Confusing Words: Dialog (noun) and Dialogue (noun)
Meaning: “a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film.”
Dialog vs Dialogue Clarification: Dialog is the alternative spelling of dialogue. Dialogue is the more preferable spelling, which is used to refer to a conversation between two or more people.
Dialog vs Dialogue – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?
Have you ever pinned between the two variants of English language i.e. American English and British English? I am sure, you would have confused between these variants once in your life.
The first and foremost thing you should remember is that the term ‘dialog’ is usually used in American English. The other term ‘dialogue’ is the preferred term in British English. However, American English may also used the term ‘dialogue’ but as a verb. Moreover, the verb form will be dialoguing, dialogued, or dialogues.
Apart from the verb form, dialog and dialogue have different contexts to be used in.
Dialog
Dialog has been used in American English since 1980s. They are using this term as a computer term, which is a window that appears on a computer screen known as a ‘dialog box’.
1. Please read the whole of the explanation at the bottom of the dialog box. It will also help you to understand what you need to do here. (Enterprise Times)
2. Clearly marked dialog boxes make every action a cinch. (Trusted Reviews)
However, in British English, you rarely can see a term like ‘dialog’ being used by someone. The only preferred spelling is dialogue.
Dialogue
Dialogue, the only preferred spelling in British English, is used as a noun within a sentence. Moreover, it is used to refer to a conversation or a communication between two or more people.
A dialogue is very obvious in a movie or a book, which refers to a conversation between two or more characters. In this context, you will find out that both American and British English use ‘dialogue’ as the preferred spelling.
1. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil called Friday for dialogue and diplomacy between Arab countries as Qatar faces isolation in a growing row with fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism. (The Daily Star)
2. The High Level Political and Security Dialogue reflects a shared interest of the EU and of the Central Asian countries to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on security issues. (EU News)
Check Out: The Difference Between Catalog and Catalogue.
Do You Understand The Difference?
After a careful research, I came to know that the only preferable term to refer to a conversation between two or more people is ‘dialogue’ in British as well as in American English. However, the term ‘dialogue’ is also used as a verb in only North America to mean to join in a conversation. For instance,
1. Have you dialogued with your friends?
2. They are dialoguing about the recent issue that took place at the cinema.
Try to avoid dialogue as a verb because most of the American professionals just rejected the use of it. If you really want to use it as a verb then, be careful of the audiences; you can use ‘dialogue’ as a verb only in front of Americans.
Almost all of the writing styles (i.e. The AP Style, Fowler’s, etc.) declare that the preferred spelling is ‘dialogue’.
Note: Avoid using dialogue as a verb.
What Did You Learn?
It is obvious that dialog is the alternative spelling of dialogue. Dialogue is the more preferable spelling, which is used to refer to a conversation between two or more people. In this case, not only British English but also American English prefers to use dialogue instead of dialog.
However, dialog is only used in North America which is used to refer to a computer term i.e. a dialog box appears on a computer screen.