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Friday, March 31, 2017: "tonteen" for "tontine"
This unusual word, for a form of group investment or insurance in which everything goes to the last survivor of the group, first came to my notice in a 1982 episode of the classic police sitcom, Barney Miller, which program is currently broadcast, on some nites, in syndication on Antenna TV.In any case, the INE is ambiguous. It could be said with a long-I, as in "dine" and "refine"; or a short-I, as in "adrenaline" and "jasmine"; or long-E, as in "machine" and "magazine"; or even (tho unlikely) in two syllables, as in "aborigine"). Here, it's supposed to be said as long-E, which we can plainly show simply by changing the I to EE: "tonteen".
Thursday, March 30, 2017: "tonsoreal" for "tonsorial"
IA should be said with a long-I, as in "diatom", "hiatus", and "iambic". Here, however, it stands in for a long-E. Why? We have an E for that sound. Let's use it: "tonsoreal".
Wensday, March 29, 2017: "tommahawk" for "tomahawk"*
A single-M leaves unclear whether the preceding-O is long (compare "tomatillo") or short ("automaton"). It's short, so we need to double the M to show that: "tommahawk".
Tuesday, March 28, 2017: "stokastic" for "stochastic"*
The CH in today's word does not represent the standard CH-sound of English, as in "church" and "chide", but the English K-sound. So why on EARTH is it written CH rather than either just-C or K? That makes no sense.We could respell this word with only a C in place of the CH, but "-castic" might confuse the reader into thinking the word has something to do with "sarcastic", the only "-castic" word most people are likely to think of on the fly. There is no relationship between these two words, however, so substituting K for the CH will make plain the sound without confusing the meaning: "stokastic".
____________________* In statistics, "random".
Munday, March 27, 2017: "stachur" for "stature"
T does not spell the CH-sound. CH does. And URE is misleading, in suggesting to the reader that the vowel is long-U, whereas it is short-U or the vowel of what is most commonly written ER: "stachur".
Sunday, March 26, 2017: "stadeum" for "stadium"
IU should be said with a long-I sound ("triumph", "triumvirate"), but here, the I is said as tho it were an E. Let's exchange it for the much more reasonable E: "stadeum".
____________________Note: The antique plural "stadia", which is almost never seen anymore, should be revised to "stadea".
Saturday, March 25, 2017: "sfigmomanommeter" for "sphygmomanometer"
This Science Saturday, let's fix, to the extent possible, the ridiculous name for a medical instrument for measuring blood pressure. There are two absurdities in the first syllable of the conventional spelling, and one problem between the fourth and fifth syllables. In the first syllable occurs the preposterous and contemptible spelling PH for a simple F-sound. Let's get rid of it, and put an F there. The second problem in the first syllable is a Y for a short-I sound, whereas Y, midword, is more reasonably restricted to a long-I sound, as in "cyan", "dynamo", and "hydro".At the end of the fourth syllable, there is a single-M, which leaves unclear whether the preceding-O is long or short. It's short, so we should show that plainly by doubling the M. Now, tho the word itself may be ridiculous, at least the spelling will no longer also be ridiculous: "sfigmomanommeter".
Friday, March 24, 2017: "sleepwair" for "sleepwear"
EA is highly ambiguous (long-E: "dean"; short-E: "dead"; long-A: "break"; the AI-sound (flat-A): "pear"; the AU-sound: "Sean"; two vowels in sequence: "react", "creation"; etc.). To show unambiguously the sound here, we can simply write: "sleepwair".
____________________My thanks to "GreenD..." for this suggestion.
Thursday, March 23, 2017: "simultaneus" for "simultaneous"
There is at least one bad spelling here we should all be able to agree upon, an OU where there is no OU-sound. So let's just drop the O? There is another change we might be tempted to make, replacing the I with Y, to show a long-I sound more clearly ("symultaneus"). Alas, some people actually do say a short-I, so we can't change that: "simultaneus".
Wensday, March 22, 2017: "seequence" for "sequence"
E before QU is unclear (long: "sequin"; short: "non sequitur"). To show plainly that, here, the E takes its long sound, we need merely double the E: "seequence".
Tuesday, March 21, 2017: "scroo/driever" for "screw/driver"
This is our first Booze Tuesday in a very long time,* and involves two elements linked in a compound word, but only the first requires reform."Screw" is not remotely indicative of the sound that its spelling is meant to convey. EW should be pronounced as short-E followed by a W-glide, and if you sound that out, you will realize that it approximates a long-O, not long-U. How, then, would we better write a long-U at the end of a word? Three obvious spellings would be UE, U, and OO.
Altho the digraph OO has both a long sound (as in "too" and "boost") and a short sound (as in "good" and "took"), no one would read OO at the end of a word as short, but only as long. UE or U at the end of a word would also do, esp. after the letter R, because no one is tempted to put a Y-glide before a long-U sound after an R. So, which of these three spellings should we use?
"Scru" is clear, and more compact than "scrue". But OO has the advantage of indicating that you could not possibly see a YU-sound for the long-U. So let's go with OO: "scroo" and "scroodriver".
____________________* Dictionary.com, on "screwdriver": "a mixed drink made with vodka and orange juice."
My thanks to "Red..." for this suggestion.
Munday, March 20, 2017: "saisheate" for "satiate"
T does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. Nor should we use IA to represent the sound sequence long-E plus long-A. Nor, closer to the start of the word, should we write just-A midword, because that makes the sound of the A ambiguous. That A is long. To indicate that, we could write AY or AI. Midword, AI is much more common, so let's write that. The sound that immediately follows it is that of SH. And the vowel sound after the SH is long-E. To show readers how today's word should actually be pronounced, we need to respell it drastically: "saisheate".
Sunday, March 19, 2017: "saicred" for "sacred"
CR is a two-consonent sequence, which would ordinarily mark the preceding vowel as short, but here, the vowel is actually long-A. To show that, we need to show the long sound of the A within its own spelling. There are two common ways to show a long-A within its own syllable, as against, say, A[consonant]E ("take", "dame", "lane") or even A[two consonants]E ("lathe", "strange", "paste"). The two simpler ways to show a long-A wholly within its own syllable are AY ("say", "pray", "payday") and AI ("paid", "rain", "waist"). Midword, AI is mor common, so let's use that: "saicred".
Saturday, March 18, 2017: "scorpeon" for "scorpion"
This Science Saturday, let's fix a word from biology for an arachnid wth a poisonous stinger. The traditional spelling employs an IO, even tho the sound of the I is NOT I's long sound (as in "ion", "pioneer" and, indeed, "biology" itself) , but long-E. Why would we use an I for a long-E sound? Why not just write EO, as in "eon", "buteo", and "archeology")?" "scorpeon".
Friday, March 17, 2017: "Semminole" for "Seminole"
A single consonant often leaves unclear whether the vowel before it is long or short. Here, it's short. To show that clearly, we can simply double the M: "Semminole".
Thursday, March 16, 2017: "scrivvener" for "scrivener"
IVE is ambiguous, and could easily be seen as conveying a long-I "drive", "jive", and "alive"). The sound here, however, is short-I, which we can make plain by doubling the V: "scrivvener".
Wensday, March 15, 2017: "salomm" for "salaam"
AA is ambiguous ("Aaron", "aardvark", and "Quaalude"). Here, the sound is "broad"-A, the same sound as short-O. So let's write O, but with two M's, to show that the word is stressed on its second syllable: "salomm".
Tuesday, March 14, 2017: "salacious" for "salaishus"
There are two problem areas in today's word. The first syllable contains a long-A, which is not clear from just-A. To show a long-A midword, AI is a much more reasonable spelling. The second syllable contains the absurd spelling CIOUS for a syllable that could much more clearly be written -SHUS, esp. in that the OU in the traditional spelling does not represent the OU-sound: "salaishus".
Munday, March 13, 2017: "sabboturr" for "saboteur"
EUR is a French spelling for what would in English be written ER (-ER being an agent suffix, that is, an indicator of someone who does something). That same sound, in English, could, however, be written UR or AR.In the case of today's word, UR seems the best choice, because it is the least different from the word we are reforming, and there is something to be said for the idea that the smallest change is the best change. So let's write UR in the third syllable.
However, we have issues earlier in the word. A single-B leaves unclear whether the A before it is long or short. It is short, so we should double the B to make that plain.
One issue remains. This word, for being from French, takes the stress on the last syllable. To show that, we need merely double the last consonant, the R, which will cue the reader to give the third syllable the word's primary stress: "sabboturr".
Sunday, March 12, 2017: "repplicant" for "replicant"
This word from science fiction* is a variant of the nonfictional word "replicate", which we offered here yesterday as "repplicate" (doubling the P to show that the E before it takes its short sound). We should make the same change to today's word: "repplicant".
____________________* Microsoft Encarta dictionary: "an imaginary being that has been constructed from organic and computerized components to look like a human being."
Saturday, March 11, 2017: "repplicate" and "repplicon" for "replicate" and "replicon"
This Science Saturday, let's reform two related words. RE is a frequent prefix, ordinarily pronounced with a long-E. That is not the sound here, however. To show that the E in both words actually takes its short sound, we can simply double the following-P. Everything else is fine: "repplicate" and "repplicon".
____________________* "Replicon" is defined in Dictionary.com as "any genetic element that can regulate and effect its own replication from initiation to completion."
Friday, March 10, 2017: "recuze" for "recuse"
Here's a word that has been much in the news of late. It contains an S that stands in for a Z. We should just use the Z that represents the proper sound: "recuze".
Thursday, March 9, 2017: "polittico" for "politico"
Altho the traditional spelling of today's loanword from Italian and/or Spanish isn't atrocious, but it can be improved by adding a second-T, which will indicate to readers where the word's stress goes: "polittico".
Wensday, March 8, 2017: "pichfork" for "pitchfork"
We have here a compound of two words, "pitch" and "fork". The second element is spelled just fine, but there is an extra letter, which adds nothing but length, a T. We don't need a T in "rich" or "which", so don't need a T in "pitch": "pichfork".
Tuesday, March 7, 2017: "peenyotta" for "piñata" and "pinata"
The original spelling of this loanword from Spanish employs a tilde, a diacritic that English does not use. The spelling without the tilde is unclear as to pronunciation, so we definitely need to change it to accord with English spelling conventions: "peenyotta".
Munday, March 6, 2017: "pijjin" for "pidgin"
We have here a homophone with yesterday's word ("pigeon") that is spelled quite differently, but not much better. DG is an asburd and inefficient way to write the simple J-sound. We should use J for the J-sound, and after a short vowel, as here, two J's. The rest of the word can stay: "pijjin".
Sunday, March 5, 2017: "pijjon" for "pigeon"
The traditional spelling of this city bird can be seen by new learners of English as a compound word, formed from "pig" and "eon", which would stump anyone trying to make sense of it. In actuality, it is NOT a compound word, and is NOT pronounced píg.e.òn. It is actually a simple word to itself, pronounced píj.an. To show that pronunciation, we need to replace the GE with JJ. We can leave everything else: "pijjon".
Saturday, March 4, 2017: "fizzeollojy" for "physiology"
Our word for this Science Saturday is the name of the study of the functioning of living beings. The initial sound is F, not P, so we should change the preposterous PH to F. Immediately after that initial sound, a Y appears, which should, midword, be seen as represening a long-I sound, as in "hydro" and "dynamo". Here, however, the sound is short-I, so let's change the Y to I. One letter later, we have an S that represents not its own, voiceless sound, but its pair, the voiced sound of Z. We have a Z. Why wouldn't we use it? So let's write Z. Indeed, since the preceding vowel is short, we should write two Z's, to indicate that. One letter beyond that, we have an I that represents neither of I's sounds, long as in the personal pronoun "I" and short as in "it", but the long-E sound! So let's write E. Two letters past that problem, we have another problem. Boy, is this word's spelling messed-up! There is a single-L after a short-O. Let's double the L to show that better. And finally — finally — we reach the last problem in today's word, a G for what is actually a J-sound. Why would we write a G for J's sound? Let's change the G to J. Now we have fixed all six of the problems in this five-syllable word: "fizzeollojy".
Friday, March 3, 2017: "papiah" for "papaya"
This Food Friday, let's fix the name of a tropical fruit. AYA is ambiguous, and in words of historically English origin, is seen as representing a long-A before the Y ("betrayal", "payable"). The sound here, however, is long-I. "Papaya" could thus be seen as comparable to "Mariah", so let's spell it that way: "papiah".
Thursday, March 2, 2017: "personell" for "personnel"
The wrong consonant is doubled in this word. The double-N suggests at once that the preceding-O takes its full short sound, and that the word's stress falls on the second syllable. Neither is the case. Rather, the O represents a schwa, and the word's stress falls on the last syllable. If we delete the second-N and double the L, we get a much better guide to pronunciation: "personell".
Wensday, March 1, 2017: "paralojize" for "paralogize"
There is only one problem in this arcane, four-syllable word,* a G that stands in for a J sound. We have a letter for that sound: J. Let's use it: "paralojize".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "to draw conclusions that do not follow logically from a given set of assumptions."
Tuesday, February 28, 2017: "peenal/ize" for "penal/ize"
As with the traditional spelling of yesterday's word ("penalty"), a single-N permits a reader to see the preceding-E as long or short. In "penalty", the E is short. In the case of today's two related words, however, the E is long. To show that clearly, we need to double the E: "peenal" and "peenalize".
Munday, February 27, 2017: "pennalty" for "penalty"
The traditional spelling allows the reader to see a single-N as permitting the preceding-E to be read as either long or short, whereas only a short-E is intended. To clear away any ambiguity, let's just double the N, as to show plainly that the E is short: "pennalty".
____________________* An announcer on a TV service of Communist China that broadcasts in the United States, SinoVision, recently pronounced the E in this word as long, so we plainly need to clarify the issue for at least new learners of English outside the traditionally English-speaking countries. And we must all appreciate that there are at any given time FAR more people trying to master English OUTSIDE the countries that have been speaking English for centuries than there ever were within the traditionally English-speaking countries. We must make things easier for them than they have been for us, Fortuitously, if we make the spelling of English easier for them, we will simultaneously make it easier for us!
Sunday, February 26, 2017: "proffanation" for "profanation"
This Churcb Sunday, let's clear up an ambiguity in the first syllable of a four-syllable word. PRO is a frequent prefix, commonly pronounced with a long-O. That is not the sound here, which is short-O. To show that, we need merely double the F: "proffanation".
Saturday, February 25, 2017: "perrineeum" for "perineum"
This Science Saturday, let's improve the spelling of a term from anatomy.* The traditional spelling is ambiguous in three places. First, the sound of the E before the R could be long, short, or the vowel in the ER-sound. It's the sound in ER as, "perfect"). Second, the sound of the I is unclear due to there being only one N, so it could be read as long, as in "fine", or short, as in "inert". It's short. We could show that by doubling the N, but in this location that won't be necessary, because when we correct the third problem, a long-I will be understood to be unlikely. The third problem is not so much the quality of the E before the U, because it would always be seen as long, but in regard to the word's syllabic stress, which falls on that E, which is not clear from the spelling. Compare "museum", in which the E is stressed, as against "linoleum", in which it is not. Here, it is stressed. To show that, we can simply double the E, which makes it unlikely that the I in the prior syllable would also be stressed, because two stressed syllables in a row within a four-syllable word would not sound right: "perrineeum".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "the diamond-shaped area corresponding to the outlet of the pelvis".
Friday, February 24, 2017: "perchatelly" for "perciatelli"
This Food Friday, let's fix a very-Italian spelling for a type of pasta, so that it will comport with English conventions. CI is the Italian convention for what in English is generally written CH. So let's replace that I with H. The second problem is the final-I, which could be read as long-I ("alibi", "cacti", "stimuli") but is actually to be said as an English long-E. To make that clear, we could write -EE or -Y. EE would suggest to many readers that the last syllable takes the word's primary stress, as in "guarantee". It does not, so Y would be better: "perchatelly".
Thursday, February 23, 2017: "pernishus" for "pernicious"
CI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. So let's replace the CI with SH. The traditional spelling also contains an OU, but no OU-sound. If we drop the O, the remaining U will be said correctly.And we will save ourselves a letter, which is always to the good if no confusion results: "pernishus".
Wensday, February 22, 2017: "pedommeter" for "pedometer"
This four-syllable word could be seen, esp. by people outside the traditionally English-speaking countries, as being pronounced pée.doe.mèe.ter, with regularly alternating syllabic stresses. It is actually pronounced pa.dóm.a.ter, with a single stress, on the second syllable. To indicate that, we need simply double the M, which would at once show (a) that the O takes its short sound, despite an E in the third syllable (as could be seen as indicating a long-O, as in chrome", and "dome"), (b) that the E in the third syllable has nothing to do with the O in the second, and (c) that the second syllable takes the word's stress: "pedommeter".
Tuesday, February 21, 2017: "pashmeena" for "pashmina"
INA is ambiguous, and could be said with a long-I, as in "final", "binary", and "Carolina". The sound is actually a long-E, which would be much clearer if written EE: "pashmeena".
Munday, February 20, 2017: "pastell" for "pastel"
In today's word, the EL is unclear. It could be said as schwa (e.g., in "label" and "Mabel"), but is actually said as a full short-E, so ELL is a better spelling. Further, the word's stress falls on the second syllable, which we can also readily indicate by doubling the L: "pastell".
Sunday, February 19, 2017: "preech/er" for "preach/er"
EA is so highly variable that the reader, esp. a child in a traditionally English-speaking country or someone elsewhere on this planet who is trying to learn this most useful of all languages, cannot know which of its various sounds to apply ("plead", "bread", "earthy", "area", "rhea", "Sean" — and more!). Here, the sound is long-E, which is most simply and clearly written EE, so let's write that: "preech" and "preecher".
Saturday, February 18, 2017: "peddicel" and "peddicle" for "pedicel" and "pedicle"
This Science Saturday, let's fix two variant words for a single concept.* The only thing wrong with each is that a single-D leaves unclear whether the E that precedes it is long or short. It's short, in both cases. To show that, we need merely double the D: "peddicel" and "peddicle".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a small stalk .... one of the subordinate stalks in a branched inflorescence, bearing a single flower."
Friday, February 17, 2017: "paileontollojy" for "paleontology"
The good thing about the conventional spelling of today's word is that it employs EO to show the sound sequence long-E + short-O. Two bad things, however, need to be corrected.The first is that AL is ambiguous, and could be read as having a short-A, as in "palimony" "alabaster", and "malice". That's not the sound here, which is "flat-A" as I use the term, which is NOT a synonym for short-A, but the sound in both syllables of "airmail", which is NOT the same as long-A, because it can be said in one syllable before L and R, whereas long-A cannot, but must always have a minor schwa before an L or R in the same syllable. That is, you can say "daily" (dáe.le) without a schwa, because the L goes with the following syllable, not the same syllable as the preceding-A, but you cannot say dael (for "dale") without a schwa before the L, nor daer (for "dare") without a schwa before the R. Oh, you might do it, with difficulty, but it would not sound like English but some kind of stilted, alien language. Klingon? (By the way, "Klingon" is a perfect spelling, even if there is no such thing as a Klingon nor a Klingon language.)
To show the actual sound here, we need to add an I between the A and L.*
The next issue in today's word is whether there should be a single-L or double. OL is a tricky case, because there are many words in which a single-L does NOT suffice to mark a preceding-O as short ("cold"), and double-L may occur even after a long-O ("pollster"). Still, it makes better sense to use a double-L to indicate a short preceding-O ("collagen", "pollen", "follicle"), so let's do that.
The last issue in today's word is the sound of the dopy G, which represents not G's own, unique sound, represented by no other consonant ("go", "get", "give", "gynecologist") but the sound of an entirely different consonant, J. Since the sound is J, let's write J: "paileontollojy".
____________________* In case you have not followed this project from years ago, I underscore the letters A and I when I intend each to be seen as just a letter, not the word "I" or "A".
Thursday, February 16, 2017: "pyzon/no" for "paisan/o"
Tho many people may think that "paisan" and "paisano" are only Italian, they are in fact recognized as English now, so need spellings that accord with English conventions: "pyzon" and "pyzonno".
Wensday, February 15, 2017: "occareena" for "ocarina"
I added today's word* to this project's future-words list when I saw (and of course heard) one being played in an old Charlie Chan movie (Dead Men Tell). It's not the kind of musical instrument one generally hears nowadays, but when I was a child, little plastic ocarinas were offered to kids.The spelling is misleading, because the single-C will be seen by most people as marking the preceding-O long, whereas it is actually short. To show that, we should double the C.
The INA is also at least ambiguous, and arguably misleading, in that in some words INA is pronounced with a long-I ("china", "minah"), whereas here it is pronounced with a long-E. If the sound is long-E, let's write that so it will be read correctly: "occareena".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a simple musical wind instrument shaped somewhat like an elongated egg with a mouthpiece and finger holes".
Tuesday, February 14, 2017: "obnokshus" for "obnoxious"
XIOUS is a very odd spelling, that will esp. confuse new readers. Let's spell out the actual sounds: "obnokshus".
Munday, February 13, 2017: "omishun" for "omission"
SSI does not spell the SH-sound. SH does. As for the O, we might keep it or replace it, in that it represents a schwa, and any vowel can spell schwa. But U is arguably closer to the sound here (compare "abacus", "onus", and , "Cajun"). So let's use that: "omishun".
Sunday, February 12, 2017: "nurosiance" for "neuroscience"
We don't need an E before the U to show the U to be long. Nor do we need SC to show the S-sound later in today's word. S alone will do very nicely. Moreover, IE could be read as a simple long-I ("pie", "fie", "hie"). It's actually two syllables, long-I followed by schwa, as in "trial", "defiant", and "reliance"): "nurosiance".
Saturday, February 11, 2017: "monnocottileedon" for "monocotyledon"
Today starts a new feature, Science Saturday. There are a great many scientific words that are very un-English in spelling, in that many derive from the International Scientific Vocabulary ("ISV"), of which Wikipedia says "whose language of origin may or may not be certain, but which are in current use in several modern languages (that is, translingually)". There is no reason readers and writers of English should try to cope with wildly un-English spellings just because they relate to words in science. So we will fix many of them to conform them to such rules of spelling as do exist in English. Today's word, from botany, refers to plants whose seed throws up a single leaf, rather than the far more common dicotyledon, which produces two immature leaves from its seed.Today's six-syllable word has four little problems in English. (a) The first-O, before a single-N, could be long or short in sound. It's short, and should be so indicated by a double-N. (b) In like fashion, the third-O, which occurs before a single-T, is short, tho it could be seen as long. To indicate that it's short, we should double the T. (c) The Y is entirely inappropriate, because Y midword is commonly pronounced as a long-I. Here, it is short, which we should mark with a double-T. And (d) the E is long, which a single-E is not enuf to show. EE would be much clearer: "monnocottileedon".
Friday, February 10, 2017: "motsa/s" for "motzo", "matzoh" and, plural, "matzos", "matzot", and "matzoth"
This Food Friday, which is also the Jewish Sabbath, let's fix some foolish spellings and usages of a term for unleavened bread (which is much like the paradoxically named "unsalted saltine" crackers). To begin with, O is the wrong vowel for the second syllable. The sound is schwa, which at the end of a word is best shown by A. Second, the A in the first syllable is wrong. IT should be O. So let's flip the A and O. Third, the H in the alternate spelling is entirely pointless. It in no way alters the pronunciation but is silent, so should not be there. We have enuf letters to write that ARE pronounced. We don't need any silent letters in such locations. Fourth, the irregular plural, "matsot" or "matsoth", is un-English, and given the un-English pronunciation mot.sáut. Fifth, the Z is wrong, because it represents the S-sound. What a mess!Fortunately, there is a quick fix for each of these problems. First, change the O at the end to A. Second, change the A in the first syllable to O. Third, drop the silent-H at the end of the singular of the alternate spelling. Fourth, abolish the absurd irregular plural, and just use -S to form the plural. And fifth, replace the Z with S: "motsa" and, plural, "motsas".
Thursday, February 9, 2017: "motly" for "motley"
We don't need an E before the Y in today's word. Quite the contrary, the EY could be seen as representing a long-A sound as in "whey", the British spelling "grey", and "survey": "motly".
Wensday, February 8, 2017: "moote" for "moot"
There are two OO-sounds in English, one long as in "food", the other short, as in "good". Here, the sound is long. To show that, we can add an E after the T: "moote".
Tuesday, February 7, 2017: "meddical", "Meddicare", and "Meddicaid" for "medical", "Medicare", and "Medicaid"
ME before a single-D is ambiguous (compare "media", "median", and "mediocre"), all of which have a long-E sound). Here, the sound of the E is short. To show that clearly, all we need do is double the D in all three words: "meddical", "Meddicare", and "Meddicaid".
Munday, February 6, 2017: "meckanizm" for "mechanism"
Why would we write a simple K-sound with CH, which should be reserved to the CH-sound as in "church" and "chaffinch"? If the sound is K, let's write K. In this location, after a short-E, CK would be better, in that a double consonant is the convention after a short vowel, but KK will be thought by many readers to be "un-English".A second problem is the SM. The S does NOT represent the voiceless sound that S is intended to carry, but the voiced sound for which Z is intended. So let's change the S to Z.
Ideally, we would also show a vowel sound between the Z and the M, to indicate that a schwa appears there. The letter A would be appropriate ("-IZAM"), but the convention is to do without a written schwa and treat the M as a "syllabic-M". We might regard a syllabic-M as a convention of some African languages, not English. But since the English version of syllabic-M in the ending -ISM is well understood, we can leave it — even tho it is plainly unreasonable. We do what we can do without raising hackles: "meckanizm".
Sunday, February 5, 2017: "magnannimus" and "magnanimmity" for "magnanimous" and "magnanimity"
A single consonant in every consonantal location in these paired words leaves unclear whether the preceding vowel (A and I, respectively) is long or short. In today's first word (the adjective), the A is short. In the second word (the noun), the I is short. To show these pronunciations clearly, we should double the following consonant. Doing so offers the added advantage of suggesting where each word's syllabic stress lies (before the double consonant).The last issue today is the OU in the adjective, where there is no OU-sound. The sound is actually a schwa, which will be clear once we drop the O and leave only the U: "magnannimus" and "magnanimmity".
Saturday, February 4, 2017: "manswitude" for "mansuetude"
We have today an archaic term* for gentleness that is spelled in a preposterous way. SUE should be pronounced as in the ordinary word "sue", just as it looks: sue. Instead, the U is pronounced as tho it were a W, and the E is pronounced as tho written I. Neither current rendering is correct. Rather, the spelling should be WI. Altho archaic terms are not employed by present writers, they hang on in old written materials, so should be reformed: "manswitude".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "mildness; gentleness".
Friday, February 3, 2017: "motsarella" for "mozzarella"
This Food Friday, let's anglicize the name of an Italian cheese used especially on pizza. The Italian spelling is very un-English. The two Z's represent not even one Z-sound but the sound of T+S. Once that change is made, everything is fine: "motsarella".
____________________* The reformed spelling offered today is anglicized, with the O given the English short-O sound. Some people say a long-O, in a more-Italian fashion. But if they can see a long-O before a double-Z, they can equally see a long-O before TS.
Thursday, February 2, 2017: "mannatee" for "manatee"
We need to double the N to show plainly that the preceding-A is short: "mannatee".
Wensday, February 1, 2017: "lidocain" for "lidocaine"
This name of a local anesthetic has a needless -E at the end. We don't write "raine", "gaine", or "appertaine", so we don't need to write "lidocaine": "lidocain".
Tuesday, January 31, 2017: "latterigrade" for "laterigrade"*
Today's long word has only one little problem. The single-T followed by an E might cause some readers to think the preceding-A is long, whereas it is actually short. To show that, we need merely double the T: "latterigrade".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "having a sideways manner of moving, as a crab".
Munday, January 30, 2017: "keester" for "keister" and "keester"
There are two accepted spellings for today's word, the preferred being "keister", the other "keester". Plainly, EI is ambiguous, for being seen by some readers as a long-I but by other readers as long-E. The sound here is long-E, which is much better represented, by what is, oddly, the alternative spelling, which we should make not just the preferred spelling but also the only spelling: "keester".
Sunday, January 29, 2017: "Judeizm" for "Judaism"
Why on Earth would there be an A in today's word? The sound is long-E, not long-A. Further, the S represents not the voicelss S-sound but its voiced pair, Z. So let's replace the S with Z. We should ideally also insert a vowel between the Z and the M, because there is a sound there. But -ISM is the convention people are familiar with, so we can leave the reformed spelling without a vowel there: "Judeizm".
Saturday, January 28, 2017: "infinnity" for "infinity"
A single-N between two vowels (here, both I's) leaves unclear the sound of the first vowel. To show that in today's word, that vowel, the first-I, is short, we should double the second-N: "infinnity".
Friday, January 27, 2017: "igneus" for "igneous"
We have today another of the innumerable words that contain an OU-digraph (combination of two letters) but no OU-sound. If we drop the O, the remaining U will be read right, while we save a needless letter: "igneus".
Thursday, January 26, 2017: "heppattocyte" for "hepatocyte"
This is a weird word (for a cell of the liver), with two pronunciations, one with the stress on the first syllable (the unexpectad hép.a.ta.sìet) and a more reasonable pronunciation with primary stress on the second syllable (he.páat.a.sìet). In any case, a single consonant at the end of each of those syllables renders the pronunciation unclear. We need not leave either of those consonants single, but can double both, and let the reader choose which of the more clearly rendered pronunciations s/he prefers: "heppattocyte".
____________________* Reasonable people have reason to wonder why present-day English uses forms from foreign languages, like "hepatocyte", rather than English forms, such as, simply, "liver cell". That makes very little sense to me — no, it makes NO sense to me. If foreign languages choose to use foreign terms for what can perfectly well be written, in English, in English terms, that's their choice. We really do NOT have to use "ISV", an "Internatioanal Scientific Vocabulary" that is foreign to EVERY language on Earth. Indeed, I must wonder why ANY language community employs an artificial vocabulary that is native to NO language, and mixes Greek and Latin roots. Not even ancient Greeks and Romans would use such words. It's not as tho the words are identical from one language to another, which might be defensible. The Spanish equivalent of "hepatocyte" is "hepatocito"; the French, "hépatocyte" — close, but no cigar; the German, "Hepatozyten"; and so forth. Why should scientific words be foreign to every language? If such terms are used in technical papers, the bulk of the text is still going to be in the surrounding language, so what's the point of making, say, six of every hundred words readable by people in other languages? How many readers will know those other languages? If we want uniformity in scientific articles, why don't we all just use English, so that "liver cell" will be understood by everyone? Almost every highly educated person on planet Earth today has a pretty good understanding of English, a great convenience we should appreciate and take advantage of. Let's abandon all those hifalutin and opaque Greco-Latin ISV terms and just use English.
Wensday, January 25, 2017: "hijinks" for "high jinks" and "hijinks"
We have today a word with two spellings, one of which is much better than the other, so let's go with the better one (as follows) and lose the other: "hijinks".
Tuesday, January 24, 2017: "hedline" and "hedliner" for "headline" and "headliner"
EA is a preposterous way to spell a short-E sound. Let's just drop the A, OK?: "hedline" and "hedliner".
Munday, January 23, 2017: "gregareus" for "gregarious"
There are two little problems in today's word (for "sociable"), both in the last four letters. First, why is there an I there, when the sound is long-E? There shouldn't be. Instead, we should write E, which before a vowel will be understood to represent a long-E sound. The second problem is that there is, as so often happens in traditional spelling, an OU but no OU-sound. If we just drop the O, the reader will see the correct sound, a schwa: "gregareus".
Sunday, January 22, 2017: "gondoleer" for "gondolier"
Why would we spell a simple long-E sound with the misleading IE, which could be seen as long-I or long-I plus a short-E or schwa? The simplest and clearest representation of long-E is EE, so let's write that: "gondoleer".
Saturday, January 21, 2017: "glamor" and "glamorus" for "glamo(u)r" and glamo(u)rous"
Each of today's related words has two accepted spellings in the United States ("glamor/ous" and "glamour/ous"), but only one, "glamour" for the noun and, peculiarly, "glamorous", for the adjective, in Britain. The British version of the noun is indefensibly stupid, in that there is no OU-sound there. There is also no OU-sound in the adjectival form in either country, so the U in both places should be dropped: "glamor" and "glamorus".
Friday, January 20, 2017: "ganosh" for "ganache"
This Food Friday, let's reform the spelling of a confectionary term.* ACHE is a word in English, pronounced aek. That is not the sound here, which is nosh (as it would be pronounced in English, tho the traditional spelling is French): "ganosh".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a whipped frosting or filling made with semisweet chocolate and cream, used for cakes, pastries, and candies".
Thursday, January 19, 2017: "flejling" for "fledgeling" and "fledgling"
DGE and DG are ridiculous and inefficient ways to write a simple J-sound. If the sound is J, let's just write J: "flejling".
Wensday, January 18, 2017: "ferth" for "firth" and "frith"*
IR is misleading here. It sometimes takes the sound of a long-E plus R ("irritate"); other times, it represents the ER sound (as in "bird"); yet other times it is almost the same as short-I plus an R ("iridescent"). How is the reader to know which sound it takes here? Well, the sound is that most commonly written ER, so let's write that: "ferth".
____________________* Microsoft Encarta Dictionary: "a wide inlet of the sea". There is an alternate spelling which takes an alternate pronunciation: "frith", pronounced exactly that way.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017: "fachuus" for "fatuous"
T does not spell the CH-sound (as in "church"). CH does, so let's replace the T with CH. There then remains one small issue, the presence of an OU where there is no OU-sound. Fortuitously, that too is easily fixed. Just drop the O: "fachuus".
Munday, January 16, 2017: "falal" for "fallal"*
ALL is usually pronounced with an AU-sound, as in "ball", "call", and "stall"). That is not the sound here, which is a simple short-A, which is much better written AL, as in "pal", "gal", and "Sal": "falal".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a bit of finery; a showy article of dress".
Sunday, January 15, 2017: "equaizhon" for "equation"
TION is ordinarily pronounded shun. The sound here is zhun, which is more commonly written SION ("television"). Neither of those spellings makes very good sense, but TION is too widely used to eliminate easily. We can, however, replace it with something sensible in locations when it does NOT equate with "shun", as here. We could let's replace the TION with ZHUN, but since the U actually represents a schwa, we don't need to write a U. The most common spelling for schwa is A, but any vowel letter can be written. In today's word, the letter is O, so we can keep that: ZHON.The other problem with today's word is how to show a long-A midword, here, before the ZH. We could write AY or AI, but midword, AI is much more common. So let's use that: "equaizhon".
Saturday, January 14, 2017: "encomeum" for "encomium"*
The only thing wrong with this four-syllable word is an I for a long-E sound: "encomeum".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a formal expression of high praise".
Friday, January 13, 2017: "eppicure" and "eppicurean" for "epicure" and "epicurean"
This Food Friday, let's fix a pair of words that relate to gourmets. Most of both words is fine, but the single-P provides no guidance to the reader as to how the preceding-E is to be pronounced. Is it long? Is it short? It's short. To show that, we need only double the P. Interestingly, the standard spelling of the adjective does properly show the long-E near the end, in writing an E rather than I ('epicurian'): "eppicure" and "eppicurean".
Thursday, January 12, 2017: "emulshon" for "emulsion"
SION ordinarily does not represent the sound shun, but zhun. So we should write SH rather than SI. The vowel thereafer could be written with a U, but since it could also be written with O, and O is in the present spelling, let's retain the O: "emulshon".
Wensday, January 11, 2017: "ejjucate" for "educate"
D does not spell the J-sound. J does, and here, after a short-E, two J's are needed. (You may have noticed that when .edu domains are cited in TV commercials, some TV commercials say .E-D-U rather than "ejju". .COM endings are said "dot-kom", and governmental domains are said "dot.guv", even tho it's written ".gov". But ".edu" is spelled out.) Today's word needs only that one change, from D to JJ: "ejjucate".
Tuesday, January 10, 2017: "ecollojy" for "ecology"
There are two things wrong with today's spelling. (1) the first-O is followed by a single consonant, which a reader might well see as indicating a long-O, whereas it is actually short. (2) The G represents not G's own, unique sound, represented by no other letter or group of letters, but J's sound. These two problems have, fortunately, two easy fixes. First, double the L to show that the preceding-O is short ("hollow", "pollack"). Second, change the G to J: "ecollojy".
Munday, January 9, 2017: "doccument" for "document"
The single-C allows the preceding-O to be read as long, whereas it is actually short. To show that clearly, we need merely double the C: "doccument".
Sunday, January 8, 2017: "dommino" for "domino"
We have again, here, an ambiguous vowel sound before a single consonant, the M. To show unambiguously that the sound is short-O, all we have to do is double the C: "doccument".
Saturday, January 7, 2017: "discorse" for "discourse"
Today's word has an OU, but no OU-sound. If we simply drop the U, we get a clear rendering of the actual pronunciation: "discorse".
Friday, January 6, 2017: "dijeschun" and "dijestiv" for "digestion" and "digestive"
In both of today's words, the G stands in for J. It should not. We have a J. Let's use it.The TI in today's first word, a noun, does not represent the CH-sound, as in "church". To show the CH-sound, let us simply write CH in the proper location. After it, we could write U, but need not change the present O. In the second word, an adjective, the IVE should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "drive", "arrive", and "thrive". That's not the sound here, which is short-I. To show that plainly, we need merely drop the final-E: "dijeschon" and "dijestiv".
Thursday, January 5, 2017: "differensheate" for "differentiate"
TI does not spell the S-sound. SH does: "differensheate".
Wensday, January 4, 2017: "kiazmus" and (plural) "kiazmi" for "chiasmus" and "chiasmi"*
CH should be reserved to the CH-sound, as in "church and "chaffinch". The sound here is K. We have a K. Why would we not use it for the K-sound? Similarly, today's words use S for the Z-sound. Why? We have a letter Z for that sound. Let's use it: "kiazmus" and "kiazmi".
____________________* Dictionary.com: "a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in 'He went to the country, to the town went she.'"
Tuesday, January 3, 2017: "Castillyon" for "Castlilian"
I does not represent a Y-sound. The combination IA should be pronounced with a long-I, as in "trial", "dial", and "striation". To show the actual sound in that portion of today's word, we should write: "Castillyon".
Munday, January 2, 2017: "cattatonnic" for "catatonic"
Single consonants render unclear how this four-syllable word is to be pronounced. The first-A is short, which we can show plainly by doubling the first-T. The O is also short, which we can show clearly by doubling the N. Now we have a word that is completely clear and easy to remember: "cattatonnic".
Sunday, January 1, 2017: "cachline" for "catchline"
We don't need three letters to convey the sound commonly written with the two letters CH: "cachline".
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