So here’s why I asked about the “gray/grey” thing. Both are acceptable spellings, and there’s no clear consensus on which is best, but in recent years I’ve come to view “grey” as something of an affectation when used by writers inside the United States. That’s why I also asked about the “color/colour” thing: to guage where you rest on the geographic divide. If you naturally spell “color” (and words like it) with a -u, then “grey” seems like the way to go. But if you don’t, and if doing so seems strange or, worse, pretentious…then why wouldn’t “grey” seem so, too? “Gray color” or “grey colour,” but not some weird mishmash of the two. Right?
I suspect — not on the basis of any real evidence, but just a gut feeling — that fantasy and science fiction stories feature the word more often than in other genres. I’ve certainly seen it more than a little in the submissions to Kaleidotrope — and it’s more an interest in imposing consistency there, rather than in any kind of spelling minutae, that’s led me to wonder about any of this. I don’t necessarily care how people spell it; I just want one preferred spelling throughout the zine.
So I’ve decided to go with “gray,” which, by and large, hasn’t upset anyone — even my non-US contributors — but it’s a decision I’m still mulling over. (As Eric points out, we literary types are nothing if not wishy-washy.) Is “grey” pretentious if you’re not using other British spellings? I have no problem changing “color” to “colour,” or “realise” to “realize,” but I haven’t made my mind up over “gray/grey” just yet.
Well, think of it this ‘way.’ We ‘say’ words like gay, ray, day, pay, etc. Not wey, sey, gey, rey, dey, and pey. It keeps things consistant. Though, if we go by consistancy, it really should be aluminium instead of aluminum.
I think I spell it any old way that comes to mind — my spelling isn’t the best anyway — unless I am talking about the aliens. For some reasons, those are always Greys.
I know little about zines in general, but I wonder why you would feel the need to impose consistency on the writings of others in this way.
Marc — Hey, let’s not be fey and fall prey to inconsistent spellings. Especially while eating our whey.
Bryan: because that’s what editors do. It’s distracting for the reader, not to mention amateurish, if the same words appear spelled differently throughout.
I mean, I offer other editorial suggestions and corrections, too.
Yeah, there’s inconsistent spellings all around. I’m currently reading Bill Bryson’s Mother Tongue, so I know that English can be tricky and messy at the best of times. Despite what you might gather from my two posts on this, I don’t actually care if it’s “gray” or “grey.” I’m not trying to impose consistency and order on the English language, just my zine. I’m trying to establish, for want of a better phrase, a house style. I was undecided whether that style should include “gray” or “grey,” but not about whether it should make that decision.
Funny how the word itself is creating a gray area for you.
If cutting down on distraction is an issue, I agree with going with grAy. I am more accustomed to that spelling and seeing it spelled “grey” (much like colour or realise) would distract me.
There’s something subversive about grey that I like, undermining the status quo of how letters are supposed to act for propriety’s sake.
But there’s also something false about grey when combined with US spellings. Pretentious, perhaps, but more in a fanboy/girl-way than a snobbish way.
The journalist in me greatly prefers gray, the romantic in me prefers grey. Most often the journalist wins out.
For what it’s worth, Marc, Though, if we go by consistancy, it really should be aluminium instead of aluminum–I’ve heard that that’s the pronunciation in UK (and maybe elsewhere?), but in the US I’ve always heard it pronounced just as aluminum is spelled.