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Possible Duplicate:
“Whereäs” as an alternative spelling of “whereas”

I've always wondered which is the correct spelling: "naïve" or "naive"? Are both correct, and it is just a whichever-you-feel-comfortable-with?

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marked as duplicate by RegDwigнt♦, PLL, Kosmonaut Feb 15 '11 at 20:28

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    Possible duplicate: the question of naïve is covered in the top answer. – Kosmonaut Feb 15 '11 at 20:07
  • @Kosmonaut: yes, good catch. The question is different, but the answer covers this one very nicely; this’ll be a useful redirect to have to that one. – PLL Feb 15 '11 at 20:29
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    FWIW in my 68+ years this is the first time i've seen "whereas" with a diaeresis; for that reason, i'd not call “Whereäs” as an alternative spelling of “whereas” a duplicate of this thread or vice versa, rather imho the two threads complement each other. Typing diacriticals and the diaeresis is greatly facilitated when one uses the Windows US-international keyboard. – gerryLowry Feb 4 '16 at 9:30
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    some may enjoy reading The Curse of the Diaeresis by Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 2012-04-26 – gerryLowry Feb 4 '16 at 9:33
  • naïve is the correct and official spelling/writing but naive is accepted, mostly because people can't be bothered putting the two dots on the i. – user29418 Jan 11 '17 at 3:01
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Either way. The dieresis is optional. Mostly it gets left off because people find it difficult to add it.

Actually, spelling it "naïve" is seen less and less, at least in the U.S., and is probably moribund if not actually archaic at this point here.

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    Presumably you mean the spelling with the diaeresis is moribund? In UK usage at least, the word per se seems common enough. – Neil Coffey Feb 15 '11 at 20:25
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    @Neil Coffey: Yes, I thought it was clear from context. I'll make it explicit just in case. – Robusto Feb 15 '11 at 20:26

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