Chatting about the pluperfect subjunctive

So which is it? Grey? Gray?

Or does it matter? Pick one of the two consistently and you'll probably say a little bit about yourself. But not much. Grey is more common in Great Britain. Both versions are acceptable in American English.

Is it theatre or theater? The difference is slightly more refined in American English. Theatre is the way people in the theatre world spell it. People who are not in the theater here use the "-er" version. Theatre is preferred for all uses in England.

We are indeed divided by a common language.

Not all of the lessons about grammar, usage and spelling that Miss Thistlebottom taught me in 4th grade are still -- or ever were -- universal. English varies all over the world. It is a wonderful and flowing thing that morphs and changes and refreshes itself day by day.

That's my takeaway from belonging to an e-mail discussion group about the English language. The group is populated primarily by copyeditors, but it also includes people who enjoy using, knowing about, and playing with English.

The list includes people who make their living in America and Great Britain. But there are also people from Down Under, Africa, South America, East Asia and Europe. The rules can be very different from region to region. Tell a Brit you got a new vest for Christmas. There will be confusion.

There's a lot of variety in and little consensus about English. There are those who hold that English should be slow to change and adapt. Others passionately promote moving the language forward. (Does anybody want to decline the verb "spring?" "Sprung" is showing up more and more as the past tense. I learned that it should be "sprang" and I'm sticking with it.) The Prescriptivists prescribe how English ought to be used. The Descriptivists describe how it is used.

Discussions can delve into true arcana. A thread about the appropriate use of the semicolon has continued for the past four days on the copyediting list. The question is not settled, and the arguments are authoritative and deeply felt.

The occasional punfest provides diversion. These word people can be the best of the best at puns, and there has been many a keyboard around the world splattered by a mouthful of morning coffee after an especially delicious pun causes a real-life spit-take.

Topics like the grocer's apostrophe ("apple's -- 99 cents per pound") pop up for discussion occasionally and can be entertaining. But over the 10 years I've been a member, we've ridden that high horse enough. Not everybody is a word expert, and the true bottom line is that communicating information is what's important, with content often trumping style.

But the copyeditors list is an important part of my day. I learn. I contribute to others learning. I crack a word joke occasionally. And I have become much less rigid in what I expect from English speakers and writers, from grocers to novelists to academic authors. I'm not a Descriptivist; I'm now a mellowed Prescriptivist.

I like the line that one of the contributors to the copyeditors list has used occasionally below his signature. He quotes James Nicoll, best described as a lover of language and an Internet "presence":

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.

Things change.

All things.

(The cool graphic above is of the words that are most commonly used in English proverbs; size indicates frequency. For more information on the e-mail copyediting group, click here.)