pronunciation - Participle of "center/centre" in UK English — "centring"? Seriously?



As an American, I was never shocked to see the word "center" spelled as "centre." It didn't bother me at all. Honestly.


But then I saw the participle of it spelled as "centring" as opposed to "centering," and it really made me reconsider the whole thing. Do UK (and Australian, New Zealand, etc.) speakers pronounce it similarly to US speakers (three syllables)? Do you guys ever spell it "centering?" Do you find the US spelling as weird as we find the UK spelling? Does it make you uncomfortable in a way you can't fully understand?


Also, I see that my Chrome spell check is equally thrown off by the UK spelling. Is your browser's spell check disgusted by the US spelling?



Answer



British English doesn't use the spelling centering; it’s always centring.


As to pronunciation, it’s two syllables, or maybe two-and-a-half with the hint of a schwa, /ˈsɛntriŋ/ /ˈsɛntᵊriŋ/.


Spelling the word with a third syllable looks odd because we don’t spell it that way and we don’t say it that way either. Spelling and pronunciation are linked, but it’s a bit chicken-and-egg. As the “British” spelling comes from French and the American comes from Webster, it‘s highly likely that the pronunciation of centring/centering follows from the spelling.


My British-dictionary browser objects to centering.


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