Spelling Dilemmas
By Kate Grady
EuroLogos.com
www.eurologos.com
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The English language is notorious for its
inconsistent and irregular spelling. However,
there are some minor rules which can guide you.
In this article we will take a look at a few
trouble spots in English spelling.
Thanks to the modern technology of the spelling
check function on your computer, you may not
need to worry too much about the orthographic
fine points of any language. However, the English
language often confronts writers with choices,
dilemmas even. Words that sound the same may
be spelled differently. Is that word spelled
with a single or a double letter? Is it this
vowel or that one? There are certain areas of
difficulty which cause even native speakers
to stop and reach for the dictionary.
Suffixes
Spelling dilemmas often arise when suffixes
are used. A good example is the suffix -able
(and in some cases -ible), which can
be attached to any verb to create an adjective.
The adjective then means that it is possible
to do something, or that it is likely to occur.
However, attaching that suffix is no simple
matter.
If the verb ends in a silent "e", it will often
be dropped before the addition of -able
except after the soft "c" or "g" (as in usable,
dyable, but pronounceable, manageable,
bridgeable). In the case of verbs ending
in "y" preceded by a consonant, the "y" becomes
an "i" (justifiable, triable,
but buyable). Verbs that end in -ate
will drop the -ate (demonstrable,
abominable, alienable, appreciable,
calculable, assumable, confiscable,
etc.). However, in the case of -ate verbs
with two syllables, they will become "dictatable,
creatable, locatable".
There is a long list of adjective forms which
have simply been established using the -ible
suffix. Because the -ible and -able
suffixes are correctly pronounced the same,
(roughly "uh-ble"), it may be difficult to remember
which adjectives belong to this category. Some
examples are admissible, convertible,
credible, digestible, divisible,
edible, intelligible, invincible,
perceptible, reprehensible, suggestible,
and suppressible. Keep in mind that by
far the majority of words will take -able.
Nonsensic(al)?
Many non-native speakers become confused about
the -al and -ical suffix. Quite
a lot of adjectives appear with alternative
forms ending in -ic and -ical.
In most cases, more or less distinct meanings
have developed for the two versions, such as
for the following examples. Politic (meaning
artful or shrewd as in a politic manager) and
political (meaning of or relating to
the government or involved with politics as
in a political person); historic
(famous or likely to become famous in history,
significant, as in a historic decision)
and historical (pertaining to history,
as in a historical perspective); economic
(referring to the study of or the subject of
economics or relating to an economy, as in a
country's economic problems) and economical
(meaning being frugal instead of wasteful, as
in "Buying a day-ticket is more economical
than paying the full fare each time"); or electric
(meaning producing, transmitting or powered
by electricity, as in an electric guitar)
and electrical (meaning relating to or
concerning electricity, as in electrical
engineering). From these examples, you can
basically see that the -ical suffix will
be the one which relates to the subject more
broadly.
-er /or errors
A cause of much confusion can be the choice
between the suffixes -er and -or,
in the sense of a person or thing which does
something. To some extent, -er is preferred
in the case of a person, such as reviser and
promoter, while the suffix -or, which
is associated with modern technological words,
is used for machines or things, such as refrigerator
and hydrogenator. The pair adapter
and adaptor is a good illustration of
this distinction, an adapter being generally
a person who adapts something while an adaptor
would only be said of an appliance for adapting
electrical currents. There are many exceptions,
however, such as translator, educator and supervisor.
"I before E..."
A simple spelling rule which is very useful
to remember is the rhyme that goes "'I' before
'e', except after 'c'". You would be surprised
at how many people mutter this under their breath
when writing such common words as achieve,
hygiene, receive and deceive.
The endings of these words sound exactly the
same but they are spelled with ie and
ei respectively.
Spelling in English is the product of the complex
history and evolution of the language. It is
a story which is still developing. Distinctions
and preferences are in the process of being
established all the time. It may seem frustrating
that they cannot be simply explained, but there
are many general rules on minor points which
can help to make sense of it, even if there
are almost as many exceptions!
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