Why do so many people write call centre?

[remy]

I'm wondering why there are so many people, even from non french speaking countries, that write call centre??

The only proper way to write Call center, as far as I'm concerned and the way I think it is officially written in English is

Call center!!!!!

[mikael]

In the UK, and other countries where the English spelling patterns follow the UK tradition, what you call "center" is properly spelled "centre." There are other terms which have different spellings as well, such as favour, honour, colour, etc.

To insist that only your preferred spelling form is appropriate and/or "correct" is rather arrogant, don't you think?

The purpose of language is supposed to be communication, not dominance.

[djdaley]

Bang.

Mikael strikes a blow.

I think we have all encountered such instances many times.

Relevance is low, as long as the meaning is understood.

How is "routing" pronounced? Should there be a "z" in specialize, or an "s",

Work by the laws of your own land.

Until we have a truly global customer base, this will not be a major issue!

[remy]

Sorry if you misunderstood me but I didn't mean to offend anyone and I didn't mean to sound arrogant either. However I was just wondering what the reason was behind the centre thing. I know f.e a city centre is written with tre, but I was under the impression that call center was an internationally accepted word and is always written (minus in French speaking countries) call center. That is also the dutch official spelling and that is taken from the English or American word call center. Might it be possible that in the US it's call center and in the UK it's call centre

[djdaley]

Remy,

Firstly thank you for clarifying your intentions. Written comments can be perceived in so many ways (is that ironic, considering the topic?).

To clarify origin :

The correct (official?) spelling - it is actually c-e-n-t-r-e.

This is a derivative of the French spelling, as many of our English words are.

The transformation into center is through a "phonetic adjustment" made by many western countries, including your own, so that the sounding represents the spelling (Centre would actually be pronounced "centry"if done phonetically). Subsequent adoption by that culture is then seen as the "accepted spelling".

Given this - you are correct in saying that the official (correct) spelling is C-E-N-T-E-R for your country. Here we have a different "official" (or correct) spelling.

Ettiquette is to spell the word as it is in your own country. So should you post information to a European (or Asia Pacific) region, your language / spelling should be reflective of what is right for you.

Hope this helps.

Interesting question on a lighter side - Why isn't the word "phonetic" spelled the way it sounds?

[remy]

Ok

That clarifies a lot. However even in the Netherlands lots of words are derived from French words and even German and English. I think we're probably the country (besides English speaking countries) that uses the most English words in it's language. Espescially modern words are very often derived from English. That's in fact is also the main reason why I am suprised that call center from which I presumed was an English (American) word is in fact an English word with centre spelled as a French (enlish) word. I knew this was the case with centre, however I expected the word call center to be an American English word....thus spelled center. As far as I know the American way for spelling centre is center. (you see I write with great precaution now ;-)).
So I assumed center to be the right spelling

[Harrigan]

"To insist that only your preferred spelling form is appropriate and/or "correct" is rather arrogant, don't you think?"

Probably no more arrogant than asking if someone is a professional on a general discussion board that crosses all levels of call center staff.

[mikael]

" Probably no more arrogant than asking if someone is a professional on a general discussion board that crosses all levels of call center staff."

Is it arrogant to ask if someone considers themselves a professional? Is it inappropriate to raise questions about such things in a forum which is a gathering place for people to share their knowledge about their chosen careers? If so, why?

Does professional status require one to be of a certaln level in an organization?

Please post your replies in the other thread -- if you're serious about your comment, of course.