Spellings evolve or stay the same depending on where you are
Sometimes that happens naturally.
Sometimes they're championed by individuals -- like Ben Franklin who, among many other things, was a printer or Noah Webster who was a lexicographer -- as part of an effort to standardize spelling.
There's really no correct way to spell a word. It's just convention. It's probably a good idea to follow convention in academics, sciences, the business world, etc. Looking for logic in language is a fool's errand. Maybe one day spelling will be standardized like the Metric system, but I doubt it.
It's less common owing to the BBC making a decision to go over to the American meaning of "billion". However, many Brits still use Billion in it's original sense of a million squared. So jetpunk should accept billion as a correct answer to the question just as they should accept the British spelling of distil - or open themselves to the charge of being US-centric again.
they could very well swell this collection, but sorrowfully the full tally of allowable _ will not follow the small lull we'll be allotted to stall in our before the toll instills hell, despite it really meant to alleviate the hollowness filling us individually.
Yes I will spill that i wasted my own time and yes I was compelled to use a thesaurus. However, the thrill nullifies the dull wallowing of mademoiselle Willuna the illogical.
And the spelling of Aluminium with a second "i" is internationally agreed convention
Also, I am American, and many people say "Arctic" with a C.
I do too.
Sometimes that happens naturally.
Sometimes they're championed by individuals -- like Ben Franklin who, among many other things, was a printer or Noah Webster who was a lexicographer -- as part of an effort to standardize spelling.
There's really no correct way to spell a word. It's just convention. It's probably a good idea to follow convention in academics, sciences, the business world, etc. Looking for logic in language is a fool's errand. Maybe one day spelling will be standardized like the Metric system, but I doubt it.
Yes I will spill that i wasted my own time and yes I was compelled to use a thesaurus. However, the thrill nullifies the dull wallowing of mademoiselle Willuna the illogical.
(sorry for old and annoying)
In the United Kingdom, a billion used to be a million million, but this was changed in 1974.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales#History