This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
2
votes
2answers
291 views
Hyphens after the prefixes “non-” and “anti-” in mathematics
Is there a convention when to attach the prefixes non- and anti- to mathematical terms using a hyphen and when without?
One uses non-zero but also noncommutative.
Likewise for anti-. I no longer ...
11
votes
2answers
751 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? ...
13
votes
4answers
664 views
Why is “wavelength” one word when “wave height” isn't?
As another example, wave speed is two words. But wavelength is only one word.
What is the reason for this? In Swedish and other contructs, both words are only one word:
våglängd (wavelength)
våghöjd ...
1
vote
0answers
36 views
Why is “proceed” spelt “-ceed” and not “-cede” like “precede”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Origins of the “‑cede/‑seed/‑ceed” suffix
The pronunciation of proceed is exactly like that of precede with the only difference being the o instead of the e.
What rules ...
0
votes
2answers
473 views
The right usage of “basically” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“have basically been doing something” or “have been basically doing something”
I'm searching basically for conversation classes"
or
I'm basically searching ...
0
votes
2answers
177 views
“Boys bicycle” vs. “boy's bicycle” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
User’s Guide vs Users’ Guide
When describing, for example, a bicycle for boys as "a boys bicycle", should it be "boy's" or "boys"? The phrase is not implying ownership ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Hyphen for re when doing again [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Hyphens in verb construction containing prefix such as “re”
Adding a prefix "re" to a word, with or without a hyphen?
I have a doubt about the use of the prefix 're', ...
13
votes
4answers
425 views
Has elision revised the standard spelling of any words in the past century?
Elision ("the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase") produces the following:
going → goin(')
going to → gonna
Worcester → Wuster (ˈwʊstər)
However, this hasn't affected the ...
-2
votes
1answer
515 views
What is the origin of the “should of” instead of “should have” mistake? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How did the use of “could of” and “should of” originate, and is it considered correct?
Recently, I tend to stumble a lot over the mistake that people write should of ...
-1
votes
1answer
123 views
What is the / is there any meaningful difference between the two spellings 'naive' and 'naïve'? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Should you always use the accent in foreign words like “résumé”?
“Whereäs” as an alternative spelling of “whereas”
Is it spelt “naïve” or “naive”?
...
0
votes
2answers
2k views
“Dilemma” vs. “dilemna” [closed]
I understand the correct spelling is 'dilemma' but many people I've spoken with, including myself, were convinced the spelling was 'dilemna'.
A quick search on google shows this is not isolated to ...
2
votes
1answer
508 views
Should I say “3 half days” or “3 half-days” or “3 half-day”?
Should I say "3 half days" or "3 half-days" or "3 half-day"? I mean I want to refer to, for example, the a.m. of Monday, the p.m. of Wednesday, and the a.m. of Friday, together.
1
vote
3answers
109 views
Word suggests “advice” in place of “advise” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Advise” vs “advice”
What is wrong with the statement "Please advise on this..."? Word suggests to change it to "Please advice on this...".
4
votes
1answer
142 views
Breaking last word in the lines [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are the rules for splitting words at the end of a line?
In printed texts, especially those with narrow columns, it's necessary from time to time to divide the last ...
-1
votes
0answers
18 views
Difference in usage of “advise” and “advice” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Advise” vs “advice”
What is the correct usage of the words advise and advice?
3
votes
3answers
153 views
How should I write “Why questions”?
I would like to know how to properly write, somewhere in a paragraph, the phrase "Why questions". By which I mean questions of the form "Why... ?".
The sentence I would like to write is "How to ...
4
votes
1answer
186 views
Capitalization in “the University has 1000s of students. ”
The University of London is huge. The University/university has 1000s of students.
Is it correct to leave out the capital u in the second sentence?
5
votes
3answers
975 views
Is it “flotation” or “floatation”?
Is the difference between flotation and floatation a US/UK difference or something else?
0
votes
2answers
111 views
What is more widely used in UK English: -ise or -ize? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“s” vs. “z” in BE vs. AE
Are the endings “-zation” and “-sation” interchangeable?
I was asked on a translation assignment to use UK English but ...
3
votes
0answers
88 views
The use of -ize and -ise in the UK? [closed]
I got a translation assignment where I am to use UK English but with -ize spelling.
The European Union switched from -ize to -ise some years ago in its English language publications, meaning that ...
3
votes
2answers
405 views
Terminology for pairs of words with the same meaning, similar or same pronunciation but different spelling
Is there a term describe word pairs like colour/color that have the same meaning, similar or same pronunciation but a different spelling?
The most common examples I can think of are English/American ...
11
votes
4answers
535 views
What does randomically mean?
I've just read an O’Reilly book and encoutered the word randomically. I highly suspect this is a made up word, but a quick google found it in use here, here, and here. Is this some obscure technical ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
What is the proper way to spell résumé? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Should you always use the accent in foreign words like “résumé”?
Diacriticals and non-English letters in anglicized loan words: keep 'em, dump 'em, ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
“Troubleshooting”, “trouble-shooting”, or “trouble shooting”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is it necessary to use a hyphen in writing a compound word?
To hyphenate or not?
Which versions are correct, "troubleshooting", "trouble-shooting", or "trouble ...
2
votes
2answers
7k views
How do we differentiate long vowels from short vowels in English
I was finding a school for my toddler. I saw this new theory called long vowels and short vowels
The teacher talk about apple, which she read something like "eiple" and the hat, which she claims use ...
2
votes
1answer
320 views
How do you spell time specifications given in (military) “Zulu time”?
For an example, let's consider the time specification "1539Z".
How do the people in the military spell that? "Fifteen thirty-nine Zulu"? "Fifteen thirty-nine zee"? "One fife tree niner zulu"? Are ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Foreign names: Transcription or literal spelling? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How should foreign words (with foreign characters) be written in English text?
Sometimes, you want to use the names of foreign people in English texts. This presents no ...
12
votes
2answers
615 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
238 views
Is an ellipsis a distinct punctuation mark?
The ellipsis looks like three consecutive periods, but many type faces have a distinct glyph for an ellipsis. Is this an aesthetic distinction, or is the ellipsis actually a different punctuation ...
-1
votes
2answers
3k views
Are “eery” and “eerie” equally acceptable spellings?
I used "eery" yesterday in a text and was corrected jokingly by my correspondent to "eerie." Looking at it after the fact, neither 'looks' right to me and both get through auto-correct with no red ...
3
votes
1answer
253 views
“s” vs. “z” in BE vs. AE
I have trouble understanding why some words change "s"-es to "z"-s from BE to AE and some not. For example:
analyse -> analyze
characterise -> characterize
hypnotise -> hypnotize
But:
compromise ...
3
votes
2answers
938 views
“travelling” vs. “traveling” [closed]
Is the correct spelling travelling or traveling? I’ve seen both in common usage, but I can't find an authoritative source that says one way or another.
Is this a difference between British spelling ...
10
votes
3answers
308 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.
...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
Is “short fall” an acceptable synonym for “shortfall”? [closed]
Is "short fall" an acceptable synonym for "shortfall"?
We noticed an important short fall here that no-one else had planned for.
Found on an English-language Korean news website.
I search in my ...
-5
votes
2answers
161 views
Should “forty-year” in this context be hyphenated? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Pluralization rule for “five-year-old children”, “20 pound note”, “10 mile run”
Mr. Willow’s more than forty-year experience in ...
1
vote
1answer
780 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
388 views
“Parametrise” or “parameterise” a curve?
In British English, which one is correct? Does one parameterise a curve or parametrise it?
4
votes
3answers
233 views
What were the British equivalents of Webster's dictionary and the Simplified Spelling Board that standardized spelling and usage?
I am familiar with questions about when to double 'l' and differences between British and American spellings. However, I stumbled across this image.
As you can see, several words end in the double ...
2
votes
0answers
229 views
Is “zzzzz” the most common spelling to represent a person sleeping? [closed]
What is the most common or correct spelling of "zzzzz"?
(1) zzzzz (5 letters)(2) zzzz (4 letters) (3) zzz (3 letters)
My question stems from when I first ...
2
votes
4answers
683 views
Is “blah blah blah” the most common spelling?
What is the most common or correct spelling of "blah blah blah"?
blah blah blah
blah blah
bla bla bla
bla bla
My question stems from when I first wrote it as "bla bla bla" in an English text, ...
3
votes
2answers
34k views
“Dammit” vs. “damnit” [closed]
What is the correct spelling, dammit or damnit? And what is the difference?
Just writing this question brings up a red squiggly underneath damnit and the suggestions include dammit and damn it.
6
votes
1answer
116 views
Should a contraction taken from the center of a word have two apostrophes? [closed]
I'm currently reading Entrepreneur Magazine, and there is a story profiling a 13-year-old who created a series of stickers to embellish Lego blocks. The subtitle of the story reads
A pint-size ...
0
votes
1answer
573 views
Why does a silent “-e” at the end of a word lengthen vowels?
There's a common pattern in English spelling where "short" vowels are pronounced as "long" vowels with the addition of a silent "e" at the end of the word.
E.g.
bit → bite
mat → mate
pet → pete
...
4
votes
2answers
234 views
Why drop the “i” in “explanation”?
I often catch myself trying to write ?explaination, phonetically spelling the word in my head. To my chagrin I get part way through and have to stop myself.
So I’m wondering why is the i dropped? I ...
0
votes
3answers
551 views
Use “underway” or “under way” as an adverb?
Is it proper to use underway as an adverb? Or should under way be used?
Merriam-Webster defines underway as an adjective and under way as an adverb.
The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & ...
5
votes
2answers
314 views
What is the correct way to write 'for ever more'?
I know that 'forever' is a word, and I know that 'evermore' is a word, but what is the correct way to write the phrase 'for ever more'? Is it 'forever more'? 'For evermore'? Or even 'forevermore', as ...
1
vote
2answers
185 views
How to avoid using the subject of a sentence more than necessary [closed]
My English grammar is rusty and I have not kept up with grammar rules. So, please bear with me, while I struggled to frame the title of my question.
What I want accomplished is a paragraph that is ...
4
votes
2answers
105 views
Is it an “Ngram” or an “n-gram”? [closed]
I made an edit to a question and the portion mentioning the n-gram chart was reverted. I was reading the Wikipedia article about n-grams and added the hyphen based on that usage. This article says ...
0
votes
4answers
201 views
Is there a rule for complex words when y (at the end of first) must be changed to i? [closed]
Why do complex words like “citilink” or “citibank” use “i” at the end of “city”?
I bet they mean city in the first part of word. I’m not sure if there is some rule for complex words when “y” must be ...
7
votes
1answer
446 views
Why is “fulfil” spelt as “fulfill” in American English?
In this answer, simplification is stated as one reason for spelling variations in American English. But unlike in color and favorite, the number of letters to spell the word in fulfil increases in ...
