-ise and -ize spellings/Englisch Orthographie

In British English, both organise and organize are correct. In American English, it has to be organize. One of the English sources that recommends -ize in BE is the Oxford University Press. However, I wouldn't call -ize Oxford spelling. I prefer to use it myself, but there are a number of verbs that still have to be spelt -ise, such as advertise and exercise. Here's a list. So it's actually easier to use -ise. Reasons to use -ise might be: it's easier (see above), the EU English Style Guide recommends it (why?!), and some clients, whether British or German, will insist on it as the only correct British form. They are wrong, but may not wish to admit this. Also, a client may have a house style, and the translator should then stick to that. June 2010 PDF of the EU English Style Guide. A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission (lots of interesting stuff on legal texts here too). 1.2 Words in -ise/-ize. Use -ise. Both spellings are correct in British English, but the -ise form is now much more common in the media. Using the -ise spelling does away with the need to list the most common cases where it must be used anyway. (There are up to 40 exceptions to the -ize convention: the lists vary in length, few claiming to be exhaustive.) The spelling organisation should thus be used for all international organisations, even if they more commonly use the -ize spelling, e.g. International Labour Organisation (its website uses International Labour Organization, while Americans will write International Labor Organization). However, following the rule in 1.1 above, the spellings of bodies native to the USA and other countries that use the –ize spelling may be retained. I like the second paragraph, which I can't remember seeing before. OHIM is a European organization but it spells itself Office for Harmonization in the I…