Automatic spellcheck function, Queen's English please!

Justin · Jan 26, 2007

When I use Firefox, my spelling is automatically highlighted is "wrong". That is very nice. Is it a function of Firefox itself, or is it OSX doing it? Anyway I would really like it to be in English English, as at the moment is it saying my spelling is wrong when it is right (according to the English of England). How can I change it?
(Step by step instructions very appreciated.)
Thank you so much!
Justin

yogi · Jan 26, 2007

Go to the blue apple in the top left > System Preferences. Choose "International". Und the Language tab, drag British English to the top of the list. Now OS X Spellchecker will use Brtish English as the default. So you can go about criticising and organising all you want.

technologist · Jan 26, 2007

If you must spelle wourds with extraneous letteres that are completly dissociated with their pronunsiation, then you should also download the British English version of Firefox from the "Other versions and languages" page. (Firefox does not use the system spellchecker.)

Mr Bobbins · Jan 27, 2007

Hey, technologist. I think their is something wrong with your spell checker. Are you sure you didn't accidentally set it to Dutch ?

cazabam · Jan 27, 2007

One way to do it is to right click on a highlighted word. At the bottom there is a 'languages' option, with the ability to add dictionaries. This will let you add British English to the installation you already have.

egandolfi · Jan 27, 2007

You guys are cracking me up!!!!!! ROTFLOL!!!

Justin · Jan 30, 2007

yogi said:
Go to the blue apple in the top left > System Preferences. Choose "International". Und the Language tab, drag British English to the top of the list. Now OS X Spellchecker will use Brtish English as the default. So you can go about criticising and organising all you want.

Okay so I did what you said. But I noticed something wierd. One optoin is Australian English (do they really speak English? Hey only joking!) No but really, what is unique about it? Maybe it has G'day and fair dinkum?! (Oo that got my spell checker going!)

No but actually what I noticed was it had US English, and British English, as well as English!! If "English" is not British English (as it should be if it wants to spell correctly), and not even the colonial US English dialect, then what on earth would "English" be?

Justin.

cwa107 · Jan 30, 2007

Justin said:
Okay so I did what you said. But I noticed something wierd. One optoin is Australian English (do they really speak English? Hey only joking!) No but really, what is unique about it? Maybe it has G'day and fair dinkum?! (Oo that got my spell checker going!)

No but actually what I noticed was it had US English, and British English, as well as English!! If "English" is not British English (as it should be if it wants to spell correctly), and not even the colonial US English dialect, then what on earth would "English" be?

Justin.

LOL! I once had a friend that moved to the States from the UK. I often found it funny when people criticized his (British) English accent. He would often say "I'm not the one with the accent, you are! This is how it's meant to be spoken". From our often ethnocentric perspective, we immediately see it as others having the accent - or using the wrong spelling in print - but we fail to realize the origins of the language.

cazabam · Jan 30, 2007

cwa107 said:
I often found it funny when people criticized his (British) English accent. He would often say "I'm not the one with the accent, you are! This is how it's meant to be spoken".

There's actually more variation across a single county in the UK than there is across the entire of the US. There are broad extremes, but there are some British English accents that even I can't understand!

yogi · Jan 30, 2007

I believe the Trash is called Wastebasket if the entire system is set to British English?

English is probably just proper oxford without the localized vocabulary or spelling.

Justin · Jan 30, 2007

yogi said:
I believe the Trash is called Wastebasket if the entire system is set to British English?

English is probably just proper oxford without the localized vocabulary or spelling.

Well, I thought I had changed the right part to British English but my trash is still called trash. Where I come from we put things in the bin.

cazabam · Jan 31, 2007

Justin said:
Well, I thought I had changed the right part to British English but my trash is still called trash. Where I come from we put things in the bin.

Yes, trash is still trash. We know what it means so there's little point changing it. I would like it if 'Send to trash' was changed to 'Put it int' bin' though

iSebastianGrey · Jan 31, 2007

I was going to make a social commentary on living in the southern United States, and how I was so pleased that most software companies would never entertain the notion of allowing 'ain't' or 'y'all' to be considered words. And then I noticed that Firefox didn't underline those entries...

NanoBite · Jan 31, 2007

I just set my default language to Australian Dictionary just because I can. I read somewhere that the best Queens English is actually spoken in Aberdeen, Scotland.