The first English settlers in America spoke a variety of dialects that they brought with them from England. British English largely retains the original spellings of words borrowed from languages such as French, Greek and Latin. Examples of British words with that feature are “colour,” “centre,” and “theatre.”

In 1828, Noah Webster, an American lexicographer, published An American Dictionary of the English Language. He set out to create a unique form of spelling to establish a distinct language for America, which was still a young nation at the time. Webster did that by removing letters that he considered superfluous in British words. One of his goals was to make spellings match closely how words are pronounced. “Colour,” “centre,” and “theatre” were modified to become “color,” “center,” and “theater” in his dictionary. “Neighbour” was changed to “neighbor.” Webster’s dictionary quickly became the standard in America.

Ghana, my country of birth, was a British colony from 1821 to 1957. Under colonial rule Ghana was called the Gold Coast. The name change occurred at independence in 1957. Ghana then adopted English as its official language. Since then, English, the British version, has been the medium of instruction in Ghanaian schools. That was what I spoke and wrote in throughout my childhood.

I came to America as an adult and have lived here for thirty-three years now. I now use American English exclusively in my writing. However, my speaking accent is a blend of American and British English, with hints of Twi, a Ghanaian dialect that my family spoke at home when I was growing up in Ghana.

I have come to like Webster’s form of spelling. In my opinion, it is easier and more efficient. But there is one question that is often on my mind. There is a good number of people living in Ghana who read my articles. I always wonder how they feel about reading my work in a linguistic form that they are not used to.

Thinking back now, I can’t recall how long it took for me to fully make the switch to writing in American English. Most likely, the change happened gradually over time. America is my permanent home now so perhaps I will never return to writing in British English. But I sometimes wonder. If I were to ever return to live in Ghana, how quickly would I be able to readjust to writing in the King’s English?