Do you like -ise or -ize suffixes?
🔆 I am an <ise> person.
🔆 Please don't ask me why.
🔆 Okay, if you insist.
🔆 We used -ise suffixes when I was Publications Officer at St John's College.
🔆 I told myself it was a 'Cambridge' thing (because it wasn't an OUP thing).
🔆 But that is not true (Judith Butcher favours -ize endings).
🔆 So it is a 'me' thing.
🔆 Also, -ize is not an Americanism (see infographic for a bit of history).
🔆 So, again, my preference for -ise is a 'me' thing.
🔆 It does mean you don't have to decide whether a word 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 an -ise ending (e.g. comprise, revise – see infographic for a list of these words).
🔆 As opposed to those where there is an option (e.g. organise/ize; summarise/ize; realise/ize). So, for someone who's not confident about this, choosing -ise will probably make their life easier.
🔆 But that's probably not a very good excuse for choosing one over the other.
🔆 If a client doesn't have a style guide, I will go with their majority usage.
🔆 Or ask them if they have a preference (and explain what mine is).
🔆 Do YOU have a preference?
🔆 Anyway, enjoy the infographic.
🔆 And then you can decide for yourself. 😊
Want someone else to worry about this (and other things) for you?
Commenti