Questions tagged [orthography]
This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
1,513
questions
7
votes
3answers
2k views
What constitutes humor on this "i before e" coffee mug text?
I saw this writing on a coffee mug, which is supposedly popular amongst linguists:
i before e
Except after C
and also when you
heinously seize your
feisty foreign neighbor's
conceited beige heifer
...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Why isn't "head" spelled "hed"? [closed]
Why isn't "head" spelled "hed"? "Bed" isn't spelled "bead".
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Wizerd or Wizard? [closed]
Please help me with these words. Which one is correct? Google Translate gives me same meaning for both.
Wizerd gives me an error in a dictionary.
If both are correct, which one is used where?
4
votes
3answers
353 views
Is there a (more-or-less) established spelling for “the us[ual]”?
Unusual orthography
When you visit your local diner, or favorite bar, and the server wants to know if you’d like your standard order, the thing you always get, they’ll often inquire, in shorthand:
...
-1
votes
0answers
51 views
Why doesn't the 'gh' in 'flight' count as deleted? [migrated]
Debt, rhetoric, style: all these words have a silent 'b','h', and 'e'. In my test paper, this is known as a result of deletion rule. But why doesn't the 'gh' in 'flight' count as deleted?
4
votes
1answer
367 views
How did English come to use a writing system which makes spelling it so hard?
Alphabetic writing systems use graphemes to represent
phonemes. But in their “Psychology of Reading”
chapter
of 2003’s Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science,
researchers Simon Garrod and Meredyth Daneman
...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
Why didn't spelling of words keep track of pronunciation changes during the great vowel shift?
In the English language, words are written according to the way they were pronounced before the great vowel shift. Take e.g. the sentence: "I came from my house, now I'm here". If we ...
0
votes
0answers
73 views
One or two words: "Doorframe" or "Door frame"?
Is "doorframe" correct? Or is "door frame" correct?
Merriam Webster is saying "doorframe" however every professional editing software I use flags the word doorframe as a ...
1
vote
1answer
206 views
Hobbes spelling inconsistency
I was reading Chapter 2 of Leviathan, on Page 17 of my edition (but I'm not sure if most editions have the same numbering). Hobbes spells the same word two different ways, "brain" and "...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Why is double -ll- used after a vowel digraph in "surveilled, surveilling"?
Why is the letter l double in the inflections of the verb surveil?
It's not in those of (as)sail or veil, and AmE has canceled but mostly cancellation. It's a counterintuitive spelling similar to ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Glamourisation/Glamorisation/Glamorization?
I ran into a problem whilst writing the word 'glamourisation'. I want to adhere to the British spelling, which I think would be with and but the Oxford English Dictionary has no entry for '...
1
vote
0answers
16 views
Plural "-i" vs. "-uses" [duplicate]
Similarly to Latin words with no plurals in English I still have trouble with some plurals when the word ends in -us.
For example, I have often been told that the plural for cactus is cacti, but then ...
-1
votes
1answer
63 views
Accent marks on nouns [duplicate]
English does not use accent marks basically.
However, some foreign names and nouns (like Dalí, Gaudí, café, fiancé) contain accents symbols.
Then, the question is "is it ok to write without ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
How does the word "today" make sense?
So I'm currently reading a book from the 1930s (Lost Horizon), where some language conventions are quite different than the language conventions I am used to today.
One thing piqued my interest: The ...
0
votes
0answers
27 views
Can you ever place a comma ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ the word "which"? [duplicate]
Is there any scenario in which a comma is used right after the word which?
For example, is this sentence correctly written as is — or not?
The sensitivity to material AAA, which, in fact, is ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
correctness of "and the smallest last" vs "and the smallest, last"
Which is correct? If both are correct, is one more correct than the other?
The largest pixie should be eaten first, and the smallest last.
The largest pixie should be eaten first, and the smallest, ...
2
votes
3answers
102 views
Did quotation marks have other applications or uses, like for emphasis?
I have frequently observed instances of quotation marks being used in interesting ways, often with rather funny implications.
Here are some notable examples of unnecessary or suspicious quotation ...
2
votes
5answers
311 views
Is the hyphen in the adjective phrase “just-[past participle]” mandatory?
I came across the following sentence:
The target can be resolved through one of the just mentioned record types.
I believe it should have been written as “… just-mentioned record types”, with a ...
1
vote
0answers
65 views
What do we call the shift in the orthography of words like "cuppa, fella, attaboy and attagirl"? [duplicate]
I know that words like
cuppa, fella, attaboy and attagirl
are contractions of, respectively,
cup of tea, fellow, that's the/a boy and that's the/a girl.
I wonder if there is a term which would ...
5
votes
1answer
157 views
Why did word final S get replaced by "CE" in Middle and Modern English?
There are many words in English that have ce at the end in Modern English. The roots they have come from had s but replaced by ce in Modern English. Is there any reason why the s's got replaced by ce? ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
'Frame' or "frames' of reference [duplicate]
I am stuck on whether to use 'frame' or 'frames' of reference.
Example sentences:
This study seeks to add value to the theologies of the Hebrew Scriptures in both its Hebrew and Greek frame/frames of ...
1
vote
0answers
28 views
Georeferencing vs. Geo-referencing [closed]
What would be the correct spelling:
georeferencing or
geo-referencing?
I'm writing my PhD on the topic and would prefer to write correctly, of course. Some research I've conducted already:
Merriam-...
1
vote
0answers
37 views
"quantum mechanical" vs "quantum-mechanical" [duplicate]
I'm currently writing a short report, where one (sub-)chapter heading reads:
The quantum(-)mechanical basics
I am now wondering, whether it is preferable with or without the hyphen. When googling ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views
Capitalization of "neo-scholasticism" [duplicate]
Is the word 'neo-scholasticism' capitalized in academic writing, or not?
It is lowercase in the Merriam Webster dictionary, but capitalized in the Collins English dictionary. So in a thesis, which ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views
Why does ou change to o when adding the suffix -ous in words such as ‘humorous’?
Background
I realised today that humour when made an adjective by adding the suffix -ous, loses its -ou- spelling to -o-. There are some other words which have a change in spelling, such as miracle → ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
When is the "Short A" sound actually spelled with an AE?
I was reading a book on English spelling (Dictionary of the British English Spelling System, by Greg Brooks) and it mentioned that the Short A sound (æ) can be spelled using the following graphemes:
...
3
votes
1answer
316 views
Why are "mobile" and "automobile" pronounced differently?
I just came across the words and then I looked them both up in the dictionary app, which shows the word "mobile" pronounces as /'məʊbaɪl/, whereas the other word-"automobile", ...
-3
votes
4answers
295 views
How do you tell a spelling mistake from a grammar mistake? [duplicate]
How do you tell a spelling mistake from a grammar mistake? For example:
Your the best.
This iz the end.
I likes music.
She preatend to be asleep.
One method is to read the erroneous sentence aloud (...
5
votes
3answers
252 views
Publick or Public? in the 18th and 19th Century Britain
The spelling of -ck was more popular than -c in many words in Britain. But in America, Noah Webster proposed around 1800 to replace -ck by -c, which caused the widespread of this -c spelling in US.
In ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
Term for intentional inaccuracies that better convey meaning?
Is there a term or concept that describes instances where an author/speaker intentionally or knowingly uses wrong spelling/pronunciation/grammar because it better conveys the intended meaning, and is ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Does English allow /eɪʃ/ in the end of a syllable (in the same syllable)?
The sound /ʃ/ is almost always spelled with more than one letter i.e. with a digraph unlike, say, /p/ which is spelled with a single letter (pan, pen, pie). I have noticed a particular pattern: vowels ...
3
votes
1answer
138 views
Which letters do not appear consecutively in English words?
Are there any letters in the English alphabet that never appear twice consecutively in a word?
For example: the word running has the letter n repeated consecutively in it.
What letters never appear in ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
How did words like rubbish, ribbon and cabbage get "BB"?
Certain words that have double B in Modern English didn't have "BB" in the word they are derived from.
Rubbish: "c. 1400, robous, from Anglo-French rubouses" (Etymology Dictionary)...
0
votes
1answer
143 views
Approach to or for? [closed]
My sentence:
---The exploitation of natural and ecofriendly resources could be an alternative approach to creating a sustainable environment.
Is the preposition correct or should I rearrange the ...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Is counter example a valid form of counterexample?
In student writing about math, I see the term "counter example" instead of "counterexample" too often. Does anyone have good ideas about why people think "counterexample" ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
which is correct here, break or broke? [closed]
which one is correct?
"Steve was amazing before his leg break."
"Steve was amazing before his leg broke."
5
votes
2answers
315 views
Why does the word ‘suffix’ have a double ‘ff’ while ‘prefix’ has a single ‘f’?
While writing the word ‘suffix’, I stopped to do a spellcheck as a result of the ‘ff’. I did not do so with the word ‘prefix’ as I was comfortable with the ‘pre’ and ‘fix’. I looked up ‘ff’ vs. ‘f’ ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Cosmetics: Make up, make-up, or makeup? [closed]
When referring to cosmetics, which is correct? Make up, make-up, or makeup? And does it matter in case of a noun, verb, adjective?
The actor playing Frankenstein's monster wore 6 pounds of [makeup |
...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
Can we use "depot" as an adjective? [closed]
Can we use depot in this form: depotted books or depot books?
(I’m not sure about the past participle of this word.)
Or should it be used only as a “place” where books are supposed to be
stored, a ...
2
votes
1answer
94 views
Why "admit" with T but "admissible" with SS? [duplicate]
I have noticed that when the suffix -ible is added to "admit", it becomes "admissible" rather than "admittible".
There are few other examples:
"omit" = "...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
Is it ever acceptable to write slashes between multiple but separate prefixes?
For example, can I get away with writing bio/technological advances
have made?
Even if this is orthographically acceptable in one or another kind of
written English, would it better for ...
0
votes
4answers
65 views
Violence incidents or violent incidents? [closed]
In an academic paper I discuss violent situations. Is it correct to refer to this as 'violence incidents'? Or should I refer to it as 'violent incidents' instead?
-2
votes
3answers
257 views
Is narcist an accepted spelling of narcissist? [closed]
Wiktionary lists "narcist" as an "alternative form of narcissist." A few other online dictionaries list it as well, but none have much information on it.
It doesn't say nonstandard,...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Does the em dash take precedence over the comma?
In a sentence like:
While I would love to do A, I cannot wait to do B.
If I add a set-off clause right before the comma, which of these is correct?
While I would love to do A—for reasons X—I cannot ...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
Why "equiped" as opposed to "equipped"? [duplicate]
Why do we use two p's instead of one when spelling "equipped"?
3
votes
1answer
52 views
Is there a specific for a voluntarily made monosyllabic sound from the mouth used to express humor/laughter/cynicism?
The sound I'm thinking of isn't so much a snort, it's not expelled from the nose, however, a sound used to express humor or amusement that doesn't quite hit the laughter threshold. I notice I do it ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Grammar Corrections
Correcting Grammar:
"The committee is not only working to preserve historical buildings, but also is interested in developing a local museum"
My Notes:
I was thinking that it violates ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Why doesn't US English drop the "o" from "subpoena"?
US English usually drops the o from the diphthong oe (or œ).
So for example the o in the UK English manoeuvre, diarrhoea, oesophagus are all usually dropped in US English.
Why then isn't the o in ...
2
votes
0answers
73 views
Why were full stops used in old texts after singular words or incomplete sentences?
This is a table of 17th-century mathematical notation standards by Samuel Jeake. It looks completely alien, compared to our modern notation, but that's not relevant. What is important to note, ...
1
vote
1answer
137 views
Chanterelle and Chantrelle, which is the correct name of the mushroom?
I always spell it as chanterelle until I bought a box of CHANTRELLE in Whole Foods Market. I looked up my dictionary, and yes, the word should be chanterelle. However, I also noticed that, the word ...
