"Oxford style" redirects here. For the Oxford or Harvard comma, see Serial comma.
Oxford spelling (also Oxford English Dictionary spelling, Oxford style, or Oxford English spelling) is a spelling standard, named after its use by the University of Oxford, that prescribes the use of British spelling in combination with the suffix -ize in words like realize and organization, in contrast to use of -ise endings.
Oxford spelling is used by many British-based academic/science journals (for example, Nature) and many international organizations (for example, the United Nations and its agencies).[1][2][3] It is common for academic, formal, and technical writing for an international readership (see Usage). In digital documents, Oxford spelling may be indicated by the IETF language tagen-GB-oxendict (or historically by en-GB-oed).[4]
Oxford spelling uses the suffix ‑ize alongside ‑yse: organization, privatize and recognizable, rather than organisation, privatise and recognisable – alongside analyse, paralyse etc. The Oxford University Press states that the belief that ‑ize is an exclusively North American variant is incorrect.[5] The Oxford spelling affects about 200 verbs, and is favoured on etymological grounds, in that ‑ize corresponds more closely to the Greekroot, ‑izo, of most ‑ize verbs.[6]
The suffix ‑ize has been in use in the UK since the 15th century,[5] and is the spelling variation used in North American English. The OED lists the ‑ise form of words separately, as "a frequent spelling of ‑IZE ...":
This practice probably began first in French; in modern French the suffix has become ‑iser, alike in words from Greek, as baptiser, évangéliser, organiser, and those formed after them from Latin, as civiliser, cicatriser, humaniser.
Hence, some have used the spelling ‑ise in English, as in French, for all these words, and some prefer ‑ise in words formed in French or English from Latin elements, retaining ‑ize for those formed from Greek elements.
However, the suffix itself, whatever the element to which it is added, is in its origin the Greek ‑ιζειν, Latin ‑izāre; and, as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed, in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic. In this Dictionary the termination is uniformly written ‑ize. (In the Greek ‑ιζ-, the i was short, so originally in Latin, but the double consonant z (= dz, ts) made the syllable long; when the z became a simple consonant, /‑idz/ became īz, whence English /‑aɪz/.)
The Oxford use of ‑ize does not extend to the spelling of words not traced to the Greek ‑izo suffix. One group of such words is those ending in ‑lyse, such as analyse, paralyse and catalyse, which come from the Greek verb λύω, lyo, the perfective (aorist) stem of which is ‑lys-: for these ‑lyse is the more etymological spelling. Others include advertise, arise, compromise, chastise, disguise, improvise, prise (in the sense of open), and televise.[7][8]
In addition to the OUP's "Oxford"-branded dictionaries, other British dictionary publishers that list ‑ize suffixes first include Cassell, Collins and Longman.[9]
In the great -ize versus -ise debate, The Times has opted latterly for simplicity over a sort of erudition ... But in the Style Guide of 1992, the following entry appeared: "-ise, -isation: avoid the z construction in almost all cases." This is volcanic ground, with common usage straining the crust of classical etymology. This guidance is a revision of the Greek zeta root ending in the direction of a Latin ending and common usage: apologise, organise, emphasise, televise, circumcise. The only truly awkward result is capsize, which should be left in its Grecian peace.[8]
Oxford spelling is not necessarily followed by the staff of the University of Oxford. The university's style guide, last updated in 2016, recommended the use of -ise for internal use.[15]
Language tag comparison
The following table summarizes a few general spelling differences between five major spelling conventions. Note: en-GB simply stands for British English; it is not specified whether -ize or -ise should be used. The language tagen-GB-oxendict, however, demands the use of -ize and -ization.
^Cantrill, Stuart (25 April 2013). "50 Things You Might Not Know About Nature Chemistry". The Sceptical Chymist. Retrieved 5 May 2016. [W]e use Oxford English spelling. So, for all of you wondering why we put 'z's in lots of words that you don't think we should, hopefully that answers your question.
^ ab"United Nations Editorial Manual". New York: United Nations Publications. 1983.
^Three further examples: 1. Style Manual (2nd Revised ed.). UNESCO. 2004. 2. Hindle, W. H. (1984). Theron, Johan; Malania, Leo (eds.). A Guide to Writing for the United Nations (2nd ed.). UN Department of Conference Services. 3. "Words ending in -ize, -ise and -yse". WHO Style Guide. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2004. pp. 77–78. Where there is a choice between using the suffix -ize or -ise (e.g. organize or organise), -ize, derived from the Greek "-izo", is preferred, consistent with the first spelling of such words given in The concise Oxford dictionary [sic]. All use British -our spellings with Oxford -ize/-ization, except in proper names that have Organisation.
^IANA language subtag registry, IANA, with "en-GB-oed" added 9 July 2003 marked as grandfathered, and deprecated effective 2015-04-17, with "en-GB-oxendict" preferred (accessed 2015-08-08).
^ ab. Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
. AskOxford. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 18 April 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
^Ritter, R. M. New Hart's Rules. Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 43.
That it affects around 200 verbs, see Upward, Christopher and Davidson, George. "The suffix ‑IZE/‑ISE", The History of English Spelling. John Wiley & Sons, 2011, p. 220.
^Jones, Hannah (28 March 2017). "The Remedy of the Week: -ise or -ize?". The Remedy of Errors. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
^ abc. The Times. 13 January 2004. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
^McArthur, Tom, ed. (2005). Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 124. ISBN978-0-19-280637-6. The ‑ize and ‑ise group
^"05 House Style". Oxford University Press Academic. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^"ize". Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Merriam-Webster. 1994. p. 568. ISBN9780877791324.
^ abc"Which Spelling Standard in English? 'Oxford Spelling'". Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^Will, Warsaw (27 January 2013). "Some Random Thoughts About -ise and -ize Verbs in British English". Random Idea English. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^Nakamoto, Satoshi. "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" (PDF). Bitcoin. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^University of Oxford (2016). University of Oxford Style Guide(PDF). Oxford.
^According to the Oxford University Press (2004). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford. ISBN978-0-19-173521-9.
Bibliography
The Oxford English Dictionary (1st ed.)
The Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. (20 vols.)
The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press (latest edition: on WWW)
Detailed blog post about -ise and -ize verbs in British English.
Tieken-Boon Van Ostade, Ingrid. An Introduction to Late Modern English. Edinburgh University Press, 2009, p. 38.
January 20, 2023
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Oxford style redirects here For the Oxford or Harvard comma see Serial comma Oxford spelling also Oxford English Dictionary spelling Oxford style or Oxford English spelling is a spelling standard named after its use by the University of Oxford that prescribes the use of British spelling in combination with the suffix ize in words like realize and organization in contrast to use of ise endings Oxford spelling is used by many British based academic science journals for example Nature and many international organizations for example the United Nations and its agencies 1 2 3 It is common for academic formal and technical writing for an international readership see Usage In digital documents Oxford spelling may be indicated by the IETF language tag en GB oxendict or historically by en GB oed 4 Contents 1 Defining feature 2 Usage 3 Language tag comparison 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 Further readingDefining feature EditOxford spelling uses the suffix ize alongside yse organization privatize and recognizable rather than organisation privatise and recognisable alongside analyse paralyse etc The Oxford University Press states that the belief that ize is an exclusively North American variant is incorrect 5 The Oxford spelling affects about 200 verbs and is favoured on etymological grounds in that ize corresponds more closely to the Greek root izo of most ize verbs 6 The suffix ize has been in use in the UK since the 15th century 5 and is the spelling variation used in North American English The OED lists the ise form of words separately as a frequent spelling of IZE This practice probably began first in French in modern French the suffix has become iser alike in words from Greek as baptiser evangeliser organiser and those formed after them from Latin as civiliser cicatriser humaniser Hence some have used the spelling ise in English as in French for all these words and some prefer ise in words formed in French or English from Latin elements retaining ize for those formed from Greek elements However the suffix itself whatever the element to which it is added is in its origin the Greek izein Latin izare and as the pronunciation is also with z there is no reason why in English the special French spelling should be followed in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic In this Dictionary the termination is uniformly written ize In the Greek iz the i was short so originally in Latin but the double consonant z dz ts made the syllable long when the z became a simple consonant idz became iz whence English aɪz The Oxford use of ize does not extend to the spelling of words not traced to the Greek izo suffix One group of such words is those ending in lyse such as analyse paralyse and catalyse which come from the Greek verb lyw lyo the perfective aorist stem of which is lys for these lyse is the more etymological spelling Others include advertise arise compromise chastise disguise improvise prise in the sense of open and televise 7 8 In addition to the OUP s Oxford branded dictionaries other British dictionary publishers that list ize suffixes first include Cassell Collins and Longman 9 Usage EditOxford spelling is used by the Oxford University Press OUP for British publications 10 including its Oxford English Dictionary OED and its influential British style guide Hart s Rules and by other publishers who are etymology conscious according to Merriam Webster 11 Oxford spelling especially the first form listed in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary Twelfth Edition is the official or de facto spelling standard used in style guides of the international organizations that belong to the United Nations System 2 This includes the World Health Organization the International Telecommunication Union the International Labour Organization the World Food Programme the International Court of Justice and UNESCO and all UN treaties and declarations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 12 Other international organizations that adhere to this standard include the International Organization for Standardization ISO the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC the World Trade Organization WTO the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Interpol the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF Amnesty International AI the World Economic Forum WEF and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility GBIF 12 Oxford spelling is used in a number of academic publications including the London based scientific journal Nature and all other UK based Nature branded journals the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and the Journal of Physiology It is used by The Times Literary Supplement Encyclopaedia Britannica and Cambridge University Press 12 Newspapers and magazines in the UK normally use ise The style guide of The Times recommended ize until 1992 when it switched to ise 8 The newspaper s chief revise editor Richard Dixon wrote of the change In the great ize versus ise debate The Times has opted latterly for simplicity over a sort of erudition But in the Style Guide of 1992 the following entry appeared ise isation avoid the z construction in almost all cases This is volcanic ground with common usage straining the crust of classical etymology This guidance is a revision of the Greek zeta root ending in the direction of a Latin ending and common usage apologise organise emphasise televise circumcise The only truly awkward result is capsize which should be left in its Grecian peace 8 In both the King James Bible and the works of Shakespeare ize endings are used throughout 13 self published source Well known literary works that use Oxford spelling include The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien an Oxford University professor And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie married to an All Souls archaeologist and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis a fellow of Magdalen College Oxford The original white paper for Bitcoin also uses Oxford spelling 14 Oxford spelling is not necessarily followed by the staff of the University of Oxford The university s style guide last updated in 2016 recommended the use of ise for internal use 15 Language tag comparison EditThe following table summarizes a few general spelling differences between five major spelling conventions Note en GB simply stands for British English it is not specified whether ize or ise should be used The language tag en GB oxendict however demands the use of ize and ization British en GB Oxford en GB oxendict Australian en AU Canadian 16 en CA American en USorganisation organization organisation organization organizationrealise realize realise realize realizeageing ageing aging ageing aging aginganalyse analyse analyse analyze analyzebehaviour behaviour behaviour nb 1 behaviour behaviorcatalogue catalogue catalogue catalogue catalogue catalogcentre centre centre centre centerdefence defence defence defence defenselicence noun license verb licence noun license verb licence noun license verb licence noun license verb licensedisc disk computing disc disk computing disc disk computing disc disk computing disc disk computing programme program computer code programme program computer code program program programme programtraveller traveller traveller traveller traveler Labor Party Victor Harbor are exceptions See also Edit Language portalCanadian English spelling Macquarie Dictionary Australian usage Oxford comma Spelling differences ise izeReferences Edit Cantrill Stuart 25 April 2013 50 Things You Might Not Know About Nature Chemistry The Sceptical Chymist Retrieved 5 May 2016 W e use Oxford English spelling So for all of you wondering why we put z s in lots of words that you don t think we should hopefully that answers your question a b United Nations Editorial Manual New York United Nations Publications 1983 Three further examples 1 Style Manual 2nd Revised ed UNESCO 2004 2 Hindle W H 1984 Theron Johan Malania Leo eds A Guide to Writing for the United Nations 2nd ed UN Department of Conference Services 3 Words ending in ize ise and yse WHO Style Guide Geneva World Health Organization 2004 pp 77 78 Where there is a choice between using the suffix ize or ise e g organize or organise ize derived from the Greek izo is preferred consistent with the first spelling of such words given in The concise Oxford dictionary sic All use British our spellings with Oxford ize ization except in proper names that have Organisation IANA language subtag registry IANA with en GB oed added 9 July 2003 marked as grandfathered and deprecated effective 2015 04 17 with en GB oxendict preferred accessed 2015 08 08 a b ize or ise Oxford Dictionaries Oxford University Press Archived from the original on 11 May 2019 Retrieved 9 August 2013 Are spellings like privatize and organize Americanisms AskOxford Oxford University Press Archived from the original on 18 April 2005 Retrieved 14 July 2008 Ritter R M New Hart s Rules Oxford University Press 2005 p 43 That it affects around 200 verbs see Upward Christopher and Davidson George The suffix IZE ISE The History of English Spelling John Wiley amp Sons 2011 p 220 Jones Hannah 28 March 2017 The Remedy of the Week ise or ize The Remedy of Errors Retrieved 8 September 2022 a b c Questions Answered The Times 13 January 2004 Archived from the original on 4 June 2011 McArthur Tom ed 2005 Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language Oxford Oxford University Press p 124 ISBN 978 0 19 280637 6 The ize and ise group 05 House Style Oxford University Press Academic Retrieved 19 February 2022 ize Merriam Webster s Dictionary of English Usage Merriam Webster 1994 p 568 ISBN 9780877791324 a b c Which Spelling Standard in English Oxford Spelling Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Retrieved 19 February 2022 Will Warsaw 27 January 2013 Some Random Thoughts About ise and ize Verbs in British English Random Idea English Retrieved 19 February 2022 Nakamoto Satoshi Bitcoin A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System PDF Bitcoin Retrieved 23 July 2021 University of Oxford 2016 University of Oxford Style Guide PDF Oxford According to the Oxford University Press 2004 The Canadian Oxford Dictionary 2nd ed Oxford ISBN 978 0 19 173521 9 Bibliography EditThe Oxford English Dictionary 1st ed The Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed 20 vols The Oxford English Dictionary Oxford Oxford University Press latest edition on WWW Further reading EditIANA Language Tag Registration Form for en GB oed AskOxford Are spellings like privatize and organize Americanisms British Medical Journal ize right World Wide Words The endings ise and ize Detailed blog post about ise and ize verbs in British English Tieken Boon Van Ostade Ingrid An Introduction to Late Modern English Edinburgh University Press 2009 p 38 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oxford spelling amp oldid 1120680356, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
