Word difference?

[Rottenmilk 0]

Hello all!
My friends and I had an argument about the difference between two words and pronunciation:
ALUMINUM
and
ALUMINIUM

So... what is the difference besides pronunciation?
Thanx!

[quade 4]

Depends on which country you're in.

Unaffected people in the U.S. would pronounce it a·lu·mi·num.

People in G.B. would pronounce it al·u·min·i·um.

Other than that . . . it's exactly the same stuff.

A silvery-white, ductile metallic element, found chiefly in bauxite. A good conductor, it is used in light, corrosion-resistant alloys. Atomic number 13; atomic weight 26.98; melting point 660.3°C; boiling point 2,519°C; specific gravity 2.70; valence 3.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Zee 0]

Quote

Depends on which country you're in.

Unaffected people in the U.S. would pronounce it a·lu·mi·num.

People in G.B. would pronounce it al·u·min·i·um.

Other than that . . . it's exactly the same stuff.

A silvery-white, ductile metallic element, found chiefly in bauxite. A good conductor, it is used in light, corrosion-resistant alloys. Atomic number 13; atomic weight 26.98; melting point 660.3°C; boiling point 2,519°C; specific gravity 2.70; valence 3.

Let me guess - that came right off the top of yer head?

Action©Sports

[ltdiver 3]

I have a very good friend in Australia who, when he pronounced the word the first time that we heard, got alot of laughter and ribbing. Aluminium....gawf! (or it that -really- the king's english? )

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[scientist_chick 0]

Australian's speak proper English, you know from that country found in EUROPE called England or as we ENGLISH like to call it the UK (that stands for United Kingdom).

**Moggie Gifts**

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Australian's speak proper English, you know from that country found in EUROPE called England or as we ENGLISH like to call it the UK (that stands for United Kingdom).

Um I would be reluctant to call it proper english

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Gawain 0]

Quote

Quote

Depends on which country you're in.

Unaffected people in the U.S. would pronounce it a·lu·mi·num.

People in G.B. would pronounce it al·u·min·i·um.

Other than that . . . it's exactly the same stuff.

A silvery-white, ductile metallic element, found chiefly in bauxite. A good conductor, it is used in light, corrosion-resistant alloys. Atomic number 13; atomic weight 26.98; melting point 660.3°C; boiling point 2,519°C; specific gravity 2.70; valence 3.

Let me guess - that came right off the top of yer head?

If it came from Billvon, I would've thought that.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[SpeedRacer 1]

Derived from the Latin ALUMEN for ALUM (Potassium aluminium sulphate). In 1761 French Chemist Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau proposed that ALUMINE for the base material of ALUM. De Morveau was instrumental in setting up a standardised system for chemical nomenclature and often collaborated with Antoine Lavoisier, who in 1787, suggested that ALUMINE was the oxide of a previously undiscovered metal.

In 1808 Sir Humphrey Davy proposed the name ALUMIUM for the metal. This rather unwieldy name was soon replaced by ALUMINUM and later the word ALUMINIUM was adopted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists in order to conform with the "ium" ending of most elements. By the mid-1800s both spellings were in use, indeed Charles Dickens commented at the time that he felt both names were too difficult for the masses to pronounce!

The patents of both Hall and Héroult refer to ALUMINIUM and the company Hall helped set up was originally called the Pittsburgh ALUMINIUM Company. It was shortly renamed the Pittsburgh Reduction Company and in the USA the metal gradually began to be known only as ALUMINUM (in 1907 Hall's company finally became the ALUMINUM Company of America). In 1925 the American Chemical Society decided to use the name ALUMINUM in their official publications. Most of the world have kept the I in ALUMINIUM but it is interesting to note that the name for the metal's oxide, ALUMINA has been universally accepted over its more convoluted alternatives, ALUMINE and ALUMINIA.

Both ALUMINIUM and ALUMINUM have an equal claim to etymological and historical justification, and it seems that the difference in both pronunciation and spelling is likely to stay with us for the foreseeable future!

One of the first works of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company


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©2000, The International Aluminium Institute. All rights reserved.

Speed Racer
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[skydiverbc 0]

i had a discussion with the boyfriend... about rather if the usa spoke american or english
i finally won my argument

[jimbarry 0]

Quote

i had a discussion with the boyfriend... about rather if the usa spoke american or english
i finally won my argument

Webster's calls it "American English". That's probably the best way to describe the language spoken in the US. Not sure what to call the language spoken by Anglo-Canadians (or who my brit friends refer to as "Plastic Yanks").

[Zep 0]

Quote

Depends on which country you're in.

Unaffected people in the U.S. would pronounce it a·lu·mi·num.

People in G.B. would pronounce it al·u·min·i·um.

Other than that . . . it's exactly the same stuff.

A silvery-white, ductile metallic element, found chiefly in bauxite. A good conductor, it is used in light, corrosion-resistant alloys. Atomic number 13; atomic weight 26.98; melting point 660.3°C; boiling point 2,519°C; specific gravity 2.70; valence 3.

Define Unaffected people, Just curious.

Gone fishing