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Words that should be spelt differently.


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There was something on Twitter the other day, opining that zoology should really be spelt zooology. Think on it for a second...

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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2 minutes ago, Hammerless Nail said:

I've always thought that if "you're" was spelt "your", "they're" and "their" spelt "there", and "have" spelt "of", and if every word that ended with the letter 's' had an apostrophe, then literacy rates in this country would be drastically improved.

By the way, thank you for inventing the internet, Mr Berners-Lee.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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One that gets me is when someone mentions they have just been and brought a car.or they have just brought a new telly ,not bought a car or a telly. if you have brought something its like you bringing something somewere.

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As someone who has graded spelling for a LONG time the one that gets me is that some students constantly misspell woman/women.  Many do not comprehend that woman is singular and women plural...seems clear to me.

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Learnt is just wrong. As in lessons learnt. It should be learned and damn those who say learned (learn-ed) is something else.

"When in deadly danger, when beset by doubt; run in little circles, wave your arms and shout"

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2 hours ago, Kayakman said:

OK here is one for ya:  How is it spelt; practice or practise?

Ahhh...the pain...I had better get out and practise more.  Gets them every time.

Being too close to the US is possibly the issue.

They always spell license with an s and practice with a c ???

Whereas in correct English, you follow the pattern of advice (n) and advise (v).

practice (n)

practise (v)

licence (n)

license (v)

More nuanced is:

affect (usually verb)

effect (usually noun)

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When you look up a word, it comes with phonetic guideline marks as to how you should pronounce it. I'll bet 99% of the country, including me, don't know what  those guidance marks sound like.

 

indistinguishable
/ɪndɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəb(ə)l/

Under Scrutiny by the Right-On Thought Police

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Queue. Should be just Q.

Ironically there's a line of letters waiting to be used....

"I am the avenging angel; I come with wings unfurled, I come with claws extended from halfway round the world. I am the God Almighty, I am the howling wind. I care not for your family; I care not for your kin. I come in search of terror, though terror is my own; I come in search of vengeance for crimes and crimes unknown. I care not for your children, I care not for your wives, I care not for your country, I care not for your lives." - (c) Jim Boyes - "The Avenging Angel"

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I get bugged by how AMERICA spells or says words and how they dumb things down , well for Americans ... Tyre not tire , through as thru , I mean really . Bank check . Aluminum . Back to normalcy , is that even a word ? No ‘ u’ in words like colour 

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27 minutes ago, DavidM said:

I get bugged by how AMERICA spells or says words and how they dumb things down , well for Americans ... Tyre not tire , through as thru , I mean really . Bank check . Aluminum . Back to normalcy , is that even a word ? No ‘ u’ in words like colour 

The English language is alive and living, modifications between the three forms of English (England, America and Canadian) are all Okay and we should not get too hung up on it.

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7 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

The English language is alive and living, modifications between the three forms of English (England, America and Canadian) are all Okay and we should not get too hung up on it.

Boo . Stop being all reasonable . I’m english , I rant at Americans who mess up our language , so there !

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11 minutes ago, DavidM said:

Boo . Stop being all reasonable . I’m english , I rant at Americans who mess up our language , so there !

Be very careful, if you can believe Susie Dent (and I'll fight any man here that doubts Susie) many of these supposed Americansiations of English words are in fact the older, traditional English spellings that we have moved away from. Aluminum / Aluminium being a case in point. 

You could maintain accuracy and stil rant at our former Colonial friends for not moving with the times and having a language stuck in the past alongside their outdated measuring systems. 

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