Program vs Programme

Question

I have always thought that the word "program" is the correct one, but I was reading a text and the word "programme" was mentioned. I looked the two words up in my dictionary and I suppose they mean the same thing but it's written in a different way. Am I right? Which one do you use?

Answer 1

¡Holka!, Ianta:

I'm a Canadian. Canadians seem to straddle the English used by the English and what passes for English in the US of A. Canadians are a conflicted bunch who never know whether to side with the Yanks or the Brits. For that reason, my dictionary (a Collins printed in Glascow) states that the word is programme, or, in the U.S of A, program. And it permits either spelling interchangebly.

I don't know if my answer is any help to you but I do know that if America and Britain go to war over the common language that divides them, I'm just going to hide out here in the Western Hemisphere's "Great White North".

Saludos y feliz año nuevo,
Moe

Answer 2

See: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/get-with-the-programme/

In British English there is a difference between the two.

For example (taken from the above website):

We’re still drawing up the programme for the concert.

This computer program won’t run on my PC.

I missed my favourite television programme last night.

Answer 3

Actually it is much more subtle than the English /American divide.

A "program" is a series of instructions for a computer wheras a "programme" is a planned list of activities. You might have the programme for a concert. You might listen to a programme on the radio.

There is no such thing as a computer programme...that would be illogical. Unix is a programming language.

Ah, I didn't see Billygoat's answer. |Well, this is confirmation of what he said :-) - lagartijaverde, Dec 29, 2011

Actually Unix is an operatig system (not a language) and was written in C. - samdie, Dec 29, 2011

Yes, you're right, c++ ;-) - lagartijaverde, Dec 29, 2011

Answer 4

Thank you very much for your answers, I see that it's a matter of British and American English spelling.

Our friend Billygoat intrigued my curiosity saying that when referring to computer programs in Great Britain, spelling programme is wrong. Maybe that's because the USA is the "mother" of computers and the word "program" prevailed in GB as well.

very interesting observation Ianta! I'd never thought of that. - billygoat, Dec 29, 2011

Answer 5

The British always like to add a vowel to many English words we have.

Ja ja ja, SingASDF. As between the English and the Americans, who do you suppose was first to speak the English language. And, who do you think was first to modify English by dropping vowels or consonants here and there?? - Moe, Dec 28, 2011

Moe, I recognise your unshakeable aesthetics, your marvellous humour, and your encyclopaedic knowledge of our language, but I'd like to think that your Yankee neighbours are your favourites and that this fact might colour your opinion. - ajaks, Dec 29, 2011

Answer 6

I think if you wrote programme an any standardized test in US it would be marked wrong.

Answer 7

I'm an American and we always say "program" for everything. but that's very vernacular I suppose.

El programa! ole!

Answer 8

i believe program is american and programme is british

That's what I thought but my dictionary doesn't mention anything like that. My other assumption was that they are used interchangeably. Thank you Robert. - ianta, Dec 28, 2011