Who’s in charge of Canadian spelling?

The concept of “Canadian spelling” has always intrigued me. When you grow up in Canada it’s a concept that people are always bludgeoning you over the head with, as is the case with so many of this country’s nationalistic idiosyncrasies. “Spell color with a u, dammit,” compatriots cry angrily.

But the inherent problem with Canadian spelling is the vagueness of its supposed rules. There’s a sense that our way is inspired by British conventions, and intended to be contrary to American reductionism, but determining exactly how far to go in either direction is quite a hazy business. So much of it is simply determined by the expectations of the powers-that-be in that particular moment of your life. My highschool English teachers had one standard, my professors another, the copy editor of my college newspaper yet another still. I’ve always been taught that the slime that comes out of your nose is spelled “mucus,” but then the other day I saw some Tylenol ad that spelled it “mucous,” so clearly the Canadian advertising industry has its own set of beliefs, too.

Today at the bookstore, however, I discovered that the Government of Canada actually produces an official guide to Canadian English, entitled The Canadian Style, produced by the Department of Public Works and Government Services. This book, in turn, recommends Canadians refer to the Gage Canadian Dictionary for all spelling-related uncertainties, since this is the dictionary used by “most federal departments and agencies.”

So I guess that brings some closure to the matter. I don’t think it’s a particularly legitimate system, mind you, since I don’t think government authority should be the highest arbitrator of cultural norms, but that’s the present reality of Canada. As someone who tries to be a good representative of my country, whatever its institutionalized absurdities, I’ll try to defer to these rule books more often when writing for my site.

On a related note, here’s a very interesting interview with a guy named Jack Lynch, who wrote a book about the evolution of the cult of “proper English,” and the fairly dubious intellectual foundations of the entire premise.