Editor's Corner

The other day, I was doing what editors do sometimes and wondering about the words dialog and dialogue. Are they both correct? Is one a U.S. spelling and the other British? Is one for tech and the other for talk? It got sillier from there, so I thought I should look into it and find some answers.

I used the website Writing Explained for my research, and as you’ll see, there isn’t just one way to use the different spellings when you’re in the United States.

When should I use the spelling dialog?

Dialog is an acceptable spelling of the word dialogue, when used in U.S. computing. It is used (as we do at JH) to refer to a pop-up window, in which you might answer a brief prompt or question. This is referred to as a dialog box.

The British rarely use the spelling dialog, whether it be when writing about an interchange with people or communicating with the computer. The following chart is from Writing Explained, and it shows the British use of each spelling over time:

This next chart is the U.S. use of both spellings. (See the website if you want to read more about the topic.)

For us writers and editors in the U.S., just keep on trucking and using dialog (and dialog box) in technical documentation.

As for dialogue, in the U.S., there’s a place for that, too. When writing about two or more people conversing, the spelling of dialogue is correct. This was mentioned as the preferred spelling in formal use, in both British and American English (though dialog is creeping into some writing here).

Outside of its use for conversation, dialogue “has become something of a buzzword in politics since the 1960s. In this sense, it approximates the meaning of negotiations between diplomatic contacts of two nations. While this use was initially met with objections, it has become well established in Modern English.”

There’s one other question: can dialogue be used as a verb? I saw several answers to this, and here is mine: NO. “Let’s dialogue about this topic later.” No, no, no. Let’s discuss it, let’s talk about it, let’s throw it out the window…you don’t need to use a longer word to sound fancy, especially if it is not being used correctly.

The bottom line in the U.S.:

• Dialog (noun) – For technical writing about the computer world (dialog box).
• Dialogue (noun) – For communicating with another person; for politics.
• Dialogue (verb) – No. Bad dog. No treats.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

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