airplane or aeroplane

Which of these two words do you use? What one would you suggest I use in everyday, informal speech?

I use airplane, but I'm North American. Aeroplane is used in the UK. Both are fine, I don't think it matters which you use.

It depends. In America, say airplane. In Britain, say aeroplane.

Aeroplane sounds better.

I use "aeroplane" but I'm from Australia. If you want to use North American style English, use "airplane" otherwise use "aeroplane".

I can't say for other areas in North America, but in the northeastern US, no one says "airplane" anymore. Just "plane."

Re Aeroplane vs Airplane: These are what are known in Linguistics as "competing forms". Two or more words compete with each other in a language for the same meaning and in the end one wins out.

It happens all the time. For example, in Old Spanish several words words like rapoza "fox", cán "dog" and hiniestra window" competed with zorro, perro and ventana but the latter three eventually won out. (In Judaeo-Spanish, however, rapoza is still used for "fox"). In English, Northern Middle English "they, their, them" eventually won out over Southern Middle English "hi, hir, hem" but the Southern English "church" prevailed over the North English "kirk".

I remember hearing some Americans using "aeroplane" as late as the 1950's but nowadays "airplane" appears to be ubiquitous in the United States. Sometimes linguistic changes can happen within a lifetime.

Airplane sounds weird. It's what I expect a little kid to come up with to describe an aeroplane.

Quote-"they, their, them" eventually won out over Southern Middle English "hi, hir, hem"

It's a good thing that ''their'' won out over Southern Middle English ''hir'' because ''hir'' would sound just like ''her''.

It's an airplane or a plane where I am from - this includes both coasts in America.

AIRPLANE...Mind you we don't say airspace or airdynamics...it's aerospac
e and aerodynamics...just airplane is different.

Airport

Do Britons, Australians etc. call ''airports'', ''aeroports''? Americans call them ''airports''.

No, we say "airport" but it is "aeroport" in French.

I'm from the US. I use "plane" and "airplane" more, but I've used "aeroplane" a few times also.