Questions tagged [orthography]
This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
1
vote
1answer
44 views
Why father’s first letter is capital [duplicate]
After they had their supper, Father went into the living-room to watch TV.
Why use Father not father?
3
votes
1answer
132 views
spatio or spatial
Searching the Google scholar,
"spatio-temporal" returnn 778,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal" returns 798,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal scales" returns 3,620 hits,
"spatio-temporal scales" returns 13,...
5
votes
2answers
359 views
Cedent or Cedant
In insurance it is very common to refer to a company who cedes some risk, but the spelling is inconsistent. Sometimes it is spelt "cedent" and sometimes it is spelt "cedant".
Which is more correct? ...
0
votes
2answers
406 views
What did Colbert mean by “bedude form"?
In his most recent monologue on The Late Show, the comedian host Stephen Colbert, gently mocked a New York Times reporter's style of writing (watch the excerpt on YouTube)
“500 words” she whispered,...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
Orthograpy of /æ/ in unstressed syllables
Some words like:
magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/, anesthesia /ˌæn.əs.ˈθi.ʒə/, acrobat /ˈæk.ɹo.bæt/
accidentally /ˌæksəˈdɛnt(ə)li/, aluminium /ˌæl(j)uˈmɪn.j.əm/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/
have an ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
How do you correctly spell the abbreviation of “geographical data”?
Nowadays there are a lot of systems for storing geographical data and I just wondered how to correctly abbreviate this term. Is it "geodata" or "geo data"? Or can I use both?
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Adding the letter “a” to certain words
Could the letter "a" be added to certain words as supplements, to bolster the definition of the word? For example, could "a" be added to "loud", thus making it "aloud"? While "aloud" is indeed a ...
0
votes
0answers
50 views
Path a router bit takes: rout or route?
What is the correct spelling for the path of a router bit?
Is it “rout” or “route”?
If it’s rout, is the plural form “routs”?
Update based on some of the comments:
This question came out of ...
1
vote
3answers
50 views
Which is the preferred spelling, “byproduct,” “by-product,” or “by product?”
I've seen the word "byproduct" written several different ways and I'm wondering which is the preferred format? Is this a variation between US and British English or just a matter of a "house style?"
1
vote
1answer
49 views
Correct wording/spelling for our company's new slogan [on hold]
I work for a small company (located in Italy) which makes websites and sells/repairs computers.
Right now we are in the process of creating a new logo and updating our slogan / corporate design.
My ...
4
votes
1answer
694 views
Why do we liquefy when we also solidify (but not soledefy)?
I always misspell liquefy and it drives me nuts.
Solids will (or, I suppose, have) solidify but liquids apparently miss out on the chance to liquidify. Instead they have to liquefy I'm sure this is ...
0
votes
1answer
135 views
Why is “make do” considered correct
Why is "make do" considered correct?
I am specifically not asking why "make due" grinds people's gears, how distressing they find it, or what they feel "make do" would mean.
Lacking an etymology, ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Full-stack vs Full Stack, Back-end vs Back end, Front-end vs Front end
Software Developers use the dash interchangeably for these terms.
Front-end meaning one works on the "Front End" of an application (e.g. HTML), Back-end meaning one works on the "Back End" of an ...
1
vote
0answers
7 views
friend of the familyname's or familynames [duplicate]
Is it
"John is a friend of the Smith's."
or
"John is a friend of the Smiths."
?
Thank you for your answer :)
20
votes
4answers
4k views
Why do we spell the word “who” with a silent “w” when it isn’t needed?
If we spelled who without the W – making it ho like with do and to — it could still make sense, so why is there a silent W in the word who?
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Co-pay vs copartnership: Prefix hyphenation in AmE
In AmE, we tend to close up prefixes like co-, re-, pre-, post-, etc. unless the first letter of the main word is the same vowel as the last letter of the prefix. But I see some exceptions like ...
1
vote
0answers
75 views
“miss assessed” “miss-assessed” or “misassessed”?
I googled this, and I am getting ambiguous results. In books, even in legal documents, I can find examples of "misassess", "miss assess" and "miss-assess". What is the correct way to spell this verb?
...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
'Histogramed' or 'histogrammed'?
The following rule (or 'rule', this being English) is sometimes quoted:
If a word has two or more syllables, double the final consonant when adding a suffix if and only if the final syllable is ...
1
vote
2answers
207 views
Is “commerical” a valid and different word from “commercial”? [closed]
Googling, I see many places using the spelling commerical, but I don't see that spelling in any dictionaries at all. Is it a mistake for commercial, or are these two different words?
0
votes
1answer
99 views
“25th December” vs “25 December”: Should I use ordinals or cardinals for the day of the month?
In one of the IELTS listening tests, there is a fill-out-the-blank question reading:
The museum is not open on ___.
My answer was “25th December”. However, the official answer is “25 ...
3
votes
1answer
41 views
Is the edh ð always curved, or can it be straight?
I'm wondering about the orthography of the old english edh ð. It is always drawn (lowercase) as a curved d with the line through it. But I'm wondering if it would be acceptable to just have it be a ...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
How homogeneous was Old English spelling?
Are varying spellings available, or was Old English rather uniform, as far as the sources show?
Variant spelling may have indicated different verbal dialects, but written dialects, involuntary eye ...
2
votes
0answers
37 views
“Testbed” or “test bed”? [duplicate]
"A testbed is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies" (Wikipedia).
While Wikipedia seems to prefer "...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
nonclassical vs. non-classical
I've seen both spellings many times, i.e. on Wikipedia, Dictionary.com and dozens of papers. I was wondering if there is a difference between US, Canadian, Australian and British spelling or if you ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
Why do people leave out the “r” on the word your? [closed]
I have noticed that a common error in typed documents (Including my own) is that often the letter "r" is left off the word your.
Does anybody have any idea why?
I do note that sometimes when ...
14
votes
1answer
750 views
Difference between /əʳ/ and /ɚ/
Consider the word 'future.' Cambridge Dictionary shows the transcriptions /ˈfjuːtʃəʳ/ and /ˈfjuːtʃɚ/. Are they different?
1
vote
3answers
393 views
Is it ladle or laddle? [closed]
The author of a book I'm working on insists that a ladle, a serving spoon for soup or stew, is spelled laddle. A quick Google search pulled results of ladle, but most shopping sites and Youtube ...
-1
votes
1answer
69 views
Why is “poison” used in the word “food poisoning”? [closed]
The word "poison" has stronger feeling but we used in the "food poisoning".
According to Merriam - Webster online dictionary, definition of "food poisoning":
an acute gastrointestinal disorder ...
-1
votes
1answer
94 views
Journalist cum Researcher - without hyphens [closed]
As seen here.
I’m a WordPress Journalist cum Researcher who can turn the torrent of words into something of an acceptable length.
Does the use of the word "cum", assuming from latin, work in this ...
24
votes
4answers
5k views
What is the plural of the noun “go” (as in “have a go”)? [closed]
If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".
If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?
I had many goes
or
I had many go's
or
I had many gos
3
votes
4answers
302 views
“Naïve” yet “naivety”?
I am used to spelling "naïve" thus - "naïve". I am also used to Microsoft Word automatically changing "naive" to "naïve". Hence, I was surprised when it didn't change "naivety" to "naïvety". I then ...
0
votes
1answer
206 views
Is travell still an accepted variant of travel?
The word travell caught my eye recently.
It seems it's an archaic version of travel.
But is it still in use ?
AmEng traveled/traveling
BrEng travelled/travelling
But both AmEng and BrEng use travel ...
3
votes
1answer
401 views
Correct spelling of 'timestamp': one or two words?
Something I'm wondering about is the correct usage of the word(s) 'timestamp'. I don't know whether it's one (timestamp) or two (time stamp) words, and googling for the answer doesn't help me in ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
Pipelineable/pipelinable? [duplicate]
In computer science, pipelining is a common technique used to increase the throughput of processing units, both in the context of hardware and software.
When describing a context that are amenable to ...
1
vote
2answers
39 views
To improve the carbon footprint vs. to reduce the carbon footprint
Y'all know the carbon footprint, describing the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere by a company etc.. I am pretty unsure, if it needs to be to "improve" or to "reduce" the carbon footprint. ...
1
vote
2answers
315 views
The use of “en-” vs “em-” as a verb prefix
The prefix en- (from French) has a variant spelling em-. (This is also associated, although I believe imperfectly, with the use of the sound /m/ in the pronunciation of the prefix.) Although the ...
-1
votes
2answers
203 views
I need to know what would you call someone that “Believes everyone is the same” such as addicts/alcholics [closed]
I hate STIGMA , I am bipolar and a recovering addict. I get treated the same as someone who is still being destructive.
I AM SICK OF PEOPLE JUDGING ME AND NOT GIVING ME CHANCES because the term "...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Was ''millionth'' once spelled as ''millioneth''?
I've seen ''millioneth'' a few times in older books. Dictionaries seem to all say ''millionth''. Is ''millioneth'' simply incorrect or could it be that it is an old non-standard spelling.
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Why does “inferred” have two Rs while “inference” doesn't?
Earlier today I spelled "infered" with one R and my handy editor promptly added some red squiggles.
Acknowledging the error of my ways I added the missing R happy carried only writing my document.
...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Spelling of own method in publication
I am about to publish my machine learning method which I called "Run-clustering" (obviously I use a different word than "Run", I use it as a place holder here, since my paper is not published yet). I ...
0
votes
2answers
72 views
“do you have” pronounced [djuv] d'you've
I hear contraction d'you've from "do you have" quite often, broadly [djuv], yet google throws back no result for such a phonetic word. I'd like to know how it's orthographically represented.
For ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
Why is “Rectangled” not accepted usage? [closed]
Why is “Rectangled” not accepted usage (MS Word (and MS Outlook) always consider it a mistake)?
For example, here is the usage in a sentence:
Select the “CTF” entry (rectangled above), and then ...
-1
votes
1answer
31 views
The use of any in this sentence
I want to know if both sentences are correct :
Written permission for any such copying.
Written permission for anything such copying.
7
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2answers
106 views
Any advice for agentive suffixes of single-syllable words ending in y?
I got stuck on whether I should say I'm a frequent flier or flyer. I came across an article on writingexplained.com and it confirmed pretty much what I suspected, that there's no consensus on the ...
-1
votes
1answer
61 views
Where can I make a line break in “predesign”? [closed]
At which point can I make a line break in predesign?
2
votes
1answer
173 views
When to use -ial and -al in forming adjectives, like pictorial and electoral
I have some adjectives that have either -ial or -al in the end. Two duo suffixes are same in meaning.
Words sufixed with -ial:
Luxorial, pictorial, advertorial, editorial,
Words suffixed with -al:...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
Are you able to interpret the word '' in '' at this paragraph?
Paragraph :
They found that people were more honest when they were watched by eyes than when there were pictures of flowers. They put times as much money in.
0
votes
1answer
155 views
Spelling of temperature and preparation
Today, I have come up with the two confusingly-spelled words: temperature and preparation.
The 'para' in preparation, and the 'pera' in temperation, look quite similar in pronunciation when we read ...
1
vote
0answers
22 views
Use of “the Earth” or Earth? [duplicate]
I have a sentence where I'm unsure about my grammar when discussing planets:
"Branch Technology is revolutionizing the use of 3-D printing to create architectural elements and structures that will ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Why doesn't English spelling vary with region that much?
Even though English spelling is so irregular, native speakers still share a common writing system with little regional difference. When you refer to the moving organ in your mouth, you may pronounce ...
