"travelling" vs. "traveling"

Question

Is the correct spelling travelling or traveling? I’ve seen both in common usage, but I can't find an authoritative source that says one way or another.

Is this a difference between British spelling and American spelling?

@Jim, interesting graph, but you used the 'English' corpus, which will be weighted towards US spelling due to the number of books published in the USA. — Roaring Fish, Sep 02 '12 at 03:29
@RoaringFish- Yes, my point was not to discern an AmE/BrE difference but to note the difference over time. — Jim, Sep 02 '12 at 04:02
A quick search on Google shows several different answers in the top 10 results. I take that to mean this is not general reference. Should be reopened. — Nicole, Apr 13 '14 at 00:08

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 19 '13 at 18:15

8

There is no hard-and-fast rule that is universally applied, but in general, many and perhaps most writers of American English use just one single L there.

Other varieties, including British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, South African, and (usually (but not always)) Canadian, almost invariably use two Ls there.

I draw your attention to the first bullet point under "Doubled Consonants".

edited Mar 19 '13 at 18:15

tchrist

134,759

answered Sep 02 '12 at 00:37

Canadians and some Americans also use two L’s. – tchrist Sep 02 '12 at 00:41
1

Yeah, Canadian English is not American English, so it fits into my sentence about "other varieties". Should I have said "United States English", so that it was clear that I didn't mean "North American English"? But some Americans? @tchrist, are you sure? – Sep 02 '12 at 00:49
Yes, I’m quite sure. Would you like a copy of my book? :) – tchrist Sep 02 '12 at 00:50
1

@tchrist Do you mean the book that was co-authored by a New Zealander? – Sep 02 '12 at 00:51
No, I mean Programming Perl, which is 100% American. Anyway, my just-previous boss is also American, and like me also uses double-L spellings on things like marshalling, travelling, signalling, and levelling. It is far from unknown here, no matter what newspaper editors would have you believe. – tchrist Sep 02 '12 at 00:53
@tchrist You are very kind. But given the size of your book and the remoteness of my little corner of the world, it would probably be prohibitively expensive for you to ship it to me. So I shall decline your generosity on this occasion, but thank you so much for offering. – Sep 02 '12 at 01:07

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 02 '12 at 03:25

2

British English Ngram

American English Ngram

It looks as though it is a difference between British spelling and American spelling, as the OP suspected.

answered Sep 02 '12 at 03:25

Roaring Fish

15,115

"travelling" vs. "traveling"

2 Answers2

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