This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
2
votes
0answers
33 views
What is the correct capitalization of code examples when beginning a sentence? [duplicate]
I am writing a technical book and a lot of it is structured as explanations of code examples.
For instance:
var links = data.map(function (d) {
return {source: nick_id(d.from),
...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Usage and spelling of “wordlength” and “bitbreadth”
As far as I know, these are the meanings:
wordlength — for instance, 4 bytes when the bitbreadth is 32 and 8 bytes when the bitbreadth is 64.
bitbreadth — for example, 32 or 64 or 4 bits for a ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
How to form a gerund from “practise”?
I (think) I know the difference between practise (verb) and practice (non-verb).
However, I am not sure which form I should use in cases like the following ones:
I love practising the guitar.
...
2
votes
3answers
72 views
Where does the phrase “fair do's/dues/doos/does” come from?
I was researching the phrase fair do's, attempting to determine which spelling was most appropriate, and where it had come from. Unfortunately most of the information I could find was very ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Belonging to a Company [closed]
Just checked out OED & Webster's online, I can't find the word "company's" - as in belonging to a corporation. Is there any reason for this?
4
votes
0answers
105 views
British spelling of programme and diagram
Does anyone know a reason why British English retains the -amme ending for programme but not for diagram? They both have French origins.
Programme
... Spelling programme, established in Britain, ...
4
votes
1answer
93 views
Why is the noun form of “permit” “permission”?
The noun form of permit is permission instead of permition. Why isn't it permition?
0
votes
0answers
57 views
Why is imperialism not spelled empirialism?
If the goal of imperialism is to create an empire, why is the word not spelled "empirialism"?
4
votes
2answers
165 views
How much mmmm should be in hmmmmmmm
This is my first question here.
I am not a fluent English speaker. I just know the basics.
My question is how many m's should be there in "hmm" as when I try typing it anywhere, it suggests "hmmm," ...
0
votes
2answers
50 views
Overview of comma and interpunctuation rules
Is there any good summary of comma and interpunctuation rules? I know that English spelling traditionally requires fewer commas than, for example, German, however I am often unsure whether to use a ...
2
votes
1answer
157 views
Why facebook “ like's ” instead of “ 'like's ”
I'm not native english, I'm sorry if this is obvious but I can't find an explanation.
Why are facebook "like"s usually referred to as "like's" (you can see many instances here)
To use a "word as a ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Does the word “raytracer” exist?
If not, is it well readable anyway?
"Ray tracer" seems to be used more frequently but this is not my question.
An example sentence could be:
A raytracer is a computer program that uses an ...
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 ...
0
votes
4answers
140 views
When are you 'You', and when 'you'?
When is it in spelling that the personal pronoun 'you' should be written with capital Y?
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Correct spelling of language names [closed]
In a sentence referring to various languages, should the names of the languages be capitalized?
-1
votes
0answers
78 views
Old English Latin Alphabet spelling query [closed]
I'm writing a small artist's book and I would like to write the simple phrase(s)
"I left my Mother/Father/Sisters/Lover/House/Heart" in some version of archaic English that is still vaguely ...
3
votes
4answers
131 views
“Home page” or “homepage”? [closed]
Is there a convention for the spelling of the name of the main page of a website? Should it be home page, with a space between the two words; or homepage, all one word?
4
votes
1answer
97 views
“Exercise” but not “exercize”
Many words are spelled with -ise in British English and -ize in American English:
realise/realize
sanitise/sanitize
scrutinise/scrutinize
But exercise can only be spelled with -ise, never with ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
Character vs Charm - Pronunciation
Is there a rule to understand how the group "Cha" has to be pronounced?
"Character" sounds with a hard first syllable, while "Charm" sound softer, but I don't find how to tell which sound to use ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
“Boneular” vs. “bonular”
My knowledge in morphology and orthography is lacking. I would like to know how to spell the neologism boneular, from bone (or Backbone, a programming library used for creating Web applications) and ...
-2
votes
1answer
95 views
Height and weight written out
In formal writing I like to do this (in British style):
The infant weighed 10lb 5oz;
a 10lb 5oz infant
He was 6ft 3in tall;
a 6ft 3in man
My question is about the plural usage: do we ...
7
votes
3answers
599 views
meaning and usage of 'teh'
“I wouldn’ say no teh a bit o’ yer birthday cake, neither.”
“He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him.”
—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Hagrid’s ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views
Is it “falsy” or “falsey”?
I have seen both versions of the word, falsy and falsey.
It can mean "something that is equivalent to false" in computer science, such as "The only two falsy values in the Ruby Language are false and ...
1
vote
1answer
134 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 ...
5
votes
0answers
215 views
How are Japanese words spelt in English? [closed]
When they are writing material in English, I sometimes see native speakers of Japanese misspell English words that were derived from Japanese.
For example, I've seen "tunami" written instead of ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Is it okay to use a colon within a bulleted list?
Question 1: Are colons allowed in a list?
Business writing skills: data entry, email, presentation and press release writing.
Question 2: Should there be only one and in a sentence?
-1
votes
1answer
88 views
“Bazaar” vs. “bazar”
Which of bazaar or bazar is better to use for the domain name of specialised marketplace?
Both are available according to the dictionaries.
Any advice which of these two is better to use in the URL?
...
-1
votes
1answer
253 views
Apostrophes and s's [duplicate]
I always forget the rule about if something is possessive put 's at the end, for example "the sailor's hat". I know some people say to remember because it has a different meaning if it's plural (e.g. ...
1
vote
3answers
119 views
What is the word for someone who has been recommended?
Does the word recommendee exist? If so, is it spelled as such?
What would be the opposite, or the person who is doing the recommending?
-1
votes
2answers
68 views
Correct use of comma?
Should there be a comma after 1975?
Peter Singer wrote Animal Liberation in 1975, igniting the modern animal movement.
1
vote
2answers
139 views
reestablish vs. re-establish
Which form of this word is more appropriate for general use?
I would expect someone to misread reestablish more often than re-establish, however it is more consistent in context with renew, ...
1
vote
0answers
64 views
False spellings as brands [closed]
When companies create a brand name, they often use a misspelled word or faux word. The classic example is swapping a 'K' in for a hard 'C', like in 'Konqueror', the browser.
Another example would ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
What does “sayd” (etc.) mean in old book clipping? [closed]
Quotation from A history of the cries of London ancient (p24, 25).
Noisy parties of wits and Paul's men crossed to Bankside to see Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet the Dane, or else 'The most excellent ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
What is the proper way to spell “inspiraysh”?
I've noticed a trend among "younger people" to shorten words by simply cutting the ending off.
For example, instead of inspiration they might say something like inspiraysh.
What is the proper way ...
6
votes
2answers
297 views
Why is “k” added to “panic” when suffixes added (as in “panicky”)?
When adding any suffix to the word "panic," a "k" is added after the "c". Examples: panicked, panicking, panicky.
Why is this the case? Are there any other English words that do the same? I'm also ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
What do “truxtop” and “thumb tax” mean? [closed]
What do truxtop and thumb tax mean?
I found them mentioned in this quotation from English Words History and Structure, 2nd edition (p. 113):
The replacement of the sequence [ks] by x is a ...
2
votes
1answer
124 views
Why is it “loggable” rather than “logable”?
I am using 'loggable' in the name of an interface written in a .NET programming language. It is among the many words that make sense in a programming context but aren't (yet) listed in English ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Is “facetious” unique? [duplicate]
Is "facetious" unique, as the only English word with all vowels appearing once, and in alphabetical order? Or, if you count Y as a vowel (as some do) does the same apply to "facetiously"?
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?
-3
votes
1answer
62 views
Why we use c in care,why not kare? [closed]
I think care is right though i have a question that why is it not possible to say 'kare' instead of care?
-1
votes
2answers
110 views
Where do I have to put my commas?
Are the commas in the right places in the following sentence?
I want to combine my experiences in software development
and network administration with the skills I acquired at university in one ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
“dispatch” v “despatch” [closed]
Using it in the example of:
Can you log despatch and delivery of documents?
Three questions:
Is despatch a misspelling of dispatch that made its way into the dictionary? Could I use dispatch ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
How to know when the z can't be used instead of s in an ending? [duplicate]
I'm familiar with -se -ses -sation etc endings being British and the American equivalent being with z rather than s. However, I stumbled on the word "improvisation", which apparently can't be spelled ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
Abstain, Maintain : Abstinence, Maintenance spelling difference between verb and noun [duplicate]
Regarding the verbs Abstain and Maintain, why are they spelt differently as nouns Abstinence, Maintenance even though they seem like they would have similar spelling.
1
vote
1answer
80 views
How many hyphens are appropriate in “Vietnam war veteran turned performing artist Joe Smith”? [duplicate]
How many hyphens should there be in this phrase?
Vietnam war veteran turned performing artist Joe Smith
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Capitalization and hyphenation for prefixed adjectives derived from proper names in mathematics
In mathematics, it often occurs that the last names of famous mathematicians are used as adjectives with mathematical meaning. Most of these adjectives are written with a capital letter. Then, ...
2
votes
2answers
95 views
Percent or per cent
How should I choose between writing "percent" and "per cent"?
For example:
He sold 42 percent of his stock in the company.
or
He sold 42 per cent of his stock in the company.
Are there ...
0
votes
3answers
157 views
Coining new words from existing ones: Duplicate last letter?
I am trying to invent a word by taking an existing word and turning it into a noun a person can be called who is interacting with an object.
The trouble I ran into was the initial word's ending.
...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Pedagogue vs. pedagogy vs. pedagogical
How do people choose to pronounce the -agogue suffix in these three words?
pedagogue
pedagogy
pedagogical
The first is a reasonably common word and its suffix is surely consistently ...
-2
votes
4answers
448 views
Is it acceptable to use “womyn” or “womin” instead of “women”?
I have often seen/heard these two terms in many articles and speeches about Feminism or women's rights issues. I couldn't find them in any online dictionary except for the Oxford Dictionary which ...
