"Colour" and "color", "favourite" and "favorite", "honour" and "honor"…Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy?

Of course not. In fact, the difference in spelling was started by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He was a teacher who reformed (改革) English to make American identity (特征) stronger. Linguists (语言学家) celebrate his birthday on October 16 every year.

After the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary, rather thanrely onBritish dictionaries.

He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like what they sounded. He used "subway" instead of British word "underground". Some other examples are "soccer" and "football", "fall" and "autumn".

Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining (定义) preposterous (unreasonable), he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of female is preposterous.

Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70, 000-word dictionary with his American-style spelling in 1828. He also added local words.

His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new country achieve unity (统一) and cultural independence at a time when most people cared about political freedom.

"He was the creator of our language and the creator of American identity," said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a book about Webster. "He at last brought us together through our language."