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You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Barbecue / Barbeque - US/UK/Aus...?

• Thread starter Thread starter uas60
• Start date Start date May 31, 2012

U

uas60

Senior Member

English; Urdu; Student of Arabic/French Hi all, so I'm currently a little confused about which one I like to use more (as a Brit)... It's a word I don't have to write often but are there any regional preferences? My stubborn brain doesn't like "barbeque" because it just seems like a corruption between "barbecue" and "BBQ" but both seem to be valid.

owlman5

Senior Member

Colorado English-US I associate "BBQ" with signs I used to see along the road in the sixties in the southern US. "Barbecue" is what I normally see nowadays in restaurants that serve the stuff.

JustKate

Senior Member

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA English - US I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that "barbeque" is just a misspelling, plain simple. As you say, UAS, it is a corruption, and it's just icky. (Sorry to get so technical there. ) So spell it the real way, which is "barbecue." Edit: BBQ is OK as an abbreviation, so it doesn't bother me. My only problem with it is that it seems to encourage people to spell "barbecue" with a Q as well, and that is, of course, just icky.

Myridon

Senior Member

Texas English - US Barbeque is quite common out here to the point that I wouldn't say it's a misspelling (any more than theatre or colour ). Our Spanish speaking neighbors might argue that we are all misspelling barbacoa.

Hau Ruck

Senior Member

United States - Midwest English - U.S. I am pretty sure the Aussie's spell it "barbeque". At least my New Zealand friend does....

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

JustKate said: I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that "barbeque" is just a misspelling, plain simple. As you say, UAS, it is a corruption, and it's just icky. (Sorry to get so technical there. ) So spell it the real way, which is "barbecue." Edit: BBQ is OK as an abbreviation, so it doesn't bother me. My only problem with it is that it seems to encourage people to spell "barbecue" with a Q as well, and that is, of course, just icky. Click to expand...

There will be quite a few on that limb, but it's sturdy for a few more years yet, I think. (But only a few more, mind!) By icky do you mean grotescue ? Unfortunately, as others have pointed out, the que form is becoming more common and has spawned (pun intended, as in even more grotescue) a spelling of the word queue - it is now showing up as "que" 'cos that's how it's spelled in barbeque! Did I say I hated it yet? UAS60 - barbeque is indeed a corruption

owlman5

Senior Member

Colorado English-US

JulianStuart said: There will be quite a few on that limb, but it's sturdy for a few more years yet, I think. (But only a few more, mind!) By icky do you mean grotescue ? Unfortunately, as others have pointed out, the que form is becoming more common and has spawned (pun intended, as in even more grotescue) a spelling of the word queue - it is now showing up as "que" 'cos that's how it's spelled in barbeque! Did I say I hated it yet? UAS60 - barbeque is indeed a corruption Click to expand...

But don't mention that idea in Texas, Julian. Those guys know their barbeque, and if they want to spell it that way, I wouldn't dare tell them they're wrong. Myridon's got a point.

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

owlman5 said: But don't mention that idea in Texas, Julian. Those guys know their barbeque, and if they want to spell it that way, I wouldn't dare tell them they're wrong. Myridon's got a point. Click to expand...

I didn't actually say it's "wrong", just that it's a corruption Those creep into the language occasionally, but often before one meets the word for the first time and the "corruption" is now the "modern, correct" form.

JustKate

Senior Member

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA English - US I'll tell them they're wrong, if you like, Owlman: Hey! You guys in Texas! It's spelled b-a-r-b-e-c-u-e! Look it up in a dictionary, why don't you! There. That should settle it, right? Yeah, riiiiiiight. (Edit: And BTW, I know guys in Texas who spell it with a "c." So it's not quite universal, thank goodness. I actually just made a bet with a friend in Texas, and it involves - and I quote - "5 pounds of Texas barbecue.") Because you've got to draw a line somewhere, don't you? If we give in on barbeque, the very next step will be cold slaw (no, I am not making that up, alas) or crapes or samwich. Last edited: Jun 1, 2012

ribran

Senior Member

Washington, DC English - American I agree that "barbecue" is the correct spelling in AmE, and that's the spelling I'm used to seeing. (By the way, did you know that we Texans are required by law to eat nothing but barbecue? ... just kidding​)

cycloneviv

Senior Member

Perth, Western Australia English - Australia

Filsmith said: I am pretty sure the Aussie's spell it "barbeque". At least my New Zealand friend does.... Click to expand...

Strange. I would have said "barbecue" or "BBQ" (or, of course, "Barbie"!) I'm sorry to say I think your Kiwi friend just spells it incorrectly. Edited to add: A Google search has just reminded me that there is a chain of shops called Barbeques Galore (shudder) here in Aus, but the 1 to 3 preference for "barbecue" reinforces my feeling that that's just plain wrong.

ewie

Senior Member

Manchester English English Barbecue is the correct spelling in British English. But everyone ~ and I mean everyone ~ spells it with a q: I believe it's the most commonly misspelt word in BE Yes, it does occasionally stop raining long enough for us to grill a sausage.

Pertinax

Senior Member

Queensland, Aust BrE->AuE

Myridon said: Barbeque is quite common out here to the point that I wouldn't say it's a misspelling (any more than theatre or colour ). Our Spanish speaking neighbors might argue that we are all misspelling barbacoa. Click to expand...

I would say the same of Australia. Both spellings are commonly found, for example, in the top newspapers. This article in the Sydney Morning Herald (2007) contains both spellings in the one article! The heading is:Frenchman cooks up world's largest barbeque​ while the first paragraph begins:A French cook has prepared the world's largest barbecue ...​ http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-...argest-barbeque/2007/11/19/1195321638440.html

ewie

Senior Member

Manchester English English

ewie said: Barbecue is the correct spelling in British English. But everyone ~ and I mean everyone ~ spells it with a q: I believe it's the most commonly misspelt word in BE Click to expand...

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Edinburgher

Senior Member

Scotland German/English bilingual If you spell it "barbeque", it should have two syllables and be pronounced "barbeck". This wrong spelling is clearly a back-formation from the silly abbreviation BBQ, which is as cringeworthy as using '4' for 'for' and '2' for 'to' or 'too', only more so, because saying the letters out loud gives you BEEbeekew, not BARbeekew. I went 2 the barbq but there was a q so I had to wait 4 almost 15 minutes b4 I got my hamburger, and then I had to wait 4 another couple of minutes because it was so fresh that it was 2 hot. But I'm complaining 2 much, and have to admit that it tasted gr8.

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

ewie said: GRATE NEW PRODUCT! LOW CALORY! DELICIOUS AND NUTRICIOUS! View attachment 54333 AND GUARANTEED FREE FROM POOFREADING! Click to expand...

I expect peeple are queing up for them alreddy Just found the WRF dictionary has an entry for 'que although I've not heard it in my decades in Calfornia

'que (kyo̅o̅), n. [Chiefly California.] Dialect Terms barbecue. Click to expand...

Myridon

Senior Member

Texas English - US Since we're going all prescriptive, I suppose I'll have to start complaining about all the people misspelling norange, pease, napron, ... We cannot allow all these corruptions.

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

Myridon said: Since we're going all prescriptive, I suppose I'll have to start complaining about all the people misspelling norange, pease, napron, ... We cannot allow all these corruptions. Click to expand...

We typically only react prescriptively to words that are changed by others (usually that notorious "younger generation) after we have learnt our basic language. I grew up with barbecue and queue, so I will see barbeque and que as wrong. I grew up with peas, cherries, aprons and oranges , so I find them "correct". I also groan when I hear "middle voice" constructions: "the document is printing", but am OK with "The cake was baking in the oven." Perhaps someone way back knew of noranges and felt oranges was wrong, but back then they worried less about spellynge.

kentix

Senior Member

English - U.S. Cue or que is a common shortening of barbecue that I hear far from California. [For what it's worth, when I "hear" a sentence like that in my head, Caleeforneeya always sounds like it's coming from Arnold Schwarzenegger's mouth. ]

Myridon

Senior Member

Texas English - US

JulianStuart said: We typically only react prescriptively to words that are changed by others. Click to expand...

That could said for words like "colour" and "paediatrician" as well. How would you feel if I ridiculed a product that had "colour" on the packaging?

ewie

Senior Member

Manchester English English I wasn't being prescriptive: people are free to misspell barbecue whenever, wherever and as often as they like.

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

Myridon said: That could said for words like "colour" and "paediatrician" as well. How would you feel if I ridiculed a product that had "colour" on the packaging? Click to expand...

Well, most of us are aware of the difference betweeen AE and BE spelling. Yes, there are indeed people who ridicule American spelling and there are Americans who refer to the spelling of "colour" as "quaint", However, we are talking here about the change within our lifetime* (by some AE speakers) of barbecue to barbeque (with this que being, for whatever reason, the only one pronounced as kew). We grow up with one form and then see another, there is a reaction. If I had grown up with barbeque, I would probably cry foul (or worse) if I saw barbecue. My post explained quite clearly how the sentence you quoted was intended. If people generations before mine had made the change it would not be remarkable, outside a historical context of how spelling evolves. *since the 1960s-ish

Loob

Senior Member

English UK Erm - I'm not sure it was a "change within our lifetime", Julian. The OED doesn't have any citations with barbeque, but here's its list of forms: Forms: 1600s barbecu, 1600s–1700s borbecu, 1700s barbicue, 1600s–1800s barbacue, 1700s– barbecue, 1800s– barbeque, (1800s babracot).​ (I rather like babracot.)

JulianStuart

Senior Member

Sonoma County CA English (UK then US)

Loob said: Erm - I'm not sure it was a "change within our lifetime", Julian. The OED doesn't have any citations with barbeque, but here's its list of forms: Forms: 1600s barbecu, 1600s–1700s borbecu, 1700s barbicue, 1600s–1800s barbacue, 1700s– barbecue, 1800s– barbeque, (1800s babracot).​ (I rather like babracot.) Click to expand...

I was looking at the (sort of quantitative) print database where the dominance of the -cue form is apparent (even in AE) and the -que form is only recently surging. (the *link in my post). The "change within our lifetime" was a more general comment on what is noticeable/remarkable/considered an "error". Spelling changes that occurred before we learnt "our" spelling are accepted/unknown/no longer an error Last edited: Mar 3, 2021 You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Bluesky LinkedIn WhatsApp Email Share Link

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