Defence vs. Defense—Which Should I Use?

Let’s dispel another spelling mystery. It’s defense against defence, and if you think it’s one of the British English vs. American English things—you might be onto something.

Defence and defense are both correct ways to spell the same word. The difference between them, the fact that one’s spelled with a “c” and the other with an “s”, comes down to the part of the world in which they are used. In the United States, people spell it with an “s”—defense. An American would write something like this:

Of course our team won; we had vastly superior defense.

In parts of the world where British English is used, they use the spelling with a “c”—defence. A Brit would write:

There’s no defence that could have stopped that attack.

This difference in spelling carries over to the inflected forms of the word only partially. In words like “defenceless,” “defencelessly,” or “defenceman,” the British spelling retains its “c,” instead of changing it for an American “s”—”defenseless,” “defenselessly,” or “defenseman.” But when the suffix added to the word begins with an “i,” in both American and in British English the resulting word is spelled with an “s”:

He was added to the team because of his strong defencive performance.

He was added to the team because of his strong defensive performance.

The platoon had to move to a more easily defencible position.

The platoon had to move to a more easily defensible position.

It should also be noted that you might come across the word defense being used as a verb. This is particularly common in the US when talking about sports, when the word is used instead “defend against”:

The team defenses the opponent’s advance.

The team defends against the opponent’s advance.

This usage is considered incorrect by some style guides, and it would be better if you didn’t use defense as a verb outside the context of sports.

Examples

Centre-back Joel Matip’s return is set to bring a calming influence to Liverpool’s defence but manager Jurgen Klopp has tried to deflect attention away from the 25-year-old.

The Daily Mail

For some like Veronica, a research scholar in chemistry, mastering a few self-defence techniques has provided an opportunity to get fitter.

The Hindu

The team needs to sustain its defense no matter who it is facing.

The Columbus Dispatch

Fowler, who struggled defensively early in his career, played spectacular defense with the Cubs, after he started playing deeper.

The Huffington Post

Six Bookish Songs to Spread Holiday Cheer

Merry LitMas!

Just kidding, we’re only on the sixth day of LitMas, so we haven’t finished giving you gifts of well-read knowledge yet. Today, we’re departing from booklists and reading tips for something you can tap your toes to. That’s right, we’ve created a playlist of tunes inspired by famous works of literature. And we have to admit, we love the creativity behind all of these bookish songs.

1 Christmas at Hogwarts by Harry and the Potters

We’re starting with a classic literary band, Harry and the Potters! Although it was hard to choose just one song from their Christmas-in-the-wizarding-world-themed album, this short but sweet number rose to the top. Fun fact: if their name wasn’t enough to suggest a literary connection, this powerhouse group once played at the New York Public Library! Absolutely magical.

2 Narnia by Steve Hackett

What’s more festive than The Chronicles of Narnia? This lovely ode to C. S. Lewis’s fantasy masterpiece is certain to set you in a bright and cheery mood, even if it describes eternal winter and lost children.

3 The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy

You read that right, Leonard Nimoy once recorded a two-minute-21-second ballad about the merits and trials of Bilbo Baggins. We don’t think we need to say much more here, since this is obviously an instant nerd classic.

4 Atticus by The Noisettes

Harper Lee’s passing this year was a tragedy for the literary world. Luckily, some great artists have commemorated her work, so remembering her can be as easy as listening to a track. This tribute from The Noisettes is light, sweet, and beautiful, just like the novel it references.

5 Gold by Imagine Dragons

Ok, we have to admit that this entry is slightly stretching the definition of literary. Imagine Dragons based this track loosely on the Midas myth, without referencing any one author or work. But hey, what’s the holiday season without a little fun?

6 Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

Although the reference may be obvious, this song probably captures the emotions of its reference work better than any other on this list. Kate Bush has been listed as an influence for a number of current artists, and this hit shows what a powerhouse she is.

If you’d like to listen to more literary jams, we made a Spotify playlist with a few of our favorite bookish tunes. Did we forget any of your favorites?

Is spelling important to you when shopping? Take the poll!

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.

7 Star Wars Leadership Lessons

May the Fourth be with you!

Today may be a day dedicated to puns, fandom, and a galaxy far, far away, but it probably doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly learned a Jedi mind trick to keep your manager from asking for that project, presentation, or report. If you’re like me, you’re trapped at work, wishing you could be cosplaying The Force Awakens with your family or baking an R2-D2 cake.

Unfortunately, Star Wars Day has yet to be recognized as a national holiday. In better news, both the Dark Side and the Light Side have a lot to teach marketers about life, love, and the pursuit of the target demographic. Let’s see what the Jedi (and the Sith) have to say about marketing leadership.

Kylo Ren Is the Ultimate Counterexample of Disaster Response

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What do you do when the rebel scum hits the fan? Let’s use Kylo Ren as a counterexample for marketing leadership: he’s impulsive, hot-tempered, and incapable of inspiring his team.

So whether your social team makes an epic blunder, or a key executive spouts politically incorrect things in an interview, take a deep breath. Your next move will define who you are as a leader. Don’t repeat Kylo’s mistake by responding without thinking. You can make a disaster recovery plan, check for vulnerabilities, and apologize afterward, but the most important PR response will always be internal, so take care with how you handle crises with your team. Others will look to you as a leader for the appropriate mode and tone of response, so set that tone from the moment you hear about your organization’s blunder. Unlike Kylo, you can’t just slash the controls and shut everything down.

Balanced, Yoda Is

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Yoda may be an obvious choice when talking about any sort of leadership, since he has dispatched his fair share of sage leadership advice. But instead of focusing on “there is no try,” what if we looked at Yoda as a whole? Overall, this Jedi master emphasizes the psychological aspects of the Force, and marketers could stand to learn a few things. In our constant fight for eyes and ears, we sometimes forget what our target customer needs.

Does your customer really want another viral video, or are they trying to figure out how your product works? Do they need another tweet about National Pancake Day, or would they prefer a help article that answers their common questions? I believe Yoda would say, “Clear your mind, and ask them, you should.”

Admiral Ackbar Is Not a Trap(ped Leader)

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We all know this meme-worthy line, but do you know the context in which it’s said? Admiral Ackbar is managing multiple moving parts of one initiative, and he’s strapped for resources, manpower, and the skill to bring about the results his team needs (sound familiar?). Trying to balance brute force with agility and speed, he discovers that his chances of success have been slashed by factors outside his control. When he utters this now-famous line, he’s expressing the shock we all feel when things don’t pan out. But does he throw in the towel, even though he has few resources and he’s facing impossible goals? No! Ackbar pulls his team back to regroup, concentrating their energy on achievable KPIs. Once the shields are down and the time is right, they strike–ultimately winning the war.

With decreasing budgets and increasing expectations, digital marketing can sometimes feel like a losing battle. When leading a team into a difficult, resource-strapped situation, it may be time for us all to take a lesson from Ackbar. We need to identify the areas of potentially sky-high ROI, without wasting our team’s time and energy on losing battles in the interim. Although it may occasionally seem like a trap, with expert guidance and focus on the right metrics, our teams can (and will) win.

Emperor Palpatine Has No Vision

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Emperor Palpatine is ego personified for all the galaxy to see, and he’s also a great example of the overconfidence that has led to some pretty terrible marketing campaigns. Think of New Coke or the creepy Burger King mascot. You could also harken back to a number of poorly planned corporate social media blunders. When ideas like these fail so gloriously, occasionally I ask myself, “How could this have happened?” The answer: a Palpatine perspective on idea generation.

There’s a common phrase in journalism (and other highly edited writing) that you have to “kill your babies.” This infanticidal euphemism simply means that sometimes you have a great line of copy, idea, or wide shot that simply doesn’t fit in the larger piece and must be cut. Some marketers could stand to learn from this, lest our egos about having the best idea in the room become more important than the ideas themselves. It’s often prudent to take a step back; show someone else your killer campaign, press stunt, or even blog idea; and allow them to give brutal, honest feedback. After all, we don’t want our work compared to Empire.

Leia Has a High IQ–and a Great EQ

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Leia’s famously improvised line is key to the love story of Star Wars. But it also shows that she has a significant amount of emotional intelligence (EQ), since she recognizes love in a hard-to-read paramour. Although Leia clearly has a very high IQ, her EQ helps the character-driven story to progress, and it’s something we could all improve in our customers’ experiences. Knowing what your customers want is the first step to creating a great experience, but really empathizing with their pain points is the next step in that journey. Marketers are now tasked with the entire customer experience, so we should focus on understanding the emotions our customers feel when they have a negative interaction with our brand. Do your customers love you? Do you know?