A person who gives advice to another person or other people such as a teacher, a counselor or an employer is called an "adviser," or "advisor." There is no doubt about the word's meaning. What does create some confusion is the correct spelling of the word. Is the word spelled "adviser" or "advisor?"Most research material maintains that both spellings of the word are correct. Pam Peters, for
. example states in her book, Cambridge Guide to English Usage, "Both these spellings are in current use, though adviser is the dominant spelling in both the US and the UK... Curiously, advisor is sometimes said to be 'the American spelling.'" The Columbia Guide to Standard American Usage agrees when it states, "Both spellings are Standard." It does seem that the spelling, "advisor," is simply an acceptable alternate spelling of "adviser," but "advisor" is not a word in and of itself.Although the spelling, "advisor," has come to represent a title in some instances, as in, "He is the Faculty Advisor," there is no specific listing or definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary for such a word. As in most research material, it is listed merely as an alternate spelling of the word "adviser." This practice of using "advisor" as a title is more common in the United States and Canada than in Great Britain and other English-speaking countries around the world.In any case, the word spelled as "adviser" is much older than the spelling, "advisor." The word, "adviser," is preferred by language purists and others who view "advisor" as a mistaken translation of the word, "advisory," which is a letter, or written statement, of advice. The spelling, "adviser," is roughly 5 times more commonly used in news publications which are written in the English language, making it the standard spelling by originality and popularity.More reference links: http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/ontarget/0502/adviser_advisor.htm http://www.grammarist.com/spelling/adviser-advisor/
