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Wensday, December 31, 2014: "cojent" for "cogent"
Why is there a G in today's word? The sound is not G's own, unique sound, that no other letter or combination of letters shows, but the sound of an entirely separate letter, J. We have a J, so let's use it: "cojent".
Tuesday, December 30, 2014: "coco" and "coconut" for "cocoa" and "coconut"
Readers have the right to see OA at the end of a word as two syllables (as in "boa", "jerboa", and "protozoa"). Here, the sound is just a long-O, in one syllable. All we need to represent that is an O (as in "go", "no", and "so"). That takes care of "cocoa".In the longer word, which has two alternate spellings, "cocoanut" and "coconut", we again don't need an A. O-alone will do.
So today's three spellings resolve to two: "coco" and "coconut".
Munday, December 29, 2014: "blu" for "blue"
We don't need a silent-E to indicate a long vowel at the end of a word, except for the vowel A: "be", "alibi", "go", "gnu". At the end of a word, the vowel A most commonly takes the sound of schwa ("alpaca", "drama", "dyslexia"). But E, I, O, and U can stand alone. Here, the silent-E really is silent, so shouldn't be there: "blu".
Sunday, December 28, 2014: "apreesheate" for "appreciate"
There are four problems in today's word.First, the double-P leads the reader to think the preceding-A takes its full short sound, as in "application". But the sound is actually schwa, which at the beginning of a word is best spelled just A, with a single consonant following.
Second, the sound of the E after the R is unclear, since it is followed by a single consonant. It's long. To show that clearly, we need merely double it, from E to EE.
Third, C does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. So let's replace the C with SH.
And fourth, IA is a very bad way to spell the sound sequence long-E plus any other vowel. IA should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "dial", "diadem", and "defiance". If the sound is long-E, we should write E. The sound of the A after it is shown by the familiar pattern vowel + consonant + silent-E, which is used in innumerable words to show a long vowel before the single consonant.
Putting this all together, we get: "apreesheate".
____________________My thanks to "Bookk..." for suggesting reform of today's word, tho I chose a slitely different solution.
Saturday, December 27, 2014: "annimus" for "animus"
An A at the beginning of a word is often pronounced as a schwa ("adapt", "around", "ajar"). That's not the sound here, which is a full short-A. To show that, we need merely double the following-N: "annimus".
Friday, December 26, 2014: "ambigguus" for "ambiguous"
There are two issues in today's word. The more important is that there is no OU-sound, but the letter sequence OU does appear. Let's drop the misleading O. The second is less consequential, that is, whether a single-G is good enuf or we should double it to cue the reader to the fact that this four-syllable word's stress falls on the second syllable. Some readers, esp. outside the traditionally English-speaking countries, might be inclined to read "ambiguus" as àam.bi.gyúe.was, whereas it is actually aam.bíg.yue.was. Doubling the G would make that plain, so let's do it: ämbigguous".
Thursday, December 25, 2014: "adiction" for "addiction"
ADD should be read as having a full short-A, as in the word "add" itself, "address" (meaning a building number on a street), and, indeed, a word related to today's, "addict". Here, the sound of the A is schwa, which is much better shown by an A by itself. So we should drop the second-D, which has the added virtue of saving ourselves a letter: "adiction".
Wensday, December 24, 2014: "acetaminnofen" for "acetaminophen"
PH is an indefensibly absurd and inefficient way to spell a simple F-sound. We have a single letter, F, that represents that sound much more clearly and simply. PH, by contrast, could be pronounced as the two consonants involved, as in "uphill", "uphold" and "upheaval".The second issue is that the I is short, in a location, before a single consonant in a very long word — six syllables — that leaves unclear how the I is pronounced, and on which syllable the word takes its primary stress. If, however, we double the N, we at once show that the I is short and that the word's stress falls on the fourth syllable: "acetaminnofen".
Tuesday, December 23, 2014: "virajjinus" and "virajinnity" for "viraginous" and "viraginity"
Both of today's unusual words* are spelled badly, first as regards the sound of the G. The letter G has its own unique sound, expressed by no other letter. But that is not the sound here. Rather, that sound is the one best expressed by the letter J. So let's switch out the G and switch in a J, in both words.The second issue is the single consonant sound J in the first word and N in the second word. A single consonant leaves unclear whether the vowel before it is long or short. It's short, in both cases. The way to show that is to double the consonant that follows the short vowel.
The third issue is that OU appears where there is no OU-sound. Here, the sound is a schwa, which in this common suffix should be spelled simply -US, not -OUS: "virajjinus" and "virajinnity".
____________________* "Virago" from Dictionary.com: "1. a loud-voiced, ill-tempered, scolding woman; shrew.
2. Archaic. a woman of strength or spirit."
Munday, December 22, 2014: "treppidation" for "trepidation"
TRE could well be read as having a long-E sound. Here, the sound is short-E. To show that, we need merely double the P: "treppidation".
Sunday, December 21, 2014: "simpozeum/s" and "simpozea" for "symposium/s" and "symposia"
As with the past three days' offerings, a Y midword will be seen by many readers as having a long-I sound, but that's not the sound here, which is short-I. To show that plainly here we need simply replace the Y with I.The second issue in today's words is that a Z-sound is represented by an S. Why on Earth would we do that? We have a letter, Z, for that sound. Let's use it.
The third issue is the IU in the singular and IA in the alternative, irregular plural. IU should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "triumphal" and "triumvir". IA should be pronounced with a long-I too (as in "diameter", "trial", and "reliance"). Here, however, the sound is long-E. If the sound is long-E, why would we not spell it with E? We plainly do have a letter E that can represent that sound better, so let's use it: "simpozeum", "simpozeums", and "simpozea".
Saturday, December 20, 2014: "sillabus/es" and "sillabi" for "syllabus/es" and "syllabi"
As in the past two days' words, a Y midword should be read as having a long-I sound, but here, the sound is short-I, which should be shown by a double-L after it. The traditional spelling has two L's, but that would not necessarily show the Y as representing short-I. An actual I with a double-L afterward would, however, be read properly.There are two plurals for this word, one with -ES added to the -US, and the other with -I in place of the -US. The version with -ES can be shown as added to the end of the reformed spelling. The version with an -I at the end can be shown by -I, which is regularly pronounced as long-I ("alibi", "alkali", "stimuli"), which, happily, is its pronunciation here: "sillabus", "sillabuses", "sillabi".
____________________My thanks to "Cal..." for "sillabus".
Friday, December 19, 2014: "sillable" and "silabbic" for "syllable" and "syllabic"
As with yesterday's word, a Y midword should be pronounced as long-I, but here, it represents a short-I. To show that, in a stressed syllable, we need to double the following consonant, which here is an L. The traditional spelling also has a double-L, but after a Y, that means little. In the adjective "syllabic", the second syllable takes the stress, and the L-sound goes with the second syllable. So it is the A that needs to be shown as short, by doubling the following-B: "sillable" and "silabbic".
____________________My thanks to "Cal..." for "sillable".
Thursday, December 18, 2014: "siccamor" for "sycamore"
Midword, Y should be reserved to the long-I sound, as in "dynamic", "tyro", and "pyromaniac". Here, it stands in for a short-I. To show that sound, we should replace the Y with I and double the consonant after it, the C.At the end of the traditional spelling is a silent-E that has no reason to be there, because the OR before it is clear, as taking the standard AU-vowel sound of most OR's ("or", "port", "north") not a long-O sound: "siccamor".
Wensday, December 17, 2014: "seccond/erry" for "second/ary"
A single-C leaves unclear the sound of the E in the traditional spelling of today's word, which could be long or short. It's short. To show that, we need merely double the following-C.The 'second' issue is the sound of the ARY at the end of the longer word, which could be said with an AI-sound, as in "nary", "wary", and "scary". That's not the right sound. Rather, the sound is the one most often written ER, but also UR. To write this most clearly, we need not just to write ER but also to double the R. So today's two related words become: "seccond" and "secconderry".
Tuesday, December 16, 2014: "reppertwahr" for "repertoire"
RE is a common prefix, commonly pronounced with a long-E. That is not the sound here, which is a short-E. To show that, we need to double the P after it.In English, the spelling OI should be pronounced as in "point", "joist", and "adenoids". That's not the sound here, which is the French pronunciation, WAH. To show that, let us actually write WAH.
The last issue is the E at the very end of the word. It is silent, so why is it there? Let's just drop it, OK?: "reppertwahr".
Munday, December 15, 2014: "kahyeethe" for "qaid" and "caid"
There are two spellings for today's unusual word,* both absurd. The spelling "caid" is a variation on Spanish "caíd". In Spanish, that's a pretty good spelling. In English, it's preposterous. The other spelling, "qaid", is even more absurd.The AI does not take any of the sounds people in English-speaking countries might expect, long-A ("paid", "laid", "staid"), short-E ("said"), or short-A ("plaid"). Rather, it represents two syllables, a "broad"-A (or short-O, the same sound) followed by a long-E. We need to show that sequence, by writing the two sounds clearly, separated by a Y-glide: "AHYEE".
The other problem is the D in both spellings, which represents not an English-D but a voiced-TH, as in "this" and "that". At the end of a word, that sound is sometimes written THE, as in "seethe", "lathe", and "breathe". Let's use that spelling here: "kahyeethe".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "(in North Africa) a Muslim tribal chief, judge, or senior official."
Sunday, December 14, 2014: "perickapee" for "pericope"*
The present spelling should be read as being pronounced in three syllables, as pér.i.kòep. Actually, however, it is pronounced in four syllables, per.ík.a.pèe. To show that pronunciation, we need to write something like "perickopy", "perickopee", "perickapy", or "perickapee". "Perickopy" looks as tho it should refer to some kind of copy, such as a photocopy. "Perickopee" isn't bad, but many readers would be tempted to pronounced the O as a full long-O, whereas it is actually a schwa. A similar problem as regards the pronunciation of the A would arise with "perickapy", which some readers would see as being pronounced pér.i.kàe.pee. The one spelling that would have the best chance of being pronounced right is probably: "perickopee".
____________________* A short reading from a book, such as the Bible.
Saturday, December 13, 2014: "paladeum" for "palladium"
Many readers will see ALL as having an AU-sound, as in "all", the word to itself, "ball", "call", etc. That is not the sound here, which is a schwa. The L-sound goes with the second syllable, not the first, so the double-L is misleading. Let's just drop one of the L's, reduce the possibilities for confusion, and save ourselves a letter while we're at it.A second issue is the IU at the end. The I should take its long sound, as in "triumph" and "triumvirate". Instead, it is misused here to represent a long-E. If the sound is E, let's write E: "paladeum".
Friday, December 12, 2014: "orthorombic" for "orthorhombic"
The second-H in this long, scientific word* is silent. So it shouldn't be there. Alphabetic writing is about representing sounds, that is all: "orthorombic".
____________________* Merriam-Webster Online: "of, relating to, or constituting a system of crystallization characterized by three unequal axes at right angles to each other".
Thursday, December 11, 2014: "monnolog" for "monologue" and "monolog"
There are two spellings for today's word, neither of them quite right. The form without a UE at the end is better, because a reader, esp. a new reader outside a traditionally English-speaking country, might think the UE is pronounced in a fourth syllable, whereas it is actually silent. In any case, if it's silent, it shouldn't be there, period.Within the base word remaining ("monolog"), a single-N leaves unclear the sound of the first-O. Is it long? Is it short? It's short, and the way to make that plain is to double the N: "monnolog".
Wensday, December 10, 2014: "looney" for "loony", "looney", and "luny"
This word for "crazy" has three current spellings. Probably the best-known is the one used in the name of the animation powerhouse Looney Tunes. That is also a better spelling than the shorter alternatives, "loony" and "luny", in that the OO in "loony" could represent the short-OO, as in "good", and there could be an initial Y-glide in the U in "luny". By contrast, the E after the N in "looney" can well be read as signaling that the OO takes its long sound, as in "food": "looney".
Tuesday, December 9, 2014: "guttapercha" for "gutta-percha"
Why is there a hyphen in this word for a resin used, commonly, in temporary fillings in dentistry? We don't need it, so let's lose it: "guttapercha".
Munday, December 8, 2014: "franchize" for "franchise"
There is no reason for today's word to have an S. The sound is Z, and we have a letter for that sound, Z: "franchize".
Sunday, December 7, 2014: "deeizm" for "deism"
There are two little problems in this five-letter traditional spelling. First, EI could be seen as having a long-I sound, as some people pronounce "either" and "neither", and everyone pronounces "eider". To show that it is properly said as a long-E, we can double the E. The other problem is that an S stands in for a Z-sound. We have a letter for that sound, Z. Let's use it: "deeizm".
Saturday, December 6, 2014: "dworf/s" and "dworvs" for "dwarf" and "dwarves"
ARF should be pronounced with a "broad"-A or short-O (the same sound), as in the imitative word "arf" itself, "scarf", and the slang term "barf". The spoken vowel here, however, is the AU-sound, which, before an R, is commonly written O ("forfeit", "corner", "purport"). Still, we could replace the present A with AU, which would offer us a choice of two spellings for the base word, "dwaurf" and "dworf". The second is slightly shorter and more like people would expect to see for this sound before R, so let's use that.There are two plurals for today's word, "dwarfs" and "dwarves". The irregular may be falling out of favor but it is still often seen, so must be accommodated. But we don't need an E before the S that is used for pluralizing regular nouns, so let's just drop it, OK?: "dworf", "dworfs", and "dworvs".
____________________My thanks to "Clap..." for "dworf/s".
Friday, December 5, 2014: "dellicatessen" for "delicatessen"
On this Food Friday, let's make plain the sound of the DE- that starts this word. DE- is a common prefix, commonly pronounced with a long-E ("defeat", "defend", "detoxify"). That's not the sound here, which is, instead, short-E. To show that, we should double the following-L: "dellicatessen".
Thursday, December 4, 2014: "cruch" for "crutch"
We don't need a T in "much", so don't need a T in "crutch": "cruch".
____________________My thanks to "Cargo..." for this suggestion.
Wensday, December 3, 2014: "croud" for "crowd"
OW is ambiguous. "Crowd", which has the OU-sound, could instead be seen as pronounced with the same vowel sound as "crow", a long-O. To make plain that the OU-sound is what occurs here, we should substitute a U for the W: "croud".
____________________My thanks to "Wilddog..." for this suggestion.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014: "cruton" for "crouton"
Today's word warrants some of the same treatment as yesterday's, so let me repeat some of the argumentation from yesterday: "There is no OU-sound in today's word, so why is there an OU? The sound is long-U, without an initial Y-glide (unlike "huge", which does have an initial Y-glide)." To show that, in a word with only a single consonant (here, a T) after that sound, we need only a U, so can drop the O. That will at once clarify the sound and save us a letter, which is always to the good: "cruton".
Munday, December 1, 2014: "crupe" for "croup"
There is no OU-sound in today's word, so why is there an OU? The sound is long-U, without an initial Y-glide (unlike "huge", which does have an initial Y-glide). To show that here, we could write "croope" or "crupe". Either would do fine, so it's a tossup, neither being clearly superior. Both have a silent-E at the end. Some readers might think that OO is clearer as regards making plain that there is no initial Y-glide, but (an undiscussed fine point of English), there is NEVER an initial Y-glide in a long-U sound that follows an R. We can thus dispense with the OO, which some readers might see as ambiguous, even tho a final-E after the P would make it unlikely that the OO would be short. U would save us a letter over OO. In this tossup, then, I think the infinitesimally better spelling would be: "crupe".
Sunday, November 30, 2014: "broote" for "bruit"
This unusual word (for "spread news") is spelled as would make many readers think the UI has two syllables, as in "intuit" and "annuity", whereas it is actually pronounced in one syllable, as a simple long-U sound without an initial Y-glide. We could respell it as "brute", except that that is already a word. How else might we spell it? "Broot" wouldn't do, because OO is ambiguous, having two main pronunciations, long as in "boot" and short as in "foot". Indeed, the largest part of that respelling, "root", is a word to itself, pronounced with both OO-sounds, by different people. If, however, we add an E after the T, we can suggest, powerfully, that the OO takes its long sound. Let's do that: "broote".
Saturday, November 29, 2014: "apliance" for "appliance"
APP should be pronounced with a short-A, as in "apparatus", "appetite", and "appaloosa". Here, the sound is schwa, which is much better shown by an A followed by one P ("apart", "apace", "Apache"). So let's drop one of the P's, which has the added advantage of saving us a letter: "apliance".
____________________My thanks to "Shoe..." for this suggestion.
Friday, November 28, 2014: "vantij" for "vantage"
AGE should be pronounced with a long-A sound, as in the word "age" itself, and in other words of the same sort ("page", "rage", and "stage"). In today's word, however, the A takes the sound of a schwa so close to short-I that we might better write it with an I.GE is an ambiguous and inefficient way to spell a simple J-sound. If the sound is J, let's just write J. That would also save us a letter, which is always to the good: "vantij".
Thursday, November 27, 2014: "treecle" for "treacle"
EA is highly ambiguous, representing several different sounds, such as in "bead", "bread", "break", "bear", "ad nauseam" (pronounced, respectively, beed, bred, braek, bair, aad náu.zee.am), etc. Here, the sound is long-E, which, midword, is most simply and clearly written as EE: "treecle".
Wensday, November 26, 2014: "soone" for "soon"
There are two OO sounds,* long as in "shoot" and short as in "soot". How is the reader to know which is to be said here? Well, if we add an E after the N, that should signal that the sound is long-OO: "soone".
____________________* There is at least one other OO-sound, short-U, as in "blood" and "flood". But words with that sound for that spelling are oddities.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014: "revvolution" for "revolution"
RE is a common prefix, ordinarily pronounced with a long-E sound, as in a verb related to today's noun, "revolve". Here, the sound is short-E. To show that, we need to double the following-V: "revvolution".
Munday, November 24, 2014: "chee" for "qi", "Qi", "chi", "Chi", "ch'i" and "Ch'i"
This term from Chinese* has six spellings, all un-English. "Qi" (with or without an initial capital letter) is the ridiculous spelling from pinyin, the ridiculous scheme for writing Chinese in the roman alphabet, which uses the letters Q and X in ways that no Western language does. The roman alphabet is quintessentially Western, so should be used in ways compatible with other Western languages' use of the roman alphabet. Pinyin also uses the European ("Continental") value of the letter I, which is also un-English.The spellings of today's word with CH use CH the way English does, but I as French, Spanish, or Italian does.
The spellings with an apostrophe are also un-English, because they do not represent contractions or possessives, nor even a glottal stop, so the apostrophe has got to do.
English spellings should use English values, CH for the consonant, EE as the clearest rendering of the long-E sound: "chee".
____________________* For "vital energy" inside the body.
Sunday, November 23, 2014: "podeum" for "podium"
We have here another of the absurd and unnecessary uses of an I for a long-E sound. Why not an E, as in the similar word, "museum"? IU should be pronounced with a long-I sound, as in "triumph" and "triumvir". If the sound is long-E, however, the spelling should employ an E. Moreover, E makes clear that the O takes its long sound rather than short, which is a second good effect of replacing the I with E: "podeum".
Saturday, November 22, 2014: "plee", "pleed", and "pleeding/s" for "plea", "plead", and "pleading/s"
EA confusingly represents a number of different sounds, including, commonly at the end of a word, two syllables ("idea", "rhea", "area"). Here, the sound is a simple long-E. At the end of a word, long-E can be represented clearly by E-alone ("me", "we", "be") or by double-E ("see", "bee", "three"). Double-E is clearer, esp. in inflected forms such as legal "pleedings" rather than "pledings", so let's use a double-E consistently in these related words: "plee", "pleed", and "pleeding/s".
____________________My thanks to "Bookk..." for "plee".
Friday, November 21, 2014: "plattitude" for "platitude"
The present spelling might be read as having a long-A because there is only one T after the A. Compare the word "attitude", which is an exact rhyme but is written more clearly. Let's use that clearer spelling here: "plattitude".
Thursday, November 20, 2014: "plasteek" for "plastique"
IQUE is a preposterous way to spell a long-E sound followed by a K-sound. Much more sensible would be: "plasteek".
Wensday, November 19, 2014: "pentammeter" for "pentameter"
The present spelling of this four-syllable word looks as tho the main stress should fall on the first syllable, and the word should be pronounced pén.ta.mèe.ter. In actuality, the stress falls on the second syllable, and the word is pronounced pen.táam.a.tèr. To show that pronunciation, we need to double the M, whereupon everything falls into place: "pentammeter".
Tuesday, November 18, 2014: "pensiv" for "pensive"
IVE should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "dive", "alive", and "contrive". Here, the sound is short-I. To show that, all we need to do is drop the final-E, which has the added advantage of saving us a letter: "pensiv".
Munday, November 17, 2014: "mude" and "mudy" for "mood" and "moody"
OO has two sounds, long as in "root" and short as in "foot". There is absolutely no way for the reader to know which applies to any given word, as demonstrated by the pair of words above, which differ by one letter, as do "good" and "food", but which also differ as to the sound of the OO.To the extent we can avoid using OO for both long and short-OO sounds, we should endeavor to use clearer spellings. Here, "mude" and "mudy" clearly represent the long-OO sound better than the traditional spellings: "mude" and "mudy".
____________________My thanks to "Fishin..." for this suggestion.
Sunday, November 16, 2014: "montozh" for "montage"
GE is a bizarre way to spell the ZH sound, esp. in that GE has two other sounds, one with "hard"-G as in "get" and the other "soft"-G as in "gentle". To spell the sound in "montage", we have a different spelling, ZH.As to the sound before the ZH-sound, it is a short-O, also sometimes conceived of as "broad"-A. Before ZH, however, A would be read as a regular short-A, as in "at". So O is clearly the better way to spell that sound here: "montozh".
Saturday, November 15, 2014: "mortiss" for "mortise" and "mortice"
Both -ISE and -ICE should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "precise", "revise", "ice" (the word to itself), and "device" (or "devise", for that matter). So how on Earth did these two spellings get to represent a short-I? This kind of bizarreness is what makes English so hard for everyone to use. To show the proper pronunciation, short-I followed by an S-sound, we should simply write -ISS in place of both of the traditional spellings: "mortiss".
Friday, November 14, 2014: "mokkeotto" for "macchiato"
This Food Friday, let's fix a word that is the short-form name of what Merriam-Webster Online defines as "espresso topped with a thin layer of foamed milk".* The Italian spelling is perfect in Italian, a language with a highly phonetic orthography, in its own sound system, by its own rules. Unfortunately, those rules are completely different from the conventions (not "rules", alas) of English. For instance, in Italian, CH is pronounced like English K, not like English CH (as in "church"). Italian-A is pronounced like English short-O. And Italian IA is never like English IA in "dial", but like English EO in "videographer".We could write "mockeotto", except that the first four letters might mislead the English reader into thinking the word has something to do with mockery. It does not. So KK is a better spelling than CK: "mokkeotto".
____________________* The one word is short for the Italian phrase "caffè macchiato literally, coffee with a spot (of milk)" (Merriam-Webster.com).
Thursday, November 13, 2014: "monnocrome" for "monochrome"
In English, CH should be reserved to the sound in "chimichanga". That's not the sound in today's word, which is instead like that of English K, or CK, as in "kick", or C in "cope".The other problem with today's word is that a single-N leaves unclear the sound of the preceding-O, esp. to new readers of English (for instance, children in traditionally English-speaking countries or learners of English in non-English-speaking countries). Is it long, as in "donor"? short as in "iconoclast"? or a schwa, as in "monopoly"? It's short. To show that, we should double the N: "monnocrome".
Wensday, November 12, 2014: "munks-hood" for "monkshood"
Hyphen, tho out of favor for most compound words, is needed here to keep the S and H from being seen to form the SH-sound, as in "should" or "shush"). The S, in any case, should be 'S, to show the possessive of "monk" (by any spelling). So putting a mark of punctuation in here merely makes up for taking a different mark of punctuation out earlier: "munks-hood".
_________________Monkshood is a type of poisonous plant. A revision of "monk" to "munk" was offered here on March 8, 2009.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014: "givven" for "given"
Today's word is twice ambiguous. First, GI is often said with a J-sound, whereas here it takes G's own, unique sound, as it should. Second, IVE should be pronounced with a long-I (as in "dive", "knives", and "deprive"), but here, the sound is short-I. To show that, we should double the following-V: "givven".
Munday, November 10, 2014: "forswair" and "swair" for "forswear", "foreswear", and "swear"
EA is an insanely ambiguous spelling (e.g., "hear", "spread", "shea", "nausea", "rhea", "Sean", and, of course, "swear" are pronounced heer, spred, shae, náu.zee.ya, rée.ya, shaun, and swair). How is any reader to know which sound or sound combination to apply on seeing any EA? To make clear the sound here, we need to replace the EA with AI.Further, "forswear" and "foreswear" are alternate spellings with the same pronunciation. The medial-E is misleading, in that "fore-" ordinarily indicates a sense of "prior" or "previous", which is not the case here. So let's drop that E: "forswair" and "swair".
____________________My thanks to "Earth..." for "swair".
Tuesday, November 11, 2014: "givven" for "given"
Today's word is twice ambiguous. First, GI is often said with a J-sound, whereas here it takes G's own, unique sound, as it should. Second, IVE should be pronounced with a long-I (as in "dive", "knives", and "deprive"), but here, the sound is short-I. To show that, we should double the following-V: "givven".
Munday, November 10, 2014: "forswair" and "swair" for "forswear", "foreswear", and "swear"
EA is an insanely ambiguous spelling (e.g., "hear", "spread", "shea", "nausea", "rhea", "Sean", and, of course, "swear" are pronounced heer, spred, shae, náu.zee.ya, rée.ya, shaun, and swair). How is any reader to know which sound or sound combination to apply on seeing any EA? To make clear the sound here, we need to replace the EA with AI.Further, "forswear" and "foreswear" are alternate spellings with the same pronunciation. The medial-E is misleading, in that "fore-" ordinarily indicates a sense of "prior" or "previous", which is not the case here. So let's drop that E: "forswair" and "swair".
____________________My thanks to "Earth..." for "swair".
Sunday, November 9, 2014: "deeify" for "deify"
The ambiguous present spelling of today's word has given rise to a spelling-pronunciation with a long-A sound before the I. That's wrong. The E takes its long sound, as in "wee", "bee", and "see". To show that unambiguously, we need merely double the E: "deeify".
Saturday, November 8, 2014: "drivven" for "driven"
The traditional spelling "driven" looks as tho it should be pronounced the same as "drive", with a long-I, plus a second syllable comprising a schwa and final-N. That is NOT how this word is pronounced. Rather, the I is short. We need to show that, and the way we ordinarily show a short vowel midword is by doubling the following consonant, here, N. Let's do that, shall we?: "drivven".
Friday, November 7, 2014: "chipohtlay" for "chipotle"
This Food Friday, let's fix a spelling that has produced four different pronunciations, in order that we might guide readers to what people 'in the know' regard as the 'correct' English pronunciation. The original spelling, "chipotle", from Mexican Spanish,* could easily be read as chi.pót.ool or chi.póe.tool (where OO represents the short-OO of "good"). Neither of those pronunciations is correct.The two anglicized pronunciations are chi.póet.lae and chi.póet.lee. A more puristic Spanish pronunciation would be chi.páut.lae. In the Spanish plural, "chipotles", the long-A is reduced to a short English-E, as in "less". But English is not Spanish, and speakers of English don't smile upon singular and plural forms that differ in the root word, so whatever we decide on, must hold for both singular and plural. That sound should end in an English long-A, which is best written -AY.
For the long-O midword, we might write OA, OE, or OH. OA and OE would both be seen by some readers as comprising two syllables (e.g., "boa" and "poet"), so let's not use either of those spellings. OH, however, remains available to show a long-O in the middle of the word, so let's use that: "chipohtlay".
____________________* This is the somewhat complicated etymology of "chipotle" from Merriam-Webster Online: "Mexican Spanish chipotle, chilpotle, from Nahuatl *chilpoctli, from chilli chili pepper + poctli smoke, something smoked
"First Known Use [in English]: 1950".
Thursday, November 6, 2014: "civvet" for "civet"
IVE should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "strive", "jive", and "alive". Here, the I is short. To show that, we should double the following-V: "civvet".
Wensday, November 5, 2014: "citty" for "city"
"City" has nothing to do with the word of similar form "cite", tho its spelling plainly could be read as representing a long-I in the first syllable, and, much less likely, a long-I in the second syllable as well. There are so many wrong ways of writing things in English, and so many ambiguities, that it's sometimes hard to make things completely clear. But if the sound of the letter I in "city" is short, we should double the T to show that: "citty".
Tuesday, November 4, 2014: "sheenwozzeree" for "chinoiserie"
Today's word is totally French, in English. It needs to be English, in English: "sheenwozzeree".
Munday, November 3, 2014: "barreum" for "barium"
AR is ordinarily said with a "broad"-A, or short-O, the same sound, as in "bar", "car", and "star". That is not the sound here, which is, instead, a short-A as in "cat". To show that sound before an R-sound, we need to double the R ("arrow", "marry", "barren").The other problem with today's word is that an I stands in for an E-sound. Why? If the sound is E, let's just write E: "barreum".
Sunday, November 2, 2014: "apoccopate" and "apoccopee" for "apocopate" and "apocope"
Today's unusual words* share a problem, that the letter sequence OCO could easily be read as having a long-O at least before the C, whereas it is actually short. To show that, we should double the C.In the noun, "apocope" is one of those odd words in which a single-E at the end of a word is supposed to be read as long-E, at tho written -Y or -EE. Others include "adobe", "psyche", and "posse". Here, the noun ends in the letter sequence COPE, which is a common verb, pronounced koep, in one syllable. "Apocope" is thus a very bad spelling, and should be changed. Indeed, a single-E at the end of a word, that is to be read as long, should be changed in all instances. In nouns, -EE is a better choice than -Y, so let's write that: "apoccopate" and "apoccopee".
____________________* Dictionary.com defines "apocope" as "loss or omission of the last letter, syllable, or part of a word", such as the use of "oft" in poetic language instead of "often". The verb "apocopate" means "to shorten by apocope".
Saturday, November 1, 2014: "abillity" for "ability"
We have again, with today's word, a single consonant midword, which renders unclear whether the vowel before it is long or short. Here, it's short. To show that unambiguously, we should double the consonant, here, L: "abillity".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion. Naturally, "Disability" takes the same change, to "disabillity".
Friday, October 31, 2014: "torcheer" for "torchiere", "torchère", and "torchier"
The French spellings of today's word disguise a thoroly anglicized pronunciation* which would be much better written so its English pronunciation will be plain to readers of English: "torcheer".
____________________* There is a more-French alternate pronunciation, taur.sháir, and the existence of three spellings, all with CH, hugely confuses the issue for people who know only English, not French. Once we change the spelling to English conventions, the English pronunciation will be used universally.
Thursday, October 30, 2014: "sugjest/iv" for "suggest/ive"
GG is ambiguous ("bigger", "barelegged", "Reggie", and "exaggerate", for instance, are pronounced bíg.er, báir.leg.ad, réj.ee, and eg.záaj.er.àet). Here, the sound is a regular G-sound followed by a J-sound (sag.jést). To show that, we should write GJ.At the end of the adjectival form, -IVE should be pronounced with a long-I ("hive", "dive", "alive"), but is actually pronounced with a short-I. To show that, we need merely drop the silent and misleading E: "sugjest/iv".
____________________My thanks to "Fortune..." for this suggestion.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014: "shoogar" for "sugar"
I'm more than a little surprised that I haven't addressed this bizarrely spelled word before now, in a project that began over 10 years ago. Better late than never.SU does not spell the SH-sound. SH does.
U does not spell the short-OO sound. OO does.
The rest of the word is fine: "shoogar".
____________________My thanks to "rhod..." for suggesting reform of today's word, tho I chose a slitely different solution.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014: "swommee" for "swami"
Many readers will see an A before a single consonant as having a long-A sound. But the sound here is not either of A's customary sounds, long as in "ate" or short as in "back". Rather, it is a short-O sound, reconceived as "broad"-A. If the sound is short-O, we should write it with O, followed by a double consonant, here, the M.At the end of this word's traditional spelling, -I is misleading, because there are many words of that spelling that are pronounced with a long-I: "alibi", "cacti", "stimuli", etc. The sound here is actually long-E. We could spell that -Y or -EE. -Y might suggest an adjective, whereas this is actually a noun. So -EE is the better choice: "swommee".
Munday, October 27, 2014: "swivvel" for "swivel"
SWIVE- should be seen as having a long-I, as in words of similar form like "wives", "wipe", and "swipe". But the sound here is actually short-I. To show that, we should use the standard convention of doubling the following consonant: "swivvel".
Sunday, October 26, 2014: "sheckel" for "shekel" and "sheqel"
The current two spellings, one with a single-K, the other with a Q but without a U, are both un-English. The "she" before the single-K or Q should be seen as having a long-E, as in the word "she" itself. The spelling with Q cannot be justified, but needs to be banished from the English language. In the remaining form, "shekel", the E in the first syllable takes its short sound. We need to show that, by either doubling the K ("shekkel") or placing a C before the single-K, which would give the word a more conventional English look. Let's choose the more conventional look, "sheckel". We could go even further, as to make the word parallel to "speckle", "heckle", and "freckle", with the E and L reversed. But the sounds do not justify that, because there is a vowel sound before the L consonant, so the better spelling, even if less thoroughly conventional, is: "sheckel".
Saturday, October 25, 2014: "repputation" for "reputation"
RE- is a common prefix, commonly pronounced with a long-E. That is not the sound here, which is, instead, short-E. To show that, we need to double the following-P: "repputation".
Friday, October 24, 2014: "koddee" for "qadi", "cadi", and "kadi"*
We have, in "qadi", one of those rare words permitted into English in which Q occurs without U. Altho in its language of origin, Arabic, that spelling may signal a different sound than the ordinary K-sound of Q before U, English doesn't have that sound, and the alternate spellings "cadi" and "kadi" show that an ordinary K-sound is fine in English.What is not fine is A for a short-O sound, esp. in that an A in that location has led to an alternate, spelling pronunciation with a long-A sound. To show that the preferred sound is "broad"-A, another term for the short-O sound, we should get rid of the A, use an O, and double the D after it to show that it takes its short sound.
For the long-E sound at the end, we might use -Y or -EE. -Y would be perceived by most readers as suggesting an adjective. Since this word is a noun, -EE is by far the better choice: "koddee".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "judge in a Muslim community".
Thursday, October 23, 2014: "peddicure" for "pedicure"
A single-D leaves the sound of the preceding-E unclear. Is is long, as in "pediatrician"? Or short, as in "pedicab"? It's short. To show that, we need merely double the D: "peddicure".
Wensday, October 22, 2014: "mingkee" for "minke"
Also called "piked whale", "minke" derives from Norwegian "minkehval, allegedly after a crew member of the Norwegian whaling pioneer Svend Foyn (1809-94), named Meincke, who mistook a pod of minkes for blue whales" (Dictionary.com). Altho Merriam-Webster Online offers a pronunciation with a schwa at the end (míng.ka), both American Heritage and Microsoft's electronic dictionary offer a pronunciation with a long-E at the end, which accords better with English conventions ("karate", "hyperbole", "guacamole"). But to show a long-E at the end of a word, English more customarily employs either -Y or -EE (two E's, not one). -Y might suggest that the word is an adjective ("inky", "spiky", "stinky"), so -EE would be better.The other issue is the sound or sounds represented by the N-K consonant sequence. The two sounds could be distinct and unconnected, merely occurring in rapid succession: "unkempt", "unkind", "(hu)mankind". Or the N and K could have an implied NG-sound before the K (as, again, in "inky" and "stinky"). That is indeed the actual sound. We need to show that, by writing NGK, not just NK: "mingkee".
Tuesday, October 21, 2014: "litturjy" for "liturgy",
A single-T leaves unclear the sound of the preceding-I, which could be long or short. It's short. To show that, we should double the T.The other issue in this word is the sound of the G, which is not G's own, unique sound, expressed by no other letter, but the sound of J. We have a J. Let's use it: "litturjy".
Munday, October 20, 2014: "fakeer" for "fakir", "faqir", and"faquir",
Today's word has three spellings and two pronunciations. Let's reduce that to one of each. The three current spellings are all unclear, and the first, "fakir", has produced the spelling-pronunciation fáe.ker, a homophone for "faker". Not good. Let's adopt a spelling that lets the reader know the proper pronunciation at first look, and which does not require any guessing: "fakeer".
Sunday, October 19, 2014: "eppifyte" for "epiphyte"
This word* has three problem areas. First, a single-P renders the sound of the preceding-E unclear to unsophisticated readers, such as children in English-speaking countries or adults in non-English-speaking countries. The E could be long; it could be short. It's short. To show that, we should double the P.The second problem is that PH appears but neither a P-sound nor an H-sound occurs in the word. Rather, that indefensibly dopy spelling is supposed to be read as an F-sound. No. The letter sequence PH should be used only where a P-sound is followed by an H-sound, as in "uphold", "upheaval", and an old slang word, "hophead". For an F-sound, we should use the letter F. That's what it's for.
Third, there is an -E at the end of the word that is unnecessary to show a long-I sound before the T, because Y, midword, already carries that sound ("dynamic", "byway", "cyclone"). So let's drop the final-E and save ourselves a letter at the end of this word, which makes up for the letter we added near the beginning.
Putting this all together, we get: "eppifyt".
____________________* American Heritage Dictionary: "A plant, such as a tropical orchid or a staghorn fern, that grows on another plant upon which it depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients."
Saturday, October 18, 2014: "drue" for "drew"
EW is an odd way to write the sound of long-U. If we read it as an E-sound closed by a consonant, the E-sound would be short, and the W would be seen as a glide, like a shortened-U. If you actually say that combination, you come up with a sound like a slightly twisted long-O, not long-U.Why would we not just write U? Or, to give the word a more conventional look, like "true", "due", and "glue", we could waste a letter and write UE. Given that one letter more or less is not a big deal, and a reformed spelling with -E ("drue") will probably look better to most people than a spelling without ("dru"), let's write: "drue".
____________________My thanks to "Mario..." for suggesting reform of today's word, tho I chose a slitely different solution.
Friday, October 17, 2014: "cassalay" for "cassoulet"
This Food Friday, let's fix a term that is fine in French but not right at all in English. In French, the OU is pronounced as a long-U without an initial Y-glide. In English, however, it is reduced to a schwa, so should be written as just-A. The -ET at the end is also fine in French, where native speakers will know to render the T silent and give the E the sound that in English is regarded as long-A. In English, to show that sound properly, we need to drop the T altogether and write the long-A unambiguously, as -AY: "cassalay".
Thursday, October 16, 2014: "billo/es" for "billow/s"
OW is ambiguous, sometimes being pronounced as long-O ("grow") but other times being pronounced as the OU-sound ("how"). Here, the sound is long-O. To show that, we need merely drop the confusing W. To form the plural of the noun or third-person singular of the verb, we should replace the W with an E: "billo/es".
Wensday, October 15, 2014: "aulternate" for the verb and "aulternit" for the noun and adjective "alternate"
There are, in the present spelling, three words pronounced two ways. In the verb, the ending -ATE takes a long-A sound, as it should. But the noun and adjective do not have a long-A sound there. Rather, they are said with a schwa so close to short-I that we might as well write it that way, with -IT at the end.At the beginning, we have a different issue. AL- is ambiguous, sometimes being pronounced with the AU-sound, as here ("already", "alright") but other times being pronounced with a regular short-A sound, as the reader has the right to expect ("alabaster", "alimony"). If the sound is AU, we should write AU: "aulternate" (verb) and "aulternit" (noun and adjective).
Tuesday, October 14, 2014: "slollom" for "slalom"
The sound to assign to the A is unclear. Some readers might assume that because it is followed by a single-L in the standard spelling, the A should be given its long sound, or, since it is followed by an L, a flat-A, as in "airmail". Other readers might think to give the A its short sound ("pal", "alimony", "caliper/s"), but that wouldn't be right either. Few people would think of its actual sound, "broad"-A, which is another way of terming short-O. That sound is hard to make clear before an L, because there are words in which OL could be read with either a long-O ("behold") or short-O ("politics"). Similarly, a double-L does not necessarily mark a preceding-O as short ("poll", but "pollen"). Still, the general rule in English is that a double consonant should be seen as marking the preceding vowel as short, even in the case of OLL ("follow", "holly", "rollicking"), so let's use that: "slollom".
Munday, October 13, 2014: "repputable" for "reputable"
RE- is a common prefix, commonly pronounced with a long-E. The sound here, however, is short-E. To show that, we need merely double the following-P: "repputable".
Sunday, October 12, 2014: "prellit" for "prelate"
"Prelate" looks like a contradiction in terms or a word meaning "on time": "pre-late". But it's pronounced prél.it, so should be spelled to show that pronunciation and remove the element of puzzlement as to the word's meaning: "prellit".
Saturday, October 11, 2014: "ornithollojy" for "ornithology"
G has its own, unique sound (as in "get", "gift", and "begin"), represented by no other letter. Here, however, the G stands in for a different letter, J. Why would we write G if the sound is J? The other issue in today's word is that the second-O is short, but a single-L following leaves that unclear. If we double the L, we both show that the preceding-O is short and that the primary stress in this five-syllable word falls on the third syllable: "ornithollojy".
Friday, October 10, 2014: "manneoc" and "mandeoc" for "manioc" and "mandioc"
This Food Friday, let's fix the two spellings for an alternate term for "cassava", both of which have IO for the sound sequence long-E then short-O. If the sound is long-E, why would we write an I? Let's write E there. That would, however, cause some uncertaintly as to the sound of the A before the N-sound in the standard word (without a D-sound), which would be a single-N that could be seen as long, whereas it is actually short. To show it short, we need merely double the N: "manneoc" and, for the alternate, "mandeoc".
Thursday, October 9, 2014: "karritay" for "karité" and "karite"
Today's word, an alternative term for "shea butter", has an accent. English doesn't use accents, so the accent has got to go. Without an accent, the final-E might be seen as representing long-E, as in "abalone", "psyche", and "minestrone". The sound is actually long-A, however, and the best way to show that is with -AY. The last issue today is the sound of the A before the R-sound, which is not the "broad"-A (another way of conceptualizing a short-O sound) we often hear with an A before R ("car", "start", "afar"), but a regular short-A. To show that sound before R, we often double the R ("arrant", "sparrow", "barrel"). Let's do that here: "karritay".
Wensday, October 8, 2014: "iam" for "iamb"
The dopy spelling of this word has caused some people to pronounce what is supposed to be a silent-B. Once we drop the written-B, no one will think there's a B-sound : "iam".
Tuesday, October 7, 2014: "hellet" for "helot"
Today's word rhymes with "pellet", so let's write it the same way, except, of course, with H rather than P: "hellet".
Munday, October 6, 2014: "faishal" for "facial"
CI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. Once we substitute SH, that two-letter consonant cluster might be seen by some readers as mandating that the preceding-A be given its short sound, whereas it actually takes its long sound. To show that, we could write AE, AY, or AI. Midword, AI is most common, so let's use that: "faishal".
____________________My thanks to "space..." for this suggestion.
Sunday, October 5, 2014: "eppicenter" for "epicenter"
This word needs a double-P, at once to make absolutely plain that the preceding-E is short and that it is the first syllable in this four-syllable word that bears the primary stress: "eppicenter".
Saturday, October 4, 2014: "dujjon" for "dudgeon"
DGE is an absurd and absurdly inefficient way to write a J-sound. We have a single letter for that sound, the J. Here, we would need two J's to mark the preceding-U as short, but the second J is not superfluous, because it at once marks the U as short and indicates that the word's stress falls on the first syllable: "dujjon".
Friday, October 3, 2014: "holla" for "challah"
This Food Friday, let's fix a spelling that is un-English in two places, beginning and end. The CH represents not the English CH-sound (as in "church") but a non-English sound better written KH. However, in that that is not a sound of English, and most people say a simple H-sound, let's drop the C. People who wish to use the foreign sound should in any case write it KH, not CH.At the end of the word, there is an H that is both unnecessary and misleading, because the sound of the A before it is not "broad"-A or short-O (the same sound), but an ordinary schwa, which is best written as A without more: "holla".
Thursday, October 2, 2014: "blemmish" for "blemish"
A single-M leaves unclear both the sound of the preceding-E and the word's syllabic stress, which could fall on the second syllable. If we double the M, however, the E will be seen as definitely short and the word's stress will be seen as definitely falling on the first syllable: "blemmish".
Wensday, October 1, 2014: "appathy" and "appathettic/ally" for "apathy" and "apathetic/ally"
An initial-A before a single consonant commonly represents a schwa sound ("afar", "ajar", "about"), but here the sound is a full short-A. To show that, we should double the P. In the adjectival and adverbial forms, we also need to double the T, to show that the preceding-E is short too: "appathy" and "appathettic/ally".
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