I seem to have misplaced my style manual and have forgotten something silly.

If I'm going to another place, am I travelling there or am I traveling there?  I can't recall the rule for doubling a consonant in that case.

Microsoft spell-check accepts both...

Thanks!  

Good on ya,

Goober Dave

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I've always spelled it with one "L", but I don't know the rule.  I did find this: http://www.future-perfect.co.uk/grammartips/grammar-tip-travelled-traveled.asp

Not that it helped me much.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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Travelling for me, without a doubt (British English user).

Modelling/Modeling is a similar, but closer dilemma (I like ll), or is that dilema?

- Steve
 

Thanks Mango for the statement of the rule regarding words that end in unstressed syllables.

And thanks Steve for pointing me to tons of references that show British versus American for this case.

Good on ya,

Goober Dave

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My 'American College Dictionary' copyright 1964 (from when I actually WAS in college) states that:

traveling is the American spelling while travelling is British, so I guess to depends on whether you're flying TO or FROM the UK   

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
UG/NX Museum:   http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 

Reminds me of this old gem:

The one-L lama, He's a priest.
The two-L llama, He's a beast.
And I would bet A silk pajama
There isn't any Three-L lllama.

John R Baker took the words out of my mouth.  American English versus British English.

And to TenPenny:
A three-l llama is a very big fire (say it out loud).
 

There is British English spelling and pronunciation.  Spelling, I can cope with, pronunciation varies a lot. For instance garage is pronounced as ge-raj and gar-rage.  Great fun when you're talking to estate agents.  

Quote:

Agent: So you want a house with a gar-rage.
Me: Yes, I would like one with a ge-raj

One of the spellings that I have never found any agreement on is words which can have a z or an s like synchronize or synchronise.  Some Brits tell me z is British, s is American; others say s is British, z is American.  I almost always use z where I can because it is a rarely used letter in spelling so I'll use it whenever I can.  Since the spell checkers accept both spellings, I'm hardly ever corrected on this.

synchronise and like words is / are and will always be British while synchronize and similar spellings can be American.

A good dictionary to get hold of is the Collins Cobuild, it is based on analysing over 200 million words prior to its publication, it lists and uses both British and American spellings and usage.

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)  

Garage, in my part of Canada, comes out more like "gradge"!

Who caresss?? I find most peopless can't spells worth a darnsss these days

These days? I couldn't spell worth a darn in grade school in the 1950's and still can't. My brain just doesn't see a problem with a misspelled word unless Google Chrome underlines it in red.

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

I prefer double consonants rule without exception (except where the exception is well established in both American and International english). Doubled L's is allows in American English in most cases, it's just not as common. It's not like "colour", where the extra U will trigger the end of the world. :)

Matt Lorono, CSWP
Product Definition Specialist, DS SolidWorks Corp
Personal sites:
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources & SolidWorks Legion

David:

I never had a problem with speling. I was taught using fonics.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

My wife learned spelling using fonics and she corrected my spelling in High School (and ever since). She tried to supplement our kid's learning with fonics (which was not taught in the schools they went to) and one of them can't spell his own name and the other is an average speller. I really don't think it is the tools, I think it is more about how important you thought spelling was when you were in elementary school. If you blew it off then, you'll never be good at it. If you mastered the basic concepts and patterns at that time then you will always be good at it. I've tried very hard to improve my poor abilities and the progress I've made has been pretty minor. I think that someone who makes as much of their living writing as I do should have mastered the mechanics, but I haven't and as I approach 60 it is looking unlikely that I ever will. I guess relying on spell checkers and grammar checkers is no more (or less) a crutch than relying on editors before computers (which I did).

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.

Your traveling travail is totally titillating. Or is it
Your travelling travailll is totaly titilating?

"Garage, in my part of Canada, comes out more like "gradge"!"

reminds me of a joke about a redneck getting deee-vorced. He had a grudge to park his Deere in. I can't say the final punch line here, but I'm sure you can find it on google.

David:

My mother was an english teacher and drilled spelling and speach into my head from day one. I was constantly corrected if I said something incorrectly, even if I spelled "phonics" incorrectly. I have done the same thing with the wife and kids over the years. Drives them crazy, but it helps me vent my feelings.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

A three-l llama is a very big fire - in parts of NYC.

If Chinese and Japanese kids can learn all those thousands of pictographs, we should be able to handle a few ekseptions to spelling rules.