Tagged Questions
0
votes
0answers
106 views
Reform of English writing?
As is commonly known, English is quite notorious for having a writing system that is far removed from the actual way it is most commonly pronounced. I understand that there are important historical ...
1
vote
1answer
133 views
How to guess the pronunciation of some inconsistencies in English?
I’m not a native English speaker, and I have a lot of problems when is comes to pronouncing words like archive, archon, zealot, heal, health.
Why is the ch sometime pronounced like a k?
Why is the ...
0
votes
3answers
170 views
When we will use soft and hard sound in 'c'? [closed]
Sometimes we use the soft sound, and sometimes the hard – but why? Is there any rule?
0
votes
0answers
97 views
Why are apostrophes so important? [closed]
Why are apostrophes so important? Where did they come from? Wouldn't it be better to just get rid of them altogether?
6
votes
2answers
339 views
Why do American and British English use different quotation marks?
American English uses double-quotes, while British English uses single-quotes:
"This is a quote."
'This is a quote.'
Why do we use different quotation marks? When did this difference ...
3
votes
2answers
154 views
Why are I and O always capitalized, but a is not?
There are three single-letter words. They are the article a, the pronoun I, and the interjection O.
The pronoun I and the interjection O are always capitalized, but the article a follows normal ...
10
votes
3answers
321 views
Where did the practice of using apostrophes for possessive nouns but not pronouns originate?
Where did the practice of using apostrophes for possessive nouns but not pronouns originate?
For example, possessive nouns (both proper and common) are written with a apostrophe before the final s:
...
3
votes
2answers
192 views
What is the origin of the different pronunciations of C and G before different vowels?
In English the letters C and G usually have different pronunciation before a/o/u and before e/i. The same is true for Romance languages - French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian etc.
What is the origin of ...
2
votes
1answer
260 views
Did English use to have capitalization rules similar to German's current rules? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Capitalisation of nouns in English in the 17th and 18th centuries
I was looking up an article of the constitution of the United States of America, and I noticed in the ...
11
votes
2answers
744 views
How and when did American spelling supersede British spelling in the US?
Considering that Webster published his first dictionary in 1806, is there a recognised tipping point (year, decade, etc.) that marked the move from traditional British spelling to Webster's American? ...
12
votes
2answers
612 views
Canadian spelling: why?
As a Canadian, I feel that our spelling tendencies—sometimes British, sometimes American—fit quite well with our geographic, historic and cultural placement between these two bigger countries.
I have ...
10
votes
3answers
305 views
What was going on with “quha”, “quhat” and the like in Scots and English?
From the Dictionar o the Scots Leid:
Quha, Quhay, interrog. and rel. pron. Also: qwha, qha, qua, qwa, wha, vha, hua; qhaa; quhaw; quhai qwhay, whay, quay; quhae, whae; quhe, quhey, qwhey.
...
1
vote
1answer
764 views
What is “Oki-doki” or “Oki-dokie” or “Okay-dokay”
Okay, since now we know what is the origin of OK (I like the Oll Korrect version), I have another question about it's relative:
What is an "Oki-doki" or "Oki-dokie" or "Okay-dokay"?
What is the ...
6
votes
1answer
629 views
Variations in the pronunciation of “ea”
Perhaps this is more of a Linguistics question, so I apologize if this is not posted in the right place.
Why is it that these words in English sound so different?
earth = /ɜrθ/ “urth”
hearth ...
5
votes
2answers
459 views
Why is “hiccup” spelled with two c's?
Is there a historical or grammatical reason for spelling hiccup with two c's?
3
votes
2answers
844 views
Why are “connection” and “connexion” both used in the same work?
This question, Google Ngrams, Wikipedia, and several dictionaries all say that connexion is an alternate, obsolete spelling of connection.
I am reading a several-hundred page treatise (Milton S. ...
20
votes
2answers
4k views
Use of “f ” instead of “s” in historic, printed English documents
I was at a museum in London yesterday, and one of the items on exhibit is a document from the eighteenth century. It uses the letter f a lot where s should be used—for example, in Majefty.
Did the ...
8
votes
3answers
177 views
“Invoke” and “invocation”
We invoke something using an invocation.
Is the use of a k and a c in words of the same root like this unusual? Might I reasonably expect invocation to be spelled invokation?
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Why is “gauge” spelled with a 'u'?
I was rather old before I realized "gauge" is pronounced (and sometimes spelt) "gage". The etymology doesn't reveal too much:
mid-15c., from Anglo-Fr. gauge (mid-14c.), from O.N.Fr. gauger, from ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views
Why did 'y' disappear as an internal vowel in English spelling?
Why did the character 'y' disappear in favor of 'i' in English spelling? I've often noticed this replacement when merchants try to sell or advertise something as archaic or old-timey, writing wife as ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
Different ways to pronounce “augh”
In the word laugh, it is pronounced "aff".
In the word naught, it is pronounced "aw".
Are there any other ways to pronounce "augh"?
Bonus points for etymology explaining from where these ...
13
votes
2answers
618 views
Why is there a distinction between “its” and “it's”?
While I know technically the English language has a distinction because when there's a conflict between the possessive form and a contraction, the contraction wins. That is:
Its is the possessive ...
7
votes
1answer
454 views
How did the “double consonant to shorten vowel” thing come about? (“furry” vs. “fury”)
In English, a doubled consonant most commonly means "shorten the previous vowel", where "shorten" means map phonemes like this:
[aɪ] -> [i]
[oʊ] -> [ɔ]
etc
For example, fury is pronounced [fjʊri] ...
35
votes
6answers
2k views
When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑s”?
According to my grammar book, but at variance to the answer to this question, the correct singular possessive if a word ends in ‑s is:
James’s car
The grammar book allows exceptions for ...
