Offense and Offence

I'm back. Sabbatical year? Not really, just got busy with other pursuits.

I got rejuvenated with an email that I wrote to my A-level classmates from Ipoh in the late sixties. We were recalling nicknames given to each other, when I decided to chip in a bit to remind ourselves of how cheeky we could be those teenage years. Among those listed were a few who were no longer with us. I would offer a posthumous apology in each  case. Nickname, So and so. (no offense meant, So and so.)

It dawned on me that I used the word offense in each case, and being a former British Colony, Malaysians are taught the English or English English. So, the correct spelling should be offence.

So what is the difference between offense and offence?

Both words have the same meaning. Americans prefer offense.

Now, this opened a new kettle of fish. In the post independence era, some fifty over years now, many Malaysians went to American universities and they came home bringing along the American variation of  numerous everyday words. Color for colour, organise for organize. So, we now have a mixture of both American and British English spellings depending on the prevailing influence in the schools or office that you go to, the kind of books and newspapers that you read, and your preference for McDonalds or Fish and Chips.

For a simple introduction to American and British spellings this website is quite appropriate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

Other variations comes from major English speaking countries like Australia, Canada and NewZealand and the British Commonwealth countries.