Questions tagged [orthography]
This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
1,385
questions
1
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1answer
48 views
What is the plural form of musical score?
The title of a Spotify playlist from Disney is "Disney Score To Study To". The name surprised me because I would have thought it would be titled "Disney Scores To Study To". Seeing as this is an ...
6
votes
1answer
69 views
The spelling “ui” and the pronunciation /uː/ in juice, fruit, bruise, cruise, sluice, suit, nuisance, recruit, bruit
The words juice, fruit, bruise, cruise, sluice, suit, pursuit, suitcase, lawsuit, nuisance, recruit, bruit are spelled with ui and pronounced with the IPA phoneme /uː/.
Full pronunciations from OED:
...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
spelling the word Resemblance with E
I came across 'resemblance' spelled as 'resemblence' in a set of Proficiency tests printed by Cambridge University Press. Since this spelling was kind of an eyesore, I looked it up and never found any ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
When is there a space and when is there a hyphen between two words? [closed]
Which one is correct "show room", "showroom" or "show-room"?
Which one is correct "gift shop", "giftshop" or "gift-show"?
Also "multi-media" or "multimedia" (multi media looks wrong.)?
What is the ...
0
votes
0answers
34 views
Origin of “ight” [duplicate]
So many words end in "ight", such as "light", "might" and "sight".
I am curious about this -- is there an etymological reason why "ight" is used for many seemingly disparate words?
Thanks.
0
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2answers
289 views
NORMINAL — normal or with nominal mistake?
At the very end of the live-stream for the nominal SpaceX STP-2 mission, the presenter places what appears to be a baseball cap onto the table. It reads "NORMINAL" (sic).
My first thought was how ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Spicket or spigot?
I recently was making a list and for the first time using a digital device, typed in what I grew up referring to an outdoor faucet 'spicket' as into my iPad.
My mother grew up in Utah and my father ...
3
votes
1answer
41 views
How can enforce and reinforce have slightly different spelling and still be valid?
When I initially wrote inforce the dictionary told me that enforce was the correct word.
However, when I wrote reenforce it told me that reinforce was the word I was looking for.
So, I searched this ...
1
vote
1answer
141 views
Why is the Turkish president's surname is spelt in English as Erdogan, with g?
I recently got puzzled as to why American journalists spell the surname of the current Turkish president in articles written in English as Erdogan, with g (see, e.g., this article in New York Times). ...
0
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0answers
28 views
Semicolon and Em-dash Usage in Technical Articles [closed]
First off, I am looking more for readability takes, not necessarily hard fast grammar policing. However, utter grammar mistakes must be avoided.
The last couple works I have made for publishing (in ...
1
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0answers
25 views
Is it ok to have a semicolon after a colon or em dash? (or other variations)
I've looked all over but have not found this example.
Can one use a semicolon after a colon or em-dash (or similar doubling up combinations). Is it a matter of style or is there a fast rule?
e.g.:
...
4
votes
1answer
73 views
Historical abbreviation of 'multiplied'
I was reading Bayes' essay "An Essay towards Solving a Problem in the Doctrine of Chances" and noticed the following bit of notation
The meaning of the n+1 term is clear from the rest of the essay (...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Tying. Is Tieing really that unusual?
When tieing two things together, e.g:
Two distinct ideas, but with a common theme tieing them together
Tieing shoe laces is easy.
I have always spelt it with an ie. Now I am being told by ...
2
votes
0answers
25 views
Pre-requisite vs prerequisite
Looking up this on English exchange I couldn't seem to find a single source of truth:
Instance 1 - "Prerequisite" in search:
"Prerequisite for" vs. "prerequisite to"
Instance 2 - ...
3
votes
0answers
37 views
First use of capital letters [closed]
The first latin script which consisted of both majuscule and minuscule letters (lowercase and uppercase, or small and capital letters) is Carolingian minuscule. It is a fact. But what is unknown to me ...
0
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0answers
17 views
is it okay to start a paragraph with Due to? [duplicate]
Due to the severe foot injury, I was recommended to stay on bed rest for three months and also attend physical therapy to heal completely
2
votes
4answers
46 views
Prime-square or prime-squared? [closed]
I am not so sure which one is the correct spelling. When we try to say a square/cube of a prime, we should call it a "prime-squared/cubed" or a "prime-square/cube" number?
It sounds to me that "...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
I am trying to find out if there is a convention of correctness for writing Arabic proper nouns starting with 'Al'
The news channel 'Al Jazeera' writes its name like I have i.e with a space between 'Al' and 'Jazeera', in text but in the logo it is 'ALJAZEERA'. One come across variations like 'Alqaeda', 'Al-Qaeda', ...
1
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0answers
43 views
Spelling changes
There was a word I learned to spell when I was 11 in which there was a silent G. It is no longer used. Right now I cannot remember the word, but I am interested in finding out how to locate U.S. ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
The meaning of the Middle English word “king” [closed]
Why was the word (?verb?) "king" used in this (page 63) Mk.2:6 part of the Wycliffe Bible?
The King James Version
Mk.2:6
But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their ...
0
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0answers
37 views
The name of the letter, which is related to two English letters “gh” [duplicate]
What is the name of the marked letter, which in my opinion relates to the two modern English letters "gh"?
-1
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1answer
88 views
The etymology and the Middle English spelling of “beginning” [closed]
This question is about historical spelling, but in my opinion the knowledge of the historical spelling relates with the etymology knowledge.
The questions are:
1. Is the fourth letter in image 1 (y) ...
2
votes
2answers
165 views
What is the use of the double L in Llama and double A in Aardvark? [duplicate]
Always wanted a clear explanation as to why these animals had double letters at the beginning of the spelling. What’s up with that?
0
votes
1answer
58 views
“Sic on” or “Sick on”? [closed]
What is the actual spelling of "sic"/"sick" in a phrase like "I will sic my dog on you"? This is a tricky one to look up in an online dictionary, every match seems to be referring to an editor's mark ...
0
votes
2answers
57 views
Is it deodoriser/deodorizer/deodouriser/deodourizer? In British English as well as American [closed]
British English would usually use "-our" and "-ser" and American English would use "-or" and "-zer".
I don't seem to find an appropriate answer to this. Which combination is actually correct for ...
0
votes
2answers
38 views
Should it be “doxxed/doxxing” or “doxed/doxing”?
The Oxford Style Guide says, for example, that:
When the final consonant is w, x, or y this is not doubled:
tow, towing, towed
vex, vexing, vexed
However, it seems that doxxed/doxxing ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Is it Decryptor or Decrypter? [duplicate]
I'm coding a decryption service and wondering which is the best name, Decryptor or Decrypter I had a quick look online and it appears -er and -or convert a verb to an agent noun, however is one ...
0
votes
2answers
56 views
Verb for action; “Actioning”
I am currently writing an email to office management.
I am asking for office management to action a fix. I want to ask them in a polite manner.
The sentence I have: "Please consider actioning a fix."...
5
votes
2answers
74 views
Different etymologies for spoken and written forms
I know a word in another language which appears at first to have a highly irregular spelling that does not match the pronunciation. However, further examination suggests that the spoken and written ...
-1
votes
1answer
47 views
What's the word after Gucci and Hermes?
Here is the link of the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Y5i77gpwY
And in about 0:07, there is an expression
Rocking the next Gucci ? or Hermes ?
and I can't figure out what words should ...
4
votes
1answer
99 views
Shouldn't we spell “extrovert” as “extravert”? [closed]
I saw the spelling extrovert in a text, but I intuitively felt that the correct spelling is extravert.
I did a little research and read that extravert is commonly used in scientific/technical ...
1
vote
1answer
76 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
159 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
476 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
461 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
85 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
89 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
59 views
Correct wording/spelling for our company's new slogan [closed]
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
704 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
181 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
241 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
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0answers
8 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
42 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 ...
2
votes
0answers
155 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
161 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
276 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
150 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
51 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
73 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 ...
