What is the difference between disc and disk? I don’t understand the difference in English
Disc is British English and Disk is American English (or British English when referring to a computer disk).
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You can thank swipe for that one, it’s auto correcting. Shouldn’t checked it more closely. I’m actually just down the road from a gaol at the moment. Some places keep the spelling and you’ll find it in a lot of government documents in particular.
Edit: Apparently jail wasn’t even a permissible alternative spelling of gaol in Aus until the late 1970’s. I was taught both versions at school as well even though it was after that. Some people do still use gaol around here although jail is more common. I learn something everyday. https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/qa-jail-or-gaol-which-is-it/
Also yes I was referring to programme as in a programme of events.
Yeah, at least some of my British authors have used gaol as a spelling. But mostly what I see is they say “prison” when “jail” is what is more accurate in American English–which is a different usage issue.
I could imagine this conversation
American: I got a DUI when I was younger.
Brit: Did you go to prison for drink driving?
American: No, just spent a month in jail.
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For me is very much impossible except looking in a dictionary from where a phrase comes from. It is something I can’t understand asin Spanish, is not incorrect mixture words frequently used in several Latino countries and is perfect correct grammatical speaking. As we share same Language academy.
When a speech check program put as an error a word because is American or British… I don’t understand. Is English. Should be one language. It irks me a lot.
@poison_mara - Jail refers to the local/state lock-up for lesser crimes … prison refers to the state/federal lock-up for more serious crimes.
Edit: Mara - see my clarification.
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Here is all same jail is jail. 
English is a language that forgot rules in the bathroom or something. Then what is the concept in general of Jail that involved all types of Prisons? I use jail for that.
English is a nutty language because it absorbs so many others like a sponge. I used to be the American English translator for a music MMORPG. The developer staff spoke fluent English, but they were from Sweden, and the cultural issues often outweighed the spelling ones too… I had free reign as the only American English translator, but the UK English team kept me amused when they’d debate the usage of particular words (especially British vs Australian usage).
And the jail/prison issue? Most American readers would get it. The only time I’d correct someone as a beta reader would be if they were trying for regional accuracy.
Technically, they don’t even call the prison facilities here in my state “prisons” anymore, but “units”, which I think is more than a little bit dumb. The city and county jails are still called jails. Relabeling the long-term facilities “units” doesn’t whitewash what they are there for.
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No matter how much a Viking I am, I do think that the distinction (between jail and prison) does make sense. America is such a large country, after all, and having separate words for similar concepts under different jurisdictions does at least satisfy categorization needs. What I don’t get though, is that what word is it you’re supposed to use when talking about the system in a country where such a divide does not exist.
Well you don’t need a word where the concept doesn’t exist. I’m mostly coming at this from the COG House Style which is “Unless the game is actually set in the actual present day UK, you should use American English.”
But we do have another in common: “borstal” and “juvie”! Though I think borstal is now like an old fashioned term in the UK.
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I would classify it based on the seriousness of the offence you are incarcerated for – jail is an easier, safer place with less dangerous people locked up in it while prison is for more serious and dangerous people.
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I haven’t heard “units” but living in Colorado I did hear people say “max” to refer to the Florence ADX prison, which is a huge “super”-maximum security prison where (for instance) Ted Kaczynski and El Chapo are incarcerated.
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That’s a good suggestion thanks. 
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Ok, so a question then. If you’re using a Spanish spellcheck and put in “patilla” it won’t show up with a line under it but, it’ll be… wrong for a certain audience, right? Because some Spanish speakers would be accustomed to seeing “sandia.”
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[OP here. Due to notification clutter, I’ll be unfollowing this thread. Please @ me if you need to talk directly to me regarding this topic ]
No both are correct . For instance in the access to College we had to make a redacted text that only can had a limited number of grammar errors. I can use any word included in Our official language academy dictionary. That dictionary includes all the speech differences from all countries. For instance I look out in the dictionary Sandia in text patilla is recognized as a synonym using in Latino America. Even if in Spain patilla has another two other meanings. In Spanish there is only a language and only one rules made by The Academy.
That’s why for me is so bizarre the way English works
Doesn’t Spanish have different dialects?
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So as long as it’s contextually apparent what is meant by “patilla” it’s ok? LIke “A mi me gusta comer las patillas,” no one thinks you meant “I like eating facial hair” so it’s fine. ?
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Yes different dialects but all are supported and recorded and are perfectly correct. And aren’t consider grammar errors.
@Mary_Duffy exactly. Many use that double meaning as jokes. Patilla is not only facial hair is also me lo lleve or la patilla( a colloquial phrase means I stole something. So Me lleve la patilla por la patilla is a joke phrase
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I didn’t know that. Prison and Jail are pretty much interchangable around here. (Often with something like maximum security added to denote one that is for more serious crimes.) Now they’ve started naming a lot of newer ones “correctional centres/facilities” so you’ll hear that too though not as commonly as a catch all for prison/jail.
@poison_mara Yeah English is an annoying language at times even for those of us who speak it as a first language. It has all these rules… except when it doesn’t, and it has a lot of usage and spelling variations depending on the country you’re in.
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