You should avoid entering words in capitals so you can determine the correct capitalisation. You shouldn't assume that if you now use the word which was in capitals in lower case it will be correct. For example LONDON will be found, but london will not be found.
There is quite a bit of confusion as to whether some words should be a single word, a hyphenated word, or contain a space between two or more words. Word Check aims to provide the correct variation. Try all three variations to determine the correct spelling. For example "ice cream" is the preferred spelling, but to determine which is the preferred spelling, you may wish to try "icecream" and "ice-cream". Keep in mind there are standard phrases which use hyphens, but when writing you can hyphenate words are required which wouldn't be in the word list. For words you hyphenate through your own choice you may need to check the spelling of the words individually.
You may wish to check the meaning of a word and not just the spelling of a word. Many words which are very similar, only differ by one letter, yet can mean very different things, such as meter and metre, or confirmation and conformation.
Word Check aims to provide the correct spelling variations for a word, including possessives and plurals. These are not readily available in other dictionaries and can often be the hardest to determine as being correct. For example Word Check includes: dog, dogs and dog's.

Today I was asked if the recent updates I've made to the Australian dictionary files are suitable for Firefox/Thunderbird.

2013-04-16T23:01:00.000+10:00

Today I sent an email to the user of my Australian dictionary files. One person asked the following question.

"I use Mozilla Firefox as my browser & Thunderbird for email. Are the upgrades you've done compatible/suitable for use with these programmes?"

So that others know here is my response.

"Sadly I decided some time ago (about 3-4 years) to stop supporting and promoting open source. After Firefox/Thunderbird incorporated my open source work and then Google did the same in their Chrome browser and both gave nothing back, it really didn’t seem to make much sense. Now I focus on commercial products. To me the irony is all the projects needed to do was to link to my work and everyone would have gained. Instead my work became hidden in the larger projects and nothing came back as a result. I trust you’ll understand."

My focus is now on providing my work to people who use Microsoft software and those who wish to use my online Word Check tool. My dictionary files now cover Microsoft Office on both Windows computers and Mac computers and also Internet Explorer 10. I am always interested in reviewing other programs but it has to be a fair and reasonable and two way.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

British and American terms for the British Oxford dictionary site.

2013-04-11T09:03:00.001+10:00

I found the page below today on the British Oxford dictionary site which I thought was quite interesting. It is a list of British and equivalent American terms. What I find interesting are the American terms I now use instead of the British, such as eggplant. I wouldn’t even know what a aubergine is. I wonder how many Australians would know what to get if you asked them to pick up an aubergine at the supermarket. Yet on the other hand I’ve never given in to saying aluminum, even though my science teacher in high school used the word all the time.

There are also many cases in which the two varieties of English use different terms to describe the same thing. Here’s a list of various British words and expressions together with their American equivalents.... Read More

One time when I was providing computer support to a young client I remarked, “haven’t you noticed your computer is set to American English”. She asked, “why?” “The spelling is color and not colour”, I remarked. She said, “that is how I spell the word”. I asked, “how come?” She said, “I just do, why?” I said, “I find that strange as it is the American spelling”. She said, “my teacher in secondary school was American, which probably explains why I spell it that way”. Whilst I would never use spelling color, I heard recently the use of color as a spelling is more prevalent in Victoria than other states. I wonder why that would be?

One word which stood out is the British use ‘boiler suit’, the Americans use ‘coveralls’, whereas I would use ‘overalls’. As for ‘bumbag’ the American expression is just not appropriate here. Somehow I don’t think ‘I’m a diamante cowboy’ wouldn’t have been quite as popular as ‘I’m a rhinestone cowboy’. I had no idea the terms were synonymous. Don’t even think about asking an American to meet you on the ‘first floor’ as you’ll end up on different floors. The list certainly makes for a few chuckles.

How many words on the list have become standard use for you?

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Is it web site, website or Web site?

2013-04-10T14:03:00.001+10:00

The Australian English language is an interesting creature which continues to evolve and change over time. The word I'd like to consider today is 'web site', 'website' or 'Web site'.

According to The Australian Oxford Dictionary Sixth Edition, the primary spelling is 'web site' as two words. The single word spelling 'website' is considered a secondary spelling. If you check the Macquarie Dictionary Fifth Edition the preferred spelling is 'website' as a single word and 'web site' as two words is a secondary spelling variation. When the authoritative references don't agree it can be hard to determine the preferred spelling in Australia, but this does happen more than one might expect.

Many editors refer the 'Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers, 6th Edition' which is an Australian Government publication and what we find is the following in the section relating to computer and internet terms. We find the sentence 'For example, lower case appears to be the predominant usage for web site, which is also often seen as one word.' The only problem with the Style Manual is the sixth edition was published in 2002 (reprinted with corrections in 2003, reprinted in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010) and whilst the language can change slowly in some areas, some areas change much more quickly.

Using these three resources the weighting would appear to favour 'web site' as two words and that is currently what I use in my dictionary work. The two word variation 'Web site' with the capitalised first letter is not mentioned in the above references. As can be seen by the sentence in the Style Manual the lower case usage has become predominant, so at least we can rule out 'Web site' as the preferred Australia English spelling. However, 'web site' and 'website' need examined further.

Based on various searches of the internet for Australian sites, using different search engines, using a variety of filters, in all cases the predominant usage is 'website'.

I find one of the hardest things we can do with our own use of the language is to change the spelling of a word when we've used the one spelling for so long. In this case my earlier research indicated 'web site' to be the preferred spelling, but now a few years later this isn't the case. For me I have to bite the bullet and adjust my site according. The online service Word Check will be updated today and the dictionary files for Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer will be updated and released as time permits.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Word Check and links to the meaning of words.

2013-04-04T11:07:00.001+11:00

This week I received feedback from a person on Word Check. Word Check is designed to provide people with the ability to check if they are using the preferred Australian English spelling. The database contains nearly 60,000 words I've collected and researched.

However, whilst knowing the correct and preferred spelling is good, sometimes having the ability to check if you are using the correct word by looking up the meaning and seeing examples, assists people further. For that reason I provide the ability to check the meaning of words using a third party site. I checked quite a few sites before settling on the site I currently use. Unfortunately it is not perfect. I can't influence the information the site provides and sometimes the site provides unexpected results. However given there isn't another suitable site it is a compromise I'm willing to take as long as people are aware. When clicking on a word to check the meaning please keep in mind you are leaving my site, and whilst the third party site is very good, ultimately you should be aware it is not under my control.

To me it is better to have first checked the spelling of a word and if you are using the preferred Australian English spelling first using Word Check, than to go direct to any other existing dictionary site on the internet. No other site I've found will provide the preferred Australian English spelling and often people aren't aware the site they are using contains American spelling, British spelling, or even deliberate misspellings which whilst designed to direct people to the correct spelling, may not be totally clear that is their intent.

When using the link in Word Check to check the meaning of the word, please keep in mind the link takes you to a third party site outside of my control. This is a compromise, but I believe it assists people by providing the links. Should I get sufficient feedback that the links to the meaning of words is causing people issues, I'm more than happy to review the use of the links.

Thank you for the feedback Jodie.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Hungry Jack's has a very important employee.

2013-03-26T20:14:00.002+11:00

Every time I drive through the Hungry Jack's drive-through the following sign catches my attention.

I can't help but wonder who the special employee is that is so important to Hungry Jack's. Of course there isn't a single employee, but an apostrophe out by just one character position can make quite a difference.

Have you seen a sign that catches your attention and amuses you?

Kelvin Eldridge
Creator and maintainer of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Apologies for the short outage for looking up the meaning of a word.

2013-03-26T10:18:00.001+11:00

Thanks Wendy for letting me know that the link to look up the meaning of a word was not working correctly. This has now been updated and is working as expected.

Apologies to anyone for any inconvenience.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

What are 'earworms'?

2013-03-26T09:52:00.001+11:00

I read an article recently about earworms and thought “there’s a term that isn’t in my dictionary” and probably shouldn’t currently be in the dictionary. So what then are earworms?

What are 'earworms'?... Read More

Earworms are those tunes that get stuck in your head. I remember one friend at university said he did terrible in an exam because just before the exam started he got a tune in his head and couldn’t get rid of it. Sometimes earworms can be pleasant and sometimes they can be annoying. The problem is that reading about earworms starts you thinking about those tunes that keep playing over and over in your head. Try to shake them and it can be hard.

The good thing is the research shows ways of getting rid of earworms. In effect you need to do something mentally challenging with the example given being anagrams. I’m not good at anagrams so that one is out for me.

It is good that people research things like earworms but I do worry that if they figure out exactly what makes a good earworm and can perfect creating earworms, marketing people will use the knowledge gained to create earworms that we can’t escape from. As always knowledge can be used for good and sometimes, not so good.

Enjoy.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

The word OK turns 174 today. It's OK to celebrate.

2013-03-23T12:51:00.001+11:00

It was on this day 174 years ago that that most modest yet useful of words was born. Allan Metcalf, an Illinois professor of English who reckons OK is not just America's most successful word, but may be the greatest word in the English language.... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Password again required to access Word Check

2013-02-28T10:06:00.001+11:00

I've made Word Check available without restriction to the general public for many months now. Thousands of people a month use Word Check to check the spelling of words and also to see if they're using the preferred Australian English spelling, but unfortunately I find people just come and go and contribute nothing in return.

There's nothing wrong with this as this is how we all are on the internet. With open source software I found most people took and very few gave anything back and that included the open source projects who also used my work such a Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Unfortunately I can't be that generous as I have a family to support so my time has to now be focused on the people who value my time and efforts sufficiently to give something in return.

My apologies for any inconvenience.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 is now available for Australians.

2013-02-27T02:43:00.000+11:00

Exciting news.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 has now been released by Microsoft and is available for download. I’ve downloaded and installed Internet Explorer 10 and also installed the preferred Australian English spelling file I provide to clients and it works as expected. Now thousands of secondary spelling variations which exist in the standard Australian English dictionary provided by Microsoft, will be marked as spelling errors. Now “mom” for example will be marked as a spelling error, as will the many “ize” spelling variations, American spellings and errors I’ve identified in the standard dictionary.

At last the preferred Australian English spelling can now be made available to Internet Explorer 10 users on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

In the next couple of days I’ll update the instructions for Windows 7, but for those who can’t wait, go to http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/internet-explorer/ and purchase a copy of the preferred Australian English spelling file. The steps to install the file are the same.

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

Is it wellbeing or well-being?

2013-02-26T22:34:00.001+11:00

when researching the words wellbeing and well-being, the Australian Oxford doesn't list wellbeing at all, but the Macquarie dictionary lists wellbeing as the primary spelling and well-being as a secondary spelling.

When I find inconsistency in the leading authoritative references in Australia, I like to check Australian usage. Previously Yahoo was an excellent search engine to use, but over time this has become less so. Google isn't that good either. If you search using Pages from Australia with Google, you'd expect to get pages from Australia, but what you actually get I really can't say, making it pretty useless for any analysis.

Google however enables people to create their own search engine. A while ago I created a search engine to only include sites which have a .au domain (http://www.justlocal.com.au/search/australia/). Using the subset of pages produced by the custom search engine you get a good feeling as to the use of words in Australia.

Using http://www.justlocal.com.au/search/australia/ and searching for wellbeing and well-being, the results are 3.57 million and 1.38 million pages respectively. A good indication that wellbeing is now used considerably more than well-being and thus supporting the entry in the Macquarie dictionary as compared to the Australian Oxford dictionary.

My dictionary work aims to provide the preferred Australian English spelling of words, which means when checking the two words using Word Check (http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/), the preferred spelling in Australia is wellbeing.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Check the spelling of a word using Word Check for free.

2013-02-23T21:02:00.001+11:00

To my knowledge, the Word Check tool I've created and provide for free on the internet, is the only tool which enables people to check the Australian English spelling of a word and then easily look up the meaning of the word. In addition, Word Check is the only online tool to provide the preferred Australian English spelling.

Many people will dismiss the importance of good or even reasonable spelling. The following article shows that 54% of recruiters frown on poor spelling (second to profanity at 61%) on the social media sites of potential candidates

Want a job? Check the spelling on your Facebook profile... Read More
If you're not sure of the spelling of a word, check the spelling using Word Check, which is available at http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/.

Two other tools you may find of interest are the preferred Australian English spelling for Microsoft Office and the preferred Australian English spelling for Internet Explorer 10. When spelling really matters, using the preferred Australian English spelling will give you the best result. The preferred Australian English spelling is only available from Online Connections. I created and maintain the preferred Australian English spelling because to me it matters.

So for those who wish to keep their online presence as professional as possible and increase the chances of landing that ideal job, add the preferred Australian English spelling to Internet Explorer 10 and update your social media sites knowing you're using the preferred Australian English spelling. Since the preferred Australian English spelling is only available for Internet Explorer 10, those using Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari will be at a disadvantage and for you that's a bonus.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
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Offence or offense?

2013-02-20T20:27:00.000+11:00

Recently for some reason, I thought about the spelling variations offence and offense. I don’t know why, but I wondered how confusing the spelling of this word could be. We are so used to seeing similar words such as licence and license, that it would be easy to use the incorrect spelling. Luckily the situation in Australia is very clear.

The spelling in Australia is offence. Offense is the American spelling.

Interestingly, if you perform a search using Google for just pages from Australia, for “I took offence” and “I took offense”, the number of results returned are 33,300 and 162,000 respectively. That means a staggering proportion of over eighty per cent of pages on Australian sites are using the incorrect spelling.

If you’re in doubt about the correct or preferred Australian English spelling of a word, you can use my Word Check tool located at http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/. If you’d like to use the preferred Australian English spelling with Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer 10, you can find products on the Australian Dictionary site www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au.

Kelvin Eldridge
Creator and maintainer of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

UPDATE: The results from Google just didn't feel right. I decided to redo the test using my Custom Search Engine (which uses Google services) and limits pages to domains ending in .au. The search engine can be found at http://www.justlocal.com.au/search/australia/. This test shows most pages use the correct spelling. Not really sure what Google is then displaying when it comes to pages from Australia.

Should it be cannot or can not?

2013-02-08T16:48:00.001+11:00

I was reading the following article by Andrew Birch and thought the digression in the comments about the wording of the title was interesting.

Setting The Story Straight On Windows RT & Why Firefox And Chrome Can Not And Should Not Be There... Read More

The original article was published using “cannot” and was later changed to “can not”. I don’t know about others, but something as seemingly minor as the use of cannot or can not would catch me out as well.

Checking the Australian Oxford Dictionary and the Macquarie Dictionary doesn’t really help either. At best the Macquarie states “a form of can not” and the Oxford simply gives the meaning of cannot as “can not”. So no real clarification from the authoritative references.

The online UK Oxford dictionary does provide some assistance with the definition of cannot. According to the online UK Oxford dictionary “Both the one-word form cannot and the two-word form can not are acceptable, but cannot is more common.” The online Oxford states the two-word is better “only in a construction in which not is part of a set phrase, such as ‘not only ... but (also)’: Paul can not only sing well, he also paints brilliantly”.

To me this means we think of “Paul can” and then the rest of the sentence. This isn’t the same situation as “can not and should not”.

I decided to check the usage in Australia using the returned results from Google with only pages from Australia. There was a fairly even split at 1.38 and 1.44 million for cannot and can not respectively. Not enough to state there was an overwhelming preference for one form versus another. Using the UK version of Google and only UK pages, the use was overwhelmingly for the two-word form.

What is interesting is Microsoft Word marks “can not” with a blue squiggly line which could cause many to change the two-word form to a single word. This is an example of a word processing tool making a suggestion and changing how someone writes. In this case the suggestion isn’t strictly wrong, but suggesting a change when it may not be necessary may be considered wrong of the word processor.

Based on this information the article by Andrew mentioned above, Andrew didn’t need to change the title as both variations are correct. Which variation is preferred is also difficult to determine. Whilst the UK Oxford would indicate the single-word form would be preferred, usage on the internet does not confirm the statement. In addition, whilst the UK Oxford may state something, I’m interested in the preferred Australian English spelling and our spelling has in many instances diverged from the UK spelling in terms of the preferred spelling.

Unfortunately at this time, this is one of those situations where I can’t give guidance to others. You have to love our language.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Is it en suite or ensuite?

2013-02-07T17:41:00.001+11:00

I checked these two words quite some time ago but I have to admit, I’d forgotten which one is the preferred spelling. My free online tool Word Check (which provides the preferred Australian English spelling), does give “ensuite” as the preferred spelling, but when I type “ensuite” in a Microsoft application it comes up as a spelling error. I decided to recheck the word.

The Australian Oxford lists “en suite” and has “ensuite” as a secondary spelling. The Macquarie dictionary provides both words, but the spelling we’re interested in is “ensuite”. That is the spelling for the small utility room which adjoins a bedroom. The word “en suite” in the Macquarie dictionary is listed as a French word and thus is not the spelling we’d use in Australia.

It is not unusual for the Oxford and the Macquarie to differ in the preferred spelling. When this happens I then see what the general usage is in Australia using the search engines and only including pages from Australia. Often one spelling will have much greater use than another. In general the search engines return “ensuite” at roughly a ratio of four to one.

For this reason I accept the Macquarie’s entry over the Oxford this time.

Kelvin Eldridge
Creator of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 release date.

2013-02-02T00:20:00.001+11:00

Another hint that Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 is getting closer is the release of the Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10.

The Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10 is used to stop the automatic updating of Internet Explorer by Windows Update. This is important in large organisations where they don't want to risk breaking web applications by installing a more recent browser.

Looking back, Internet Explorer 9 was released on the 14th of March 2011. The blocker toolkit was released on the 10th of February 2011which is roughly a month before.

This may mean that we might expect Internet Explorer 10 sometime in March, but I still hold out hope for an earlier release.

I'm looking forward to the release of Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 as it means more people will be able to take advantage of the preferred Australian English spelling I provide, if as expected spellchecking is built in.

I already supply the preferred Australian English spelling to users of IE10 under Windows 8 via the site www.australain-dictionary.com.au.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.

Apple's Do Not Disturb feature advertisement spelling of Favourites incorrect.

2013-01-30T13:31:00.002+11:00

I noticed on television recently the Apple advertisement highlighting their Do Not Disturb feature. What caught my eye was the spelling of Favourites as Favorites.

Where possible I like to set my user interface to use Australian English. The iPhone doesn't directly support Australian English, so the next best option is to select British English. At least this way the American English spelling isn't used.

The ad caught my attention because I hadn't seen the ability in the iPhone to set the Do Not Disturb feature further than turning it on and off. The ad showed there were more settings, so where were they, and was the spelling really Favorites.

A bit of investigation showed the options for the Do Not Disturb feature were hidden under Notifications. I often find Apple rearranges the user interface over time and having the settings for Do Not Disturb in a separate area isn't quite logical, so I suspect this will be rearranged in time. However once you know the feature is under Notifications you can then change the settings.

Since I've set my iPhone to use British English spelling I was pleased to see the spelling was the correct spelling of Favourites. Looks like Apple simply reuses the ads they created for America on Australian TV.

What started as checking the spelling on the Apple iPhone user interface ended up being a useful diversion, as it showed me there were more options behind the Do Not Disturb feature. I'm always amazed when an interest in the Australian English spelling takes me on journey.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
Creator and maintainer of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.

Herald Sun article contains the spelling license instead of licence.

2013-01-04T11:11:00.001+11:00

Spelling a word such as licence correctly can be quite difficult. What I find doesn’t help is when a newspaper uses the incorrect spelling of a word. This article in the Herald Sun uses the American spelling of licence instead of the Australian English spelling.

A DRINK-DRIVING P-plater has had his car impounded and license suspended after police discovered two teenagers in the boot of the overloaded vehicle. ... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.