Canadian English for Microsoft Office for the Mac

[waynedavies]

Have just started using Microsoft Office on an iMac. The proofing
tools do not include Canadian English, a language included with the
proofing tools for the PC version of Microsoft Office. Does anyone
know if this language is available?

 

[John McGhie]

No, it's not available.

We don't get all of the features of the PC version: Mac Office has a
narrower range of languages available.

Have just started using Microsoft Office on an iMac. The proofing
tools do not include Canadian English, a language included with the
proofing tools for the PC version of Microsoft Office. Does anyone
know if this language is available?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Neal Reid]

'Merikans! the English (UK) dictionary in Tools/Languages IS
"Canadian English"

 

[Neal Reid]

Goes to show why one should pay attention. I guess Aussie's are
far from Canada and can get confused... Sorry 'bout the 'Merikan
crack

 

[CyberTaz]

I honestly don't claim to know what the difference(s) are or whether there
are any, but if there are none it's quite curious that *both* Windows OS &
Mac OS recognize Canadian English & English (UK) as separate entities.
Evidently there is a distinction which is significant to some.

However, the point being made is that the Canadian English-specific proofing
tools included in Win Word are *not* available on the Mac... That's the
question which was put and John's answer is correct. I would think
acceptability of a substitute is at the discretion of the user - and some,
perhaps, are more discriminating than others.

Also, supplanting a "crack" about one nationality with a "crack" about
another kinda negates the "apology", don't ya think?

 

[Neal Reid]

However, the point being made is that the Canadian English-specific proofing
tools included in Win Word are *not* available on the Mac...

Most embarrassing - I shot off an answer without checking my
facts. After years in the MSFT support arena, I should know
better. Should have said, "In my experience supporting Office on
Macs and PCs, no one in my Canadian base has ever found the UK
English dictionary lacking for Canadian (unlike Canadian/Parisian
French - which DO NOT map)"

Also, supplanting a "crack" about one nationality with a "crack" about
another kinda negates the "apology", don't ya think?

That was not my intention. I admit to "cracking" about Americans -
I'm Canadian after all. My 2nd post was intended as an admission
of guilty having noticed the original reply was from an
Australian. An apology on the apology that that was not clear.

Back on topic - it really is too bad that MSFT and Apple can't
play nice with each other. I was very pleased when MSFT spawned
the Mac Business Unit, and very disappointed that neither side
thereafter appeared to agree with the other on design principles

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Neal:

You can crack about 'Murricans (note the correct spelling...) all you like,
but any references to kangaroos, sheep, dingoes or wombats will be severely
punished!

Bob (who is a very nice American fellow...) is correct -- Word for Mac does
not have a Canadian English dictionary available from Microsoft, PC Word
does (and I think it's from Microsoft...).

I guess you have never supported professional writers My Editors would
emit clouds of high-pressure steam if you suggested using a UK (or American)
spelling standard on Canadian English. Working, as I currently do, for
Alcan Incorporated, you can imagine that your assertion would not be kindly
received there!

Basically, when you are writing for the Government, the publishing industry,
or for some large corporations, there is no such thing as "close enough"!

Cheers

Most embarrassing - I shot off an answer without checking my
facts. After years in the MSFT support arena, I should know
better. Should have said, "In my experience supporting Office on
Macs and PCs, no one in my Canadian base has ever found the UK
English dictionary lacking for Canadian (unlike Canadian/Parisian
French - which DO NOT map)"
That was not my intention. I admit to "cracking" about Americans -
I'm Canadian after all. My 2nd post was intended as an admission
of guilty having noticed the original reply was from an
Australian. An apology on the apology that that was not clear.

Back on topic - it really is too bad that MSFT and Apple can't
play nice with each other. I was very pleased when MSFT spawned
the Mac Business Unit, and very disappointed that neither side
thereafter appeared to agree with the other on design principles

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Neal Reid]

You can crack about 'Murricans (note the correct spelling...) all you like,
but any references to kangaroos, sheep, dingoes or wombats will be severely
punished!

Just call me Bruce (to save confusion)

Bob (who is a very nice American fellow...) is correct -- Word for Mac does
not have a Canadian English dictionary available from Microsoft, PC Word
does (and I think it's from Microsoft...).

Almost nothing is (directly) from Microsoft. I'll look into it.

I guess you have never supported professional writers My Editors would
emit clouds of high-pressure steam if you suggested using a UK (or American)
spelling standard on Canadian English. ....
Basically, when you are writing for the Government, the publishing industry,
or for some large corporations, there is no such thing as "close enough"!

Oddly enough, I spent most of my Mac Office support life
supporting research scientists so you may be correct. However, I
have spent the (mumble) years at a sweat shop supporting (amongst
others) the Canadian government. Never a peep about wanting a
Canadian dictionary. Perhaps (the few) Mac users are savvy enough
to create custom dictionaries for the few differences from UK.
(And, if you'd spent as many hours as I have debating with Qubcois
over which dictionary is the 'correct' one, you'd know it isn't
because they don't notice or care. I'd agree the Francophones are
more pedantic than the English - but in writing, they're often the
same person)

Can you give me some examples where UK is incorrect? (And is US
then correct?)

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi "Bruce"

The points in your post of 8/4 are taken in the manner in which they were
intended and I'm most pleased to find that you seem to be a quite congenial
individual after all It's just that we periodically *do* get a troll in
the neighborhood looking for a fight and I sometimes can't resist "taking
the bait"... With the full intent of getting them to full tilt on their high
horse only to drop the thread cold. I really must find another source of
amusement & distraction

Also, below:

<snip>

Never a peep about wanting a
Canadian dictionary. Perhaps (the few) Mac users are savvy enough
to create custom dictionaries for the few differences from UK.

<snip>

Based on the scenario, might it also be possible that much of the copy was
generated on Macs but had to pass through the Gates of Hell for final
editing where it was subjected to Canadian English scrutiny available there?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Neal:

No, it's a long time since I had said Editor frothing at the mouth... These
days *I* am the editor, and if the troops are debating spelling, they
obviously don't have enough work do do and I give them more


A quick call to either of the major Canadian newspapers would reveal the
information you are after: somewhere in the organization for each you will
find the hapless soul whose job it is to maintain the "Approved" spelling
standard for the production computer.

He or she (it's usually a 'she' with bottle-bottom glasses and uncertain
personal hygiene...) will soon set you right

Cheers

Just call me Bruce (to save confusion)
Almost nothing is (directly) from Microsoft. I'll look into it.

Oddly enough, I spent most of my Mac Office support life
supporting research scientists so you may be correct. However, I
have spent the (mumble) years at a sweat shop supporting (amongst
others) the Canadian government. Never a peep about wanting a
Canadian dictionary. Perhaps (the few) Mac users are savvy enough
to create custom dictionaries for the few differences from UK.
(And, if you'd spent as many hours as I have debating with Qubcois
over which dictionary is the 'correct' one, you'd know it isn't
because they don't notice or care. I'd agree the Francophones are
more pedantic than the English - but in writing, they're often the
same person)

Can you give me some examples where UK is incorrect? (And is US
then correct?)

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Kurt]

You mean some ize/ise usage, travelling/traveling, jewellery/jewelry,
tyre/tire ...? Hmm, depends on your point of view.

No, I don't know any ... and I don't want to start this theme in the thread!
;-))

Cheers,

Clive Huggan

How about regional American English (or lack thereof)?

A little dated, but I could have seen a Valley Girl version.

 

[Neal Reid]

You mean some ize/ise usage, travelling/traveling, jewellery/jewelry,
tyre/tire ...? Hmm, depends on your point of view.

I find the US/UK/and Aust dictionaries in Word XP and Word 2004 to
be in accord with all these. That is, UK and Aust in agreement and
opposite the US.

The "Canadian" dictionary accepts both spellings of
travelling/traveling and tyre/tire differing only on accepting
jewellery over jewelry.

To my way of editing, that is unacceptable. Pick one, pick the
other - but don't allow BOTH.

Maybe we Mac people are actually better off for NOT having
ambiguous dictionaries!

 

[Neal Reid]

Hi "Bruce"

The points in your post of 8/4 are taken in the manner in which they were
I'm most pleased to find that you seem to be a quite congenial
individual after all

It isn't that I'm not congenial. I'm definitely NOT a troll. I'm
just your stereotypical IT Pro - short on people/communications
skill. ( And we all know that there's no such thing as an actual
representative of stereotypes )

<snip>

Based on the scenario, might it also be possible that much of the copy was
generated on Macs but had to pass through the Gates of Hell for final
editing where it was subjected to Canadian English scrutiny available there?

Nope. As it turns out, for many years the largest telecoms
research establishment in Canada had exactly NO supported PCs.
Went from Mainframes, to Macs, to UNIX workstations before Apple
made it impossible to use Macs in a global, commercial
environment. Only then did PCs gain dominance (UNIX still holds
that for developers)

See my other post in this thread concerning ambiguous dictionaries!

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Neal:

Perhaps its worth mentioning that currently on the Mac, the "Exclusion
Dictionary" mechanism is broken in Word X and Word 2004.

I say this, because in the old days when we did not have an Australian
dictionary either, we made heavy use of the Exclusion Dictionary to remove
the alternate spellings from the UK dictionary, enabling us to insist on the
correct version.

If the exclusion dictionary worked, I am sure Canadians could survive with
the UK dictionary

It's one of those stupid bugs that slipped through testing. When they
changed the Application to Unicode, they forgot to change the bit that reads
the exclusion dictionary. So now it writes Unicode into the exclusion
dictionary and is unable to read its own handwriting

Hopefully, fixed in 2008

Cheers

I find the US/UK/and Aust dictionaries in Word XP and Word 2004 to
be in accord with all these. That is, UK and Aust in agreement and
opposite the US.

The "Canadian" dictionary accepts both spellings of
travelling/traveling and tyre/tire differing only on accepting
jewellery over jewelry.

To my way of editing, that is unacceptable. Pick one, pick the
other - but don't allow BOTH.

Maybe we Mac people are actually better off for NOT having
ambiguous dictionaries!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[roland.lines]

I concur, John. As a Canadian editor, I used to set my language to
English (US), add Canadian spellings to my custom dictionary and have
an exclusion dictionary to omit the corresponding American spellings.
I was quite frustrated when all my years of dictionary refinement were
thrown out the window by Word 2004. (I skipped Word X.) Now, if the
document is important enough, I run two spell checks--one with the
language set to US and the other with it set to UK. It's a pain. As
Neal noted earlier, consistently using an "improper" spelling variant
throughout your document is much preferred to using a mix of
spellings.

To extend my complaints about Word's spell-check capabilities, why
can't the custom dictionary recognize simple word forms (I have to
make separate additions for the singular, plural and possessive--
singular and plural--forms of an unknown noun, for example) and why do
words in my custom dictionary almost never appear as suggestions for
misspelled words?

Roland
www.duvaleducation.com

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Roland -

Although I appreciate your frustration...

<snip>

To extend my complaints about Word's spell-check capabilities, why
can't the custom dictionary recognize simple word forms (I have to
make separate additions for the singular, plural and possessive--
singular and plural--forms of an unknown noun, for example) and why do
words in my custom dictionary almost never appear as suggestions for
misspelled words?

<snip

The installed dictionaries are literally programs - which is why you can't
modify them and have to create custom dictionaries in the first place -
whereas custom dictionaries are nothing but plain text files.