Please note: This website has no control over the ads placed here by Google AdSense or Tripod. Caveat emptor.
Click
here for today's suggestion.
Click here to return to the archive index.
Click here for a list of possible
future words.
Click here for the principles that govern the
selection of words.
Munday, June 30, 2014: "bonggo" for "bongo"
NG is highly ambiguous: "gong", "longer", "ingrained", and "ingest" are pronounced gong, láung.ger, in.gráend, and in.jést. "Ingénue" has yet another pronunciation, áan.zha.nùe. So we need to clarify which NG-pronunciation applies. Here, the word has both an NG-sound and a "hard"-G sound. The way to write that clearly is NGG: "bonggo".
Sunday, June 29, 2014: "acuze" for "accuse"
There are two things wrong with today's word. First, a double-C suggests that the A before it is a full, short-A, whereas it is actually a schwa. We should drop one of the C's, which will induce most readers to see the A as a schwa. The second problem is that S is used to represent a Z-sound. Why would we use an S if the sound is the very one for which Z is intended? If the sound is Z, we should write Z: "acuze".
Saturday, June 28, 2014: "turjid" for "turgid"
Why is there a G in this word? The sound is J, not G, and we have a letter J, so should use it. We never pronounce J as a "hard"-G, so why would we ever pronounce G as a J?: "turjid".
Friday, June 27, 2014: "sortee" for "sortie"
IE is ambiguous, sometimes representing a long-I sound ("tie", "lie", "cried"), but other times a long-E ("beanie", "babies", "reverie"). Here, the sound is long-E, which is much more clearly written EE: "sortee".
Thursday, June 26, 2014: "rabbid" for "rabid"
Here again we have a single consonant after a short vowel. We need to double the B, especially given that the word from which this word derives, "rabies", has a single-B but a long-A: "rabbid".
Wensday, June 25, 2014: "pinnafor" for "pinafore"
An I followed by a single consonant is often seen as long: "Dina", "final", "binary". Here, the sound is short-I, which we can show easily by doubling the following-N. At the end of the word, we have a silent-E we just plain don't need. We can drop it, and thus make up for the extra N we inserted earlier, so the word as respelled has the same number of letters but gives a clearer rendering of the sounds: "pinnafor".
Tuesday, June 24, 2014: "nefaireus" for "nefarious"
FAR as a word to itself is pronounced with a "broad"-A, the same sound as short-O. That is not the sound here, which is a flat-A, commonly spelled AI. Let's add an I to make that clear. A second problem is an I which is not pronounced as either of I's sounds, long as in "pie" and short as in "it. Rather, it's a long-E, so should be written with at least one E. Here, one will do, given that it is followed by another vowel. There's also a third problem, an OU that does not represent the OU-sound. To show the actual sound, a schwa, we need merely drop the O.Putting this all together, we get: "nefaireus".
Munday, June 23, 2014: "molibdenum" for "molybdenum"
A Y midword should be pronounced as a long-I ("byword", "dynamic", "pyrite"). Here, the sound is short-I. To show that, we can simply replace the Y with I: "molibdenum".
Sunday, June 22, 2014: "levvy" for "levy"
This word is confusable with the surname Levy (pronounced lée.vee) and the given name Levi (pronounced lée.vie). The ordinary word "levy" is supposed to be pronounced with a short-E in the middle and long-E at the end (or in "clipped" British accents, a bizarre short-I at the end). To show that, we need merely double the V: "levvy".
Saturday, June 21, 2014: "injeenyus" for "ingenious"
There are four problems with today's word. First is the absurd use of G to represent a J-sound. We have a J. Why would we not use it? Second, the single-E leaves unclear whether the sound is long or short. Compare "genuine". To show that the sound here is long-E, we should write EE. The third problem is the use of an I to represent a consonantal-Y sound. Again, we have a letter for that sound: Y. Let's use it. And last, there is toward the end of this word an OU that does not represent the OU-sound. To show the actual sound, we should simply drop the misleading O.Putting this all together, we get: "injeenyus".
Friday, June 20, 2014: "histreonnic/s" for "histrionic/s"
IO should ideally be pronounced with a long-I and short-O, as in "ionic" and "bionic". The sounds here are long-E followed by short-O. To show that, we should replace the I with E, and double the N to show unambiguously that the O is short: "histreonnic/s".
Thursday, June 19, 2014: "falacy" for "fallacy"
FALL is a word to itself, pronounced with an AU-sound. That is not the sound here, which is instead a short-A, as in "alabaster", the nickname "Al" for "Alan", "Albert", and "Alfred", and "pal". To show that, we need merely drop the second-L, which, happily, also saves us a letter: "falacy".
Wensday, June 18, 2014: "envyrons" and "envyronment/al" for "environs" and "environment/al"
These words are very frequently mispronounced because people see IRON in them and pronounce that letter cluster as tho it is the metallic element or instrument used to press clothes, íe.yern. Actually, however, that cluster in these words is to be pronounced much as it looks, -íe.ran-. To get everyone to see that, however, we need to break the visual link to the word "iron", which we can do easily by substituting Y for the I : "envyrons" and "envyronment".
Tuesday, June 17, 2014: "defishent" for "deficient"
CI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does: "defishent".
Munday, June 16, 2014: "kiromancy" for "chiromancy"
This fancy word for palmistry, the reading of fortunes in the lines of the palm, is very Greek. English is not Greek, and CH in English should be read as in "church". Here, it represents a K-sound, which is obviously much better spelled with K. Let's make that substitution: "kiromancy".
Sunday, June 15, 2014: "bevvy" for "bevy"
The single-V allows the reader to see the preceding-E as long, whereas it is actually short, which is better shown by a double-V: "bevvy".
Saturday, June 14, 2014: "aparrent" for "apparent"
AR is ambiguous. Perhaps its most common pronunciation has a "broad"-A, the same sound as short-O, as in "car", "bar", and "star". Another of its pronunciations is the AU-sound, as in "war" and "award". Here, however, the sound is short-A, which is better shown by ARR as in "arrow", "barrel", and "arrogant".Thus, in today's word, the wrong consonant is doubled. A double-P should ordinarily be read as marking the preceding-A as short, whereas it is actually a schwa. The single-R, as noted above, leaves the sound of the second-A unclear. If, however, we delete one of the P's and double the R instead, we get a much clearer rendering of this word's sounds: "aparrent".
Friday, June 13, 2014: "eurinate" for "urinate"
UR is not completely clear. People raised in an English-speaking country will probably guess the right sound, but English is spoken by scores of millions of people outside the traditional English-speaking countries and is being learned by literally hundreds of millions more, so we should always bear in mind what would be easiest for new speakers to cope with. The UR in today's word represents a long-U with an initial Y-glide. To show that, let's replace the UR with EUR: "eurinate".
Thursday, June 12, 2014: "tennar" for "tenor"
A single-N permits the reader to see the E before it as long, whereas it is actually short. To show that, we should double the N. -OR is sometimes misread as having an AU-sound, whereas here, it is the sound most commonly written ER. But if we write -ER after "tenn", it would be seen as the slang term for a ten-dollar bill, a "tenner". So, we shouldn't use -OR and shouldn't use -ER. That leaves -AR or -UR for that sound. So, which would seem better, "tennar" (like "altar") or "tennur" (like "lemur")? Six of one, half a dozen of the other, no? Well, perhaps -AR is somewhat more common, so let's go with that: "tennar".
Wensday, June 11, 2014: "sluf" for "slough"
There are two distinct words in this one spelling. One is pronounced slu and means a wet depression or swamp; the other, pronounced sluf, means dead skin shed by a reptile or amphibian, or to shed. That's the one we address today. There is absolutely no way to justify the insane present spelling. The only serious question is whether we should have one F or two. When -ED or -ING is added, we will need a double-F, but if we spell the noun and root verb with one F, doubling that F before adding a suffix would be standard operating procedure in a word that ends with a short vowel. So we can save a letter on some forms with no loss in clarity: "sluf".
Tuesday, June 10, 2014: "peeno nwahr" for "pinot noir"
In our first Booze Tuesday in a very long time, let us anglicize this very French term for a wine. In the first word, the I represents a long-E, not any I-sound, and the T is silent. To show the long-E, let's write the clearest spelling of that sound, EE. To show the silent-T, let's just drop it, OK?In the second word occurs a sound sequence not found in words of English origin, so no matter how we write it, it's likely to "look funny" or "un-English", because it originally wasn't English. We can at least make its sounds clear, even if the resulting spelling should still "look funny". If we write "nwar", many readers will see "war" as said the same as the word of the same spelling for "armed conflict". If we write "nwor", most readers will see the same sound, an AU-sound, because OR is most commonly pronounced with an AU-sound. No, we have to write AH to make the correct sound clear: "peeno nwahr".
Munday, June 9, 2014: "nuonce" for "nuance"
The present spelling looks as tho the ANCE is said with a schwa, as in "abeyance", "resistance", and "temperance". That's not the sound here, which is a full short-O, as in "nonce" and "ensconce". Let's spell it like that: "nuonce".
Sunday, June 8, 2014: "monniker" for "moniker"and "monicker"
Both presently accepted alternate spellings for this informal word have a problem. Both have a single-N, which leaves unclear whether the O before it is long or short. It's short, and the way to make that plain is by doubling the N. The spelling with CK may imply to some readers that the second syllable takes the word's stress, when it is actually the first that does so. Fortuitously, if we double the N, we not just indicate that the O is short but also cue the reader to stress the first syllable: "monniker".
Saturday, June 7, 2014: "impolla" for "impala"
ALA is very ambiguous. In the word "gala", it can be said gáe.la, gáa.la, and gól.a. But in "impala", it is to be said only one way, with a "broad-A" (or short-O, the same sound), im.pól.a. To show that, we need to double the following-L. That may not be wholly clear, given words like "poll", which have a long-O sound despite a double-L after the O. But we also have words like "pollen", "follow", and "holly", with the correct short-O we wish to convey here. There are times when we cannot make things absolutely clear using the conventions of traditional spelling, but if we can make them clearer, that's still worth doing, isn't it?: "impolla".
Friday, June 6, 2014: "hanus" for "heinous"
EI is usually said as either long-E or long-I, as in the two pronunciations of "either" and "neither". Here, however, it is supposed to represent a long-A sound, which no new reader would expect. So the EI has to go. In its place, we need merely put an A, without more, in that it is followed by a single-N, so will be seen by the reader as long.The second syllable contains an OU that does not represent the OU-sound. If we drop the O but leave the U, we will get a spelling that takes the same pattern as the anatomical term "anus", and rhymes with it: "hanus".
Thursday, June 5, 2014: "ferossity" for "ferocity"
CITY is a word to itself, with stress on the "CIT". That is not the sound here. To break the mental link with "city", we need to get rid of the C entirely. Moreover, the O is short, which a single-C after it does not make clear. We can't double the C to show that, because CC followed by an I would have the sound of KS. Thus we twice come to the necessity of ditching the C for SS: "ferossity".
Wensday, June 4, 2014: "daytont" for "détente" and "detente"
There are two things wrong with these two spellings of a term from diplomacy of French origin. First, the puristic spelling has an accent, but English doesn't use accents, so the accent has to go. Without the accent, the DE- will be seen as the commonplace prefix pronounced with a long-E ("decent", "defense", "detest"). That's not the sound here, which is a long-A. To show that, we could write AI or AY. Altho AI may be more common midword, AI also has other sounds, such as long-I in "aisle" and two syllables in two of the three pronunciations of "dais" (dáe.yis and díe.yis; the third, uncommon pronunciation has one syllable, with a long-A, daes). So AY would be clearer.The remainder of today's word consists of TENT, an ordinary English word said with a short-E, plus an E at the end. The E before the N is actually supposed to be pronounced as short-O, so let's replace that E with O.
The E at the end of the word is not pronounced at all, tho some readers might be tempted to give it a long-E sound, as in "abalone" and "psyche". We should simply drop it to save readers any such temptation.
Putting this all together, we get: "daytont".
Tuesday, June 3, 2014: "chaukbord" for "chalkboard"
There are, for all practical purposes, two silent letters in today's word. The L is not pronounced, but its presence does alter the sound of the A before it, which would otherwise be pronounced as short-A (as in "at"). So we can't just drop the L. Rather, we need to replace it with a U to show the proper AU-sound.The A in the second syllable is, however, completely superfluous, because OR would have exactly the same sound as the OAR in the traditional spelling. We can, therefore, simply drop that A and not replace it with anything: "chaukbord".
____________________My thanks to "Garage..." for this suggestion.
Munday, June 2, 2014: "bello" for "bellow"
The letter sequence OW is ambiguous, in that sometimes it is said as the OU-sound but other times as a long-O. Here, it represents long-O, so the W is misleading. Let's just drop it, OK?: "bello".
Sunday, June 1, 2014: "aggregit" for the noun and adjective "aggregate"
GATE should be pronounced with a long-A, as in the word "gate" itself and the verb "aggregate". In the noun and adjectival forms of that word, it is pronounced with a schwa so close to short-I that we might as well write it with an I: "aggregit".
Saturday, May 31, 2014: "vigger" for "vigor"
This word rhymes with "bigger", "chigger", and "trigger", so should be spelled like them, with a double-G to show that the I is short, and an ER to show that the OR is not pronounced with an AU-sound: "vigger".
Friday, May 30, 2014: "tappeoca" for "tapioca"
This Food Friday, let's fix a word with one Continental European vowel sound, an I pronounced as a long-E. Why would we use an I for an E-sound? Further, the A in the first syllable is short, and a double-P would show that clearly, which a single-P does not: "tappeoca".
Thursday, May 29, 2014: "sinnister" for "sinister"
The I in the first syllable is short, which would be much clearer if it were followed by a double-N. That would also cue the reader to place the word's stress on the first syllable, which is where it belongs: "sinnister".
Wensday, May 28, 2014: "roteeny" for "rotini"
We would ordinarily use a word like this, the name of a spiral form of pasta, on a Food Friday, but since we are just about out of words that start in R, let's address it now. The vowels are given Continental European values, but English is not a Continental language, and the vowels on the island of Great Britain shifted away from those values hundreds of years ago. To show the actual sounds of today's word, we need to change the vowels in the second and third syllables. We can leave the O in the first syllable. But the two I's both need to change to show their long-E sound. In the second syllable, bookended by consonants, we need EE. At the end of the word, we could write EE too, but Y is more usual in final position, so let's use that: "roteeny".
Tuesday, May 27, 2014: "pitsitcotto" for "pizzicato"
The similarity between today's word and the familiar words "pizza" and "pizzeria" is misleading, in that the initial-I does not take a long-E sound, but a standard short-I. The ZZ is of course ridiculous in English, and needs to be changed to TS. Once we replace the ZZ with TS, the I before it will be seen as short, which it is. The ATO is also un-English, in that the A represents not a long-A, as readers might guess (compare "Cato", "tomato", and "potato"), but a "broad"-A, which is also conceived of as short-O. All in all, this word in its current form is quite a mess. But we can straighten it out with a few substitutions: "pitsicotto".
Munday, May 26, 2014: "menzwair" for "menswear"
There are two problem areas in this word, which today's contributor points out looks like a compound word for the phrase "men swear".First, the S represents not an S-sound but a Z-sound. Why? Why indeed are there so many places in English in which a Z-sound is represented by S, even tho we have a letter Z for that sound? We need to replace all such S's with Z, including here.
The second problem is that EA is ambiguous, and the sound assigned to it here is not even among what are probably the top three pronunciations, long-E ("heat", "beast", "team"), short-E ("head", "abreast", "pleasant"), and two syllables ("area", "react", "create"). Rather, the EA here represents the sound more commonly written AI or ARE ("air", "care"). AI is probably more common, and seems clearer, so let's use that: "menzwair".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Sunday, May 25, 2014: "grandilloquent" for "grandiloquent"
The spelling eaves unclear where the stress falls in this four-syllable word. If we double the L, however, we make plain that the stress falls on the second syllable: "grandilloquent".
Saturday, May 24, 2014: "fello" for "fellow"
OW is ambiguous, sometimes being pronounced as the OU-sound but other times being pronounced as a simple long-O. Here, it's just long-O, so the misleading W should be dropped: "fello".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Friday, May 23, 2014: "aytoofay" for "étouffée" and "etouffee"
This Food Friday, let's fix a very French spelling that many native speakers of English will not know how to read when they see it, and definitely will not know how to spell when they hear it said. For one thing, English does not use accents, so the two accents over the letter E both have to go.The sounds are not complicated, only the spelling. The OU is not said as in English, the commonplace OU-sound. If we change out the U for a second-O, most people will know what sound to say. Similarly, the EE at the end does not represent what every reader of English has the right to expect, a long-E sound. Rather, it represents a long-A. Preposterous. At the end of a word, English commonly spells the long-A sound as AY ("bay", "ray", "astray"). Let's write that.
At the beginning of the word, we have another English long-A sound, but spelled É rather than ÉE. That is also needlessly confusing to readers of English. We can use AY there too.
If we use English conventions rather than French, we can make the spelling clear to read and easy to remember: "aytoofay".
Thursday, May 22, 2014: "carcajoo" for "carcajou"
The OU here does not represent the standard OU-sound, but a long-U. If we replace the U with a second-O, the sound becomes unmistakable because even tho there are two OO-sounds, long and short, the short-OO would never occur at the very end of a word: "carcajoo".
____________________Note: There are two pronunciations for the J in this word, but since we are not changing the J, that doesn't matter. Anyone who wants to pronounce the J as ZH is still free to do so.
Wensday, May 21, 2014: "bujjet" for "budget"
DG is a preposterous and inefficient way to write a J-sound. We have the letter J for that sound. Let's use it. Since the preceding vowel, the U, is short, we need to write a double-J: "bujjet".
____________________My thanks to "Firewall..." for this suggestion.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014: "Apockrifa" and "apockrifal" for "Apocrypha" and "apocryphal"
There are three problem areas in today's words. First, there is a single-C where a double-C or CK would be better, not just to indicate that the preceding vowel, the O, is short, but also to cue the reader that the word's stress falls on the second syllable. While OCC is not exactly rare, there are about seven times as many common English words with OCK, so let's use that.Second, there is a Y where there should be an I. Midword, Y should be reserved for long-I sounds ("bypass", "dynamo", "pyorrhea"), but the sound here is short-I.
Third, PH should never be used for a simple F-sound, so let's write F instead: "Apockrifa" and "apockrifal".
Munday, May 19, 2014: "tammarind" for "tamarind"
This is another of the innumerable words that have a single consonant where there needs to be a double consonant to show that the preceding vowel is short: "tammarind".
Sunday, May 18, 2014: "saponnify" for "saponify"
A single-N does not show plainly that the O is short, which it is. We should thus double the N: "saponnify".
Saturday, May 17, 2014: "reelter" for "realtor"
The EA in the present spelling has caused many people to see that letter sequence as two syllables, then transpose the second with the following-L, as produces the mispronunciation réel.a.ter or réel.a.taur. We can eliminate that common error by replacing the EA with EE. We should also switch out the O for E, since most people don't pronounce the OR with a marked AU-sound but just the ordinary ER-sound of many other words that end in OR ("color", "agitator", and "tenor"): "reelter".
____________________Note: "Realtor" originated as a service mark for real-estate agents affiliated with the National Association of Realtors, but like so many other trademarks or service marks has now become an ordinary generic word, like "kleenex" for "tissue", and "xerox" for "photocopy".
Friday, May 16, 2014: "peeta" for "pita"
This Food Friday, let's fix the formal word for pocket bread. The I in ITA should be pronounced as a long-I ("italics", "vital", "vitamin"). But here it repesents a long-E, which is much better shown by EE: "peeta".
Thursday, May 15, 2014: "misejjenation" for "miscegenation"
There are three problems with the traditional spelling of today's word. First is that there is a silent-C. If it's silent, it shouldn't be there. Second, the G represents not its own, unique sound, also termed "hard"-G (as in "get", "rugged", and "gesundheit"), but J's sound (conceived of, in all too many words, as "soft"-G, tho it's actually a J-sound). So we need to replace the G with a J. And third, to show that the E before the former-G, now J, is short, we need to double the J. Happily, doubling the J also cues the reader to stress the syllable just before that. Now everything is clear: "misejjenation".
Wensday, May 14, 2014: "gurl" for "girl"
IR is ambiguous, and is often pronounced as tho written EER ("irritate", "virulent", "spirit"). That's not the sound here, which is like the ER in many locations ("error", "berry", "go-getter"), or UR in "urge", "surgeon", and "agricultural", or the U-sound in "push" or "pull" followed by an R. Since two of those sounds could be shown by UR, let's use that: "gurl".
____________________My thanks to "Clap..." for this suggestion.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014: "flajellum" and "flajella" for "flagellum" and "flagella"
The GE in today's scientific word (singular and plural, for "a whiplike extension of certain cells or unicellular organisms that functions as an organ of locomotion" (American Heritage Dictionary) represents not a G-sound at all, but a J-sound. Let's write J: "flajellum" and "flajella".
Munday, May 12, 2014: "eppiglottis" and "eppiglottidees" for "epiglottis" and "epiglottides"
The double-T in today's word (singular and plural) is correct, in showing the preceding-O to take its short value. But the single-P leaves unclear the sound of the preceding-E, which is also short, so should ideally also be shown by a double consonant after it.The plural of "epiglottis" is either "epiglottises" or "epiglottides". In "epiglottises", the -ES represents the sound sequence schwa + Z. In "epiglottides", the -ES represents the sound sequence long-E + Z. We need to clarify what the sound is. In a more rational environment, all S's that are pronounced Z should be changed to Z, but -S is a grammatical marker for pluralization, so we shouldn't change it until there is a more sweeping reform of English spelling: "eppiglottis", "eppiglottises", and "eppiglottidees".
Sunday, May 11, 2014: "draconean" for "draconian"
IA should be reserved to the vowel sequence long-I plus an A-sound or schwa ("diagram", "reliant", "striated"). Here, the sound is long-E plus schwa, so we should write EA: "draconean".
Saturday, May 10, 2014: "catwauk" for "catwalk"
First, why is there an L in this word, when it's not pronounced? If it's not pronounced, it shouldn't be there.Second, the vowel sound of the second syllable is the vowel commonly written AU ("aura", "laud", and "auditorium". So when we take the L out, we should put a U in its place to make that clear: "catwauk".
____________________My thanks to "Fisherman..." for this suggestion.
Friday, May 9, 2014: "bulj" for "bulge"
GE is a dopy and inefficient way to represent a J-sound. The letter G should be reserved to its own, unique sound, which no other letter conveys (as in "get", "geese", and "geezer". J-sounds should be represented with the letter J: "bulj".
____________________My thanks to "Moon..." for this suggestion.
Thursday, May 8, 2014: "apraiz" and "apraizal" for "appraise" and "appraisal"
The first of today's words has three problem areas. First, a double-P indicates that the initial-A is short, as in "at". But it's not. It's a schwa. So let's get rid of the second-P.The second problem is that a Z-sound is represented by an S. Why? We have a letter Z. Let's use it.
The third problem is that there is an extra, silent, E after the S. It serves no purpose. Some silent- or "magic"-E's signal that the vowel before an intervening consonant is long, but AI already shows that the vowel is long-A. Let's just drop it, OK?
In the second of today's words, we can simply add -AL to the now-reformed base, and everything is fine: "apraiz" and "apraizal".
Wensday, April 30, 2014: "traumploy" for "trompe l'oeil"
This very-French spelling causes huge problems for speakers of English, most of whom haven't a clue how to pronounce this term for "A style of painting that gives an illusion of photographic reality" (American Heritage Dictionary). The pronunciation isn't really difficult, just impossible to discern from the spelling. If we change it to English conventions, it becomes easy to read: "traumploy".
Tuesday, May 6, 2014: "sanotta" for "sonata"
The present spelling looks as tho it should be pronounced soe.náe.ta. Let's spell it as it is actually pronounced: "sanotta".
Munday, May 5, 2014: "pelagra" for "pellagra"
A double-L in the present spelling suggests that the word's stress falls on the first syllable. It actually falls on the second. We can't indicate that by doubling anything, because there are three different pronunciations for the second syllable (pa.láag.ra, pa.láe.gra, pa.lóg.ra). But we can definitely eliminate the present intimation that the first syllable bears the stress, by taking away the second-L: "pelagra".
Sunday, May 4, 2014: "mone" and "bemone" for "moan" and "bemoan"
OA is sometimes said in two syllables ("boa", "balboa", "protozoan"), so it would be better if we could show today's long-O sound in a different way. Fortuitously, we can. We can replace the -OAN with -ONE in both of today's words: "mone" and "bemone".
Saturday, May 3, 2014: "lomma" for "lama"
-AMA is ambiguous, sometimes being said with a short-A ("Alabama", "pajamas" as some people say it) and other times with a broad-A, or short-O, the same sound: "drama", "panorama" as many people say it. Here, there's only one pronunciation, with a broad-A/short-O. Let's show that clearly: "lomma".
____________________Note: This respelling would make a homonym with the earlier proposed reform of "llama" to "lomma". That can't be helped if we are to have phonetically clear spellings, and there are many words of drastically different meaning that are spelled the same. This will just be one more.
Friday, May 2, 2014: "gonnoreea" for "gonorrhea"
There are three problems with the traditional spelling of this name of an all-too-common illness traditionally called a "venereal disease" ("VD") but more recently a "sexually transmitted disease" ("STD"). First, the single-N leaves unclear the sound of the vowel ahead of it, which could be said as long-O, whereas it is actually short-O.The second problem is the RRH, which is twice wrong, in that (a) the O ahead of that consonant cluster is said as a schwa, not a full short-O, so doesn't need a double-R, and (b) the H is silent, so it should not appear at all.
The third problem is that the EA could be pronounced as in "area", with neither syllable stressed, whereas the E actually is stressed. To show that, we should write EEA: "gonnoreea".
Thursday, May 1, 2014: "forrij" for "forage"
RR is a better spelling than single-R, because it suggests a short-O before the R-sound, which is the better pronunciation (that is, fór.aj rather than fáu.raj).AGE should be pronounced with a long-A, as in the word "age" itself, "rage", and "multistage", but here it is pronounced as a schwa so close in quality of sound to short-I as justifies respelling it with I. And GE is a stupid spelling for a J-sound. We have a J. Why would we use two letters to represent one, when we already have the one?: "forrij".
Wensday, April 30, 2014: "emmery" for "emery"
A single consonant leaves in doubt whether the vowel before it is long or short. If it's short, as is the first-E in today's word, we should double the consonant after it: "emmery".
Tuesday, April 29, 2014: "dettonate" for "detonate"
DE is a common prefix, usually pronounced with a long-E: "detect/ive", "defuse", "detoxify". That is not the sound here, which is short-E. To show that, we need merely double the following-T: "dettonate".
Munday, April 28, 2014: "charey" for "chary"
There may be no wholly satisfactory spelling for today's word. Its present form makes it look related to "char", which it is not, and suggests a "broad"-A (or short-O) sound, whereas the sound is actually "flat"-A (or the AI sound as in "airmail"). We could write "chairy", but that would suggest a relation to the word "chair", when there is no such relationship. We could write "chairey", which would largely break the mental link to "chair". Or we could drop the I and write "charey", which would save us a letter and suggest the right sound for the A.EY is ambiguous, however, in sometimes being pronounced with long-E ("key", "alley", "money") but other times being pronounced with a long-A ("they", "whey", "convey"). The far more common pronunciation is the one with a long-E, so we can use it for this word, which is also said with a long-E: "charey".
Sunday, April 27, 2014: "biggamy" for "bigamy"
BI is a common prefix, with the sense of "two": "biennial", "biathlon", "bicycle"). It is ordinarily pronounced with a long-I. Here, the sense is two (marriages), but the pronunciation is short-I. To show that, we need to double the G after the BI: "biggamy".
Saturday, April 26, 2014: "artizzanal" for "artisanal"
There are a couple of things wrong with today's spelling. First, the S represents not an S-sound but a Z-sound, so we should write Z. Second, the I is short, so we should double the Z to show that, which, happily, also suggests that this four-syllable word takes stress on the second syllable, which it does: "artizzanal".
Friday, April 25, 2014: "vennerable" for "venerable"
ENE should be pronounced with a long-E ("gene", "benzene", "acetylene"). Here, the E before the N is short, and the second-E has nothing to do with the sound before the N. To show that, we should double the N: "vennerable".
Thursday, April 24, 2014: "transferr" for (the verb) "transfer"
"Transfer" is one of many words in which the part of speech determines which syllable is stressed. As a noun, the word takes stress on the first syllable: "tráans.fer". But the verb takes stress on the second syllable: "traans.fér". To show that, we need at least to double the R. I don't think we also need to add an E after that ("transferre"), tho: "transferr".
Wensday, April 23, 2014: "senshent" for "sentient"
TI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does: "senshent".
Tuesday, April 22, 2014: "ru" for "roux"
The OU in English should be pronounced with the OU-sound, as in "out". The sound here is French-OU, which is inappropriate to English. To show the correct English sound, which is long-U with no initial Y-glide (since there is never a Y-glide after R), we need merely drop the O and X, as leaves only the clear: "ru".
Munday, April 21, 2014: "pashonit" for "passionate"
There are two problem areas in today's word. The first is that SSI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. The second is that ATE should be pronounced with a long-A, as in the word "ate" itself, "pate", and "fate". Here, the sound is exactly that spelled "it", so let's spell it that way: "pashonit".
Sunday, April 20, 2014: "merenggay" for "merengue"
The spelling of this term for a type of Dominican and Haitian music and dance is very close to the name of a familiar pie topping, "meringue", which term in pronounced in two syllables, mer.áang. The term from music is pronounced very differently, in three syllables, ma.réng.gae. To show the distinction clearly, we should replace the GUE at the end of today's word with GGAY, which will simultaneously indicate that there is a hard-G sound in addition to the NG-sound, and that there is a third syllable: "merenggay".
Saturday, April 19, 2014: "inevvitable" for "inevitable"
A single-V leaves unclear whether the I before it is long or short. It's short, so let's double the V to show that plainly: "inevvitable".
Friday, April 18, 2014: "hetterosexual/ity" for "heterosexual/ity"
Readers are entitled to see the letter sequence E-consonant-E as representing a long-E before the consonant ("athlete", "complete", "meter". Here, the first-E is short, so we should double the T to show that: "hetterosexual" and "hetterosexuality".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Thursday, April 17, 2014: "gunna" for "gonna"
Altho this is a very informal word, it is still a word, so should have a clear spelling. ONN plainly indicates a short-O, whereas the sound is actually short-U. So let's replace the O with a U: "gunna".
Wensday, April 16, 2014: "follo" for "follow"
OW is ambiguous, sometimes having an OU-sound, other times a long-O. When the sound is long-O, the spelling should drop the W, which confuses the issue: "follo".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014: "eddit" for "edit"
The single-D leaves unclear the sound of the E before it, which probably should be read as long, as in a very similar word, "edict", but is actually short. To show that the E in today's word is short, we need merely double the D: "eddit".
Munday, April 14, 2014: "deel" for "deal"
This word's four letters form almost the whole of another word, "ideal", in which some people pronounce the EA in two syllables. That is not the sound here, where the EA represents a simple long-E sound, in one syllable. To show that, we need merely replace the A with a second-E: "deel".
Sunday, April 13, 2014: "cerremony" and "cerremoneal" for "ceremony" and "ceremonial"
An E after a single consonant, as in the case of the R here, often marks the vowel before that consonant as long (e.g., "hereafter", "cereal"), But the sound here is short-E or the ER-sound of "better" and "erstwhile". To show that, we should double the R.In the adjective, there's an IA, which is ambiguous ("dial", "wisteria", which are pronounced, respectively, díe.yal and wis.téer.ee.ya). Here, it represents a long-E followed by a schwa. EA would be a much better spelling for that (for instance, as in "cornea" and "miscreant"): "cerremony" and "cerremoneal".
Saturday, April 12, 2014: "biyu" for "bayou"
The spelling of today's English word is French. It is also ambiguous. The great preponderance of speakers of English pronounce this word bíe.yue, so I offer here a better spelling for that pronunciation. The few people who say bíe.yoe can either conform their pronunciation to the standard, and use the simpler spelling for that standard pronunciation, or stick adamantly to their own, dialectal pronunciation, and be regarded as peculiar by everyone else: "biyu".
Friday, April 11, 2014: "appojee" and "appojean" for "apogee" and "apogean"
There are two things wrong with the spelling of today's two closely related words.First, the initial-A could well be taken as a schwa, as in "afar", "ajar", and "ahead" or "about", which would render the words' pronunciation a.póe.jee and a.póe.jee.yan. Those are not the sounds here, in which the A represents, instead, a full short-A. To indicate a short-A in this location, we need to double the following consonant — here, a P.
Second, the G does not represent G's own, unique sound, as in "gear", "get", and "gestalt", but a J-sound. Why would we EVER use a G to represent a J-sound? That's what J is for.
At least the end of the adjective is right, with an EA rather than the all too common, but misleading, IA: "appojee" and "appojean".
Thursday, April 10, 2014: "wollop" for "wallop"
ALL should be pronounced like the word to itself "all", with an AU-sound. That is not the sound here, which is, instead, short-O. So let's exchange the A for O. Mind you, O before L or LL is never clear, since some occurrences take a long-O rather than short ("cold", "poll", but "politics"). Even if we cannot make the sounds unmistakably clear, we can make them more like clear: "wollop".
Wensday, April 9, 2014: "vennerate" for "venerate"
E-[consonant]-E is the way English often shows that an E before a consonant takes its long sound ("here", "gene", "meme"). That is not the sound in the ENE-sequence here, which represents a short-E in the first syllable, with the second-E representing an altogether different sound in the second syllable. To show that the first-E is short, then, we need to double the N: "vennerate".
Tuesday, April 8, 2014: "tif" for "tiff"
This is easy. We don't need a double-F in "if", so don't need a double-F in "tiff": "tif".
Munday, April 7, 2014: "sumwun" for "someone"
The traditional spelling of this compound word of "some" and "one" looks as tho it should be pronounced sóe.mee.yòen, because both elements of the compound are badly spelled. "Some" is pronounced sum, tho it should be pronounced soem; and "one" is pronounced wun, tho it should be pronounced oen. It is the combination of the two phonetic spellings sum and wun that should comprise the compound word: "sumwun".
____________________My thanks to "Music..." for this suggestion.
Sunday, April 6, 2014: "roohble" for "ruble" and "rouble"
The pronunciation of the U and OU in the two spellings of this name of Russia's currency is unclear by virtue of the following two-letter consonant sequence BL. Two consonants in a row usually indicates that the preceding vowel is short, but here it's long. I recently heard a native speaker of Chinese on the U.S. television network ICN from Communist China say rúb.ool rather than rúe.bool repeatedly. So it's plain we need to make the spelling clear for everyone, in and out of the traditional English-speaking countries.To show a long-U sound without an initial Y-glide before a two-letter consonant sequence, we need to use OO. But there are two OO's, long and short, so OO alone would not be clear. To show long-OO, we need to add an H, as in the words "ooh" and "pooh". That would work. It's one letter longer than "rouble", but clear: "roohble".
Saturday, April 5, 2014: "pennetrate" for "penetrate"
We need to double the N to show that the E beyond it does not mark the E before it as long, in that it is actually short: "pennetrate".
Friday, April 4, 2014: "oblivveon" for "oblivion"
There are two things wrong with today's word. First, a single-V leaves unclear whether the I before it is long or short. It's short, so we should double the V to show that. Second, ION should be pronounced much like the word to itself of the same spelling ("ion"), with a long-I. In fact, it is pronounced with a long-E, so we should spell it that way: "oblivveon".
Thursday, April 3, 2014: "marocca" for "maraca"
The spelling of this name of an instrument in Latin American music is perfect in Spanish, but imperfect in English. There are three A's, the first and last of which are said as a schwa, and A is a fine spelling for schwa. But the middle-A is pronounced as a short-O. To show that, we need to change that A to O, and double the following-C, which will also serve to show that the word's stress falls on the second syllable: "marocca".
Wensday, April 2, 2014: "integgument" for "integument"
The speech sounds in today's word* are properly represented, but the unusual stress pattern, on the second syllable, is unclear. If we double the G, the stress too becomes clear: "integgument".
___________________* American Heritage Dictionary: "1. A natural outer covering or coat, such as the skin of an animal or the membrane enclosing an organ. 2. Botany. The envelope of an ovule."
Tuesday, April 1, 2014: "heet" for "heat"
EA has at least five different pronunciations, so the reader cannot know which to give to today's word. The vowel sound here is a simple long-E, which is best shown by EE: "heet".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Click
here for today's suggestion.
Click here to return to the archive index.
Click here for a list of possible future
words.
Click
here for the principles that govern the selection
of words.
Please send comments and suggestions to: Fanetiks@aol.com.