You've started sneering early this morning HH. The English language isn't static, it evolves, unlike the French who carefully preserve their language. 'Mold' and 'mould' are merely different spellings but often the Americans use English words that were used in earlier times but have long been left behind by us.
No, I am not sneering - I am disappointed that you should wish to prefer Noah Webster's "rationalised" spellings to those which give English some distinction. A completely symmetrical face may have a classical beauty but it is the asymmetries of the real face that gives it character. The irregularities of English spelling militate against the American mechanistic presentation.
I am quite happy for Americans to have their own spellings, but I would like to preserve the distinctiveness of English used in its native territory. For instance, I welcome the opportunity to restrict "license" to being used only as a verb. Its use otherwise looks illiterate.
The French haven't so much preserved their language as fossilised it. I certainly wouldn't want us to go that far.
I actually welcome some American neologisms (I have no complaint about "first responder" when it refers to, say, a paramedic who reaches a patient quickly and who then makes an assessment of what should happen next). However, I do dislike the American practice of using nouns as verbs - things like "the guests came into the sitting room and armchaired themselves".
