Avoiding spelling mistakes

Civilization         

Civilization, or Civilisation as it is spelled in British English, is a noun meaning a civilized condition reclaimed from the rudeness of savage life. It also refers to a particular human society in a civilized condition. The verb to civilize means to socially, culturally, and morally develop a place or people. The words derive from a Latin term meaning citizen. So by helping people become citizens of the place where they live, legally recognized inhabitants of a place, we are helping to civilize them. The Thammasat University Library owns many books about civilization, and also about Kenneth Clark, an English art historian who hosted a much-praised television program in the 1960s, Civilisation. 

As sometimes occurs in English, there are different British and American spellings for the word civilization/ civilisation. Either one may be correct in a thesis or academic research paper. If the student has chosen British or American English as a writing style, then either civilization or civilisation would be the appropriate spelling. It would not be correct to use the British spelling of civilisation in a thesis or academic research paper that is otherwise written in American English, unless the word civilisation appears in a quotation originally printed somewhere else. Although there are two correct spellings for this word, a wrong spelling found in Thai English, civilzation, is never correct. One way to try to remember not to leave out all the vowels in the word civilization/ civilisation might be to think of other related words:

civilian

civility

Note that the above terms begin with the letters civili. If we think of the three letter i’s in the word civilization/ civilisation as three people making up a crowd of civilians where civility is being expressed, then we may better remember how to spell this important word.

Some usage examples:

• Ancient Egypt and Han civilizations collide at Nanjing exhibit. The grand exhibition “Pharaohs and Kings: Treasures of Ancient Egypt and China’s Han Dynasty” was unveiled to the public on Wednesday, which presents the different features of ancient Egypt civilization and Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) civilization.
• “Spring” fever, as in the Arab Spring, has not taken place in Iran. Instead, last Friday, the former Persian empire, home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, dating back to 4000 BC, delivered to the world an Iranian surprise.
• B Grimm and our family feel the deepest gratitude to all the Chakri Kings and the royal family of Thailand. Our founder, Muller, did a lot of great things and King Rama V bestowed him with the title Phra Patibatrajaprasong in recognition of his work. We have always remained true to our compassionate business approach and our social and cultural engagement, and the development of civilisation in harmony with nature. For example, we built Wat Mun Jindaram, which King Chulalongkorn visited.
• As we celebrate World Tourism Day today, we would highly encourage you to get derailed from the usual daily life and go get some fresh air into the nature.But, make sure you make the most out of your time. Here are 10 basic tips to keep you safe and sound during your time away from civilization.
• A new attraction in Pattaya, the Legend Siam is scheduled to open at the end of this year and is promoting itself as the first Thai cultural theme park. Costing around Bt4 billion, the park has been created by Nusasiri Company and brings together Thai history, arts and culture and shopping experience under one roof. “Our park aims to represent the pride of Thailand and to support Thailand’s tourism industry and economic growth,” explains Visanu Thepcharoen, chief executive officer of Nusasiri. Legend Siam is spread over 10,000 square metres and features three zones: Siam Vilize showcases civilization of Siam, Araya Thai representing Thai traditions and culture, and Bhumi Pan Din wisdom portrays the pride of Thailand.
• Solar minimums may be final piece of puzzle in fall of Western civilisation opinion. Academics often compare Western civilisation to the Roman Empire. This is hardly surprising when you consider that Amsterdam, London and Washington all compared themselves to Rome while constructing Romanesque government buildings and laws.
• The importance of a quality education was instilled in King Chulalongkorn by His father, King Mongkut (Rama IV). King Chulalongkorn shared this ideal with His son, H.R.S Prince Mahidol, who in turn passed it on to His son – King Bhumibol. Both grandfather and grandson embraced the value of education and proceeded to pursue further studies in science and political science. King Chulalongkorn and King Bhumibol both inherited the throne at relatively young ages – 17 and 18 years old, respectively. However, instead of immediately acceding to the throne, both took time to travel overseas to learn about Western civilization, modern technologies and systems of governance –  information which they believed would enable them to not just carry out their duties as Head of State effectively, but would also contribute to the greater good of the country in the long run. 
• Besides the “Red Lotus Sea”, Udon Thani is well known for the archaeological wonders of Ban Chiang where the world’s first Bronze Age civilization is believed to have flourished more than 5,000 years ago.Udon Thani can be reached by bus, train and air, with daily schedules from Bangkok’s bus and train terminals and Don Mueang International Airport.
• Vesak is celebrated as the beginning of a new era in human civilization. It is the day the world’s first human founder of a religion – the Buddha – was born. Before the Buddha, and even after him, almost every religion was founded by either a prophet or an inspired teacher. The Buddha, on the contrary, was purely human and claimed no divine authority. Yet he managed to provide an unsurpassingly great leadership to millions of followers simply on human leadership qualities. And he left to his followers an example and a conceptual frame for exemplary leadership that could be seen as remarkably progressive even in the twenty first century.
• A scientific paper led by two researchers at Harvard University made a splash this week by claiming that a cigar-shaped rock zooming through our solar system may have been sent by aliens. The researchers noted in a pre-print of the article that it was an “exotic scenario,” but that “Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization.”Oumuamua, the first interstellar object known to enter our solar system, accelerated faster away from the Sun than expected, hence the notion that some kind of artificial sail that runs on sunlight — known as a light sail — may have helped push it through space.
• A shattering collapse of civilisation is a “near certainty” in the next few decades due to humanity’s continuing destruction of the natural world that sustains all life on Earth, according to biologist Prof Paul Ehrlich. In May, it will be 50 years since the eminent biologist published his most famous and controversial book, The Population Bomb. But Ehrlich remains as outspoken as ever. Ehrlich also says an unprecedented redistribution of wealth is needed to end the over-consumption of resources, but “the rich who now run the global system – that hold the annual ‘world destroyer’ meetings in Davos – are unlikely to let it happen.”
• Civilisation, the landmark 1960s series, transformed how TV treated culture. But now, argues a presenter of the series ‘update’, it’s time for a broader sweep across time and place. F ifty years ago, in the opening scene of his epic, 13-part series Civilisation, Kenneth Clark famously and prudently dodged the big question. “What is civilisation?” he asked himself, while standing by the Seine, with Notre-Dame looming over his left shoulder. “I don’t know,” he breezily admitted, “but I think I can recognise it when I see it.”
• Someone asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of western civilisation, and he replied: “I think it would be a very good idea.” Like many of the best stories, alas, this one is probably apocryphal; but also like many of the best stories, it has survived because it has the flavour of truth. But my own response would have been very different: I think you should give up the very idea of western civilisation. It is at best the source of a great deal of confusion, at worst an obstacle to facing some of the great political challenges of our time. I hesitate to disagree with even the Gandhi of legend, but I believe western civilisation is not at all a good idea, and western culture is no improvement.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)