Theater vs. Theatre- Page 3

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 10/5/06 at 7:36am

Dover is correct. Every NYC legitimate theatre is spelled Theatre, not Theater, as in, The Shubert Theatre is the flagship theatre in the Shubert chain of theatres in New York City.

Updated On: 10/5/06 at 07:36 AM

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 3:14pm

<< re: Theater vs. Theatre
Posted On: 10/5/06 at 03:33 AM


I spell it theater.

While I'm at it, I also write glamor, catalog, dialog, prolog, anesthesia, esthetic, etc. English is not my native language, so I learned the American way when I emigrated.

I'd spell the British way had I moved there instead. >>

So would you say you speak ENGLISH or AMERICAN then?

From a European (with US sympathies!), surely a place showing films is a cinema, not a theatre / theater?!! And I'm not decrying the standards of grammar and literacy in either country when I say that words such as 'dialog', 'humor' and 'esthetic' look like bastardised versions of proper words because they don't even honour their roots (I like how the etymology of the English language can prove how much of a mongrel it is). IMHO that's one of its' great strengths and I personally prefer words which ADD to its lexicon rather than DETRACTING from it.

So shoot me!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 4:04pm

*shoots TIGGOSAURUS with a semi-automatic rifle*

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 4:23pm

<<*shoots TIGGOSAURUS with a semi-automatic rifle*>>

Typical! My first reply and it's from a member of the NRA! ;->

<

Seen some shows in my time....

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 4:30pm

This thread is strange. Theater is American; theatre is British. Americans spelling theater, theatre is like spelling color, colour. No different.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 4:38pm

TIGGOSAURUS: At least you got it! Frankly, I'm amazed. Not too many people would have. Kudos to you!

[TIGGOSAURUS]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:12pm

StageManager2: Fank u very much! I think there are more people who get cross-cultural references between the UK & the US than many people realise and, quite honestly, it makes me feel at home on a message board such as this.

Especially as a theatre-goer who loves it as an art form AND as an expression of popular culture! As you may have surmised, I'm not a huge fan of Charlton Heston, but I will actually retract my previous statement and say: please don't shoot me!?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:27pm

RE

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:28pm

omg i hate it when people spell it theatER!!!!!!! drives me insane!!!!! lol.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:52pm

I hate it when people spell it THEATRE I am a strong beliver that it should be THEATER

[actor]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:54pm

Theatre looks more proper.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 6:05pm

... which makes you seem pretentious.

[joshy]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 6:13pm

I cringe whenever I see "theater". It's changing things like that which gives Americans, deserved or not, a reputation for being somewhat simple.

Like when I was talking to a girl about seeing plays in London, she was all amazed and said "wow, London has a Broadway too?!?! i thought it was just us!"

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 6:15pm

Theater= movies... Lowes Theaters
Theatre= musical theatre... The Imperial Theatre.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 6:18pm

joshy: Get off your high horse!

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:32pm

Do what you will in America, that's how I see it since we're so screwy with our vocabulary ([American] Football? I mean, come on!)

I spell musical/playhouses as theatre, and cinemas as theater (America does not use cinemas, but movie theaters instead, so I decided to distinguish the two for my own personal use, and preference)...

Besides, if I used 'cinemas' to my friends, they'd pull a WTF? on me.

IT'S ALL PREFERENCE IN AMERICA...and you have to go with the flow out here because of the way the nation has been "new speaked."

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 07:32 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:43pm

"I spell musical/playhouses as theatre, and cinemas as theater (America does not use cinemas, but movie theaters instead, so I decided to distinguish the two for my own personal use, and preference)..."

How about when you speak? Do you pronounce them differently?

Let's see, there's "theeuh-der" and "theeuh-tuh." Oh, and let's not forget "thee-ey-der."

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 07:43 PM

[actor]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:44pm

I don't pronounce them differently.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:20pm

"Theater= movies... Lowes Theaters
Theatre= musical theatre... The Imperial Theatre."

ditto!! i dont mind it if its used properly but i deff had a theatre teacher a couple years ago that would spell it theater and it drove me insane! i almost went up and asked her to change it but i didnt wanna be rude about my anal tendencies! lol. i made it through tho!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:31pm

According to my Dictionary of American English:

theater AmE/also theatre esp. BrE 1)a place for the performance of plays: New York's theaters 2)the work of people who write or act in plays: I'm interested in the theater 3)a scene of important military events: He fought in the Pacific theater of World War II

So those Americans who write "theatre" are just being pretentious.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:33pm

meter v metre

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:54pm

No, no, I am not being pretentious because I am not using theatre in certain instances because I want to be self important but because I want to use it and it's my preference...

Don't give me your high and mighty claim that American-'re' users are pretentious...I'd say that's pretentious.

I do not pronounce them differently when I speak because it doesn't matter that much,...but when I WRITE something down, I spell it a certain way...

I treat it, spoken-wise, the way I treat "too" and "to" and "two" and "so" and "sew."

PREF-ER-ENCE

By the way, I say "thee-uh-ter" with a miniscule emphases on the "uh".

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 08:54 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 9:40am

So, to all the people who spell theater, theatre; and, are American, do you spell color, colour? Do you spell realize, realise? Do you spell offense, offence? If not, why not? Because it's the exact same thing. And, if you do, why do you? Theatre, colour, realise, offence and many others, are all British spellings. The made-up definitions here, for the different spellings, are quite comical though.

[Dover]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 3:39pm

"So, to all the people who spell theater, theatre; and, are American, do you spell color, colour? Do you spell realize, realise? Do you spell offense, offence?"

No, because those words only refer to one thing. For instance if color meant one thing and colour something else, then there would be a reason to spell them differently. Like the person you're marrying is a fiancee if it's a woman, or a fiance if it's a man. They're pronounced the same way, but the spelling provides a slightly different meaning.

The Dictionary of American English may not distinguish between theatre/theater, but I'll bet other (American) dictionaries do mention it, because it's common enough to at least be included as an option. And may I point out that we have a President of the United States who can't pronounce the word "nuclear." So all bets are off as far as the "official American" way to say or spell anything. When folks here say "most Americans spell it theater," I have a feeling that's because most Americans think that word means a place you go to watch movies and buy popcorn, and are the same people who refer to intermission as "halftime," and voted for the above-mentioned President who can't pronounce probably the most important word in his job.

What would be more interesting, and more to the point I think, is how many people in the industry, or who are frequent patrons, spell it either way. In other words, people who actually use the word with some regularity. Which is why this is the perfect place to ask the question.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 9:47pm

What?! So, you just make up definitions and they apply? What does this president, or any president have to do with the dictionary? Very odd.
Updated On: 10/8/06 at 09:47 PM