English in Use/Orthography

Letters.
"A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z".
The names of the letters, as now commonly spoken and written in American English, are: "Ay, Bee, Cee, Dee, Ee, Ef, Gee, Aitch, Eye, Jay, Kay, El, Em, En, Oh, Pee, Kew, Ar, Es, Tee, You, Vee, Double-You, Ecks, Why, Zee" (or "Zed" in British English).
A vowel is a letter which forms a perfect sound when pronounced alone. The vowels are "a", "e", "i", "o", "u", partly "w" and sometimes "y". All the other letters are consonants.
A consonant is a letter which cannot be perfectly pronounced until joined to a vowel. "B", "c", and "d". "W" and "y" are consonants when they precede a vowel heard in the same syllable, as in "wine, twine, whine, year, yet", and "youth"; in all other cases, these letters are vowels, as in "Yssel, Ystadt, yttria, newly, dewy", and "eyebrow".
A semivowel is a consonant which can be imperfectly sounded without a vowel, so that at the end of a syllable its sound may be protracted; for example, "l", "n", and "z", in "al, an", and "az". The semivowels are: "f", "h", "j", "l", "m", "n", "r", "s", "v", "w", "x", "y", "z", and soft "c" and "g"; but "w" or "y" at the end of a syllable are vowels, and the sounds of "c", "f", "g", "h", "j", "s", and "x" can be protracted only as an aspirate, or strong breath.
Four of the semivowels—"l", "m", "n", and "r"—are termed liquids, on account of the fluency of their sounds; and four others—"v", "w", "y", and "z"—are likewise more vocal than the aspirates.
A mute is a consonant which cannot be sounded at all without a vowel, and which at the end of a syllable suddenly stops the breath; for example, "k", "p", and "t", in "ak, ap", and "at". The mutes are eight: "b", "d", "k", "p", "q", "t", and hard "c" and "g"; three of these—"k", "q", and hard "c"—sound exactly alike, and "b", "d", and hard "g" stop the voice less suddenly than the rest.
Powers of the letters.
The powers of the letters are those elementary sounds which their figures are used to represent. The simple elementary sounds of any language are few, commonly not more than thirty-six. Different vowel sounds are produced by opening the mouth differently, and placing the tongue in a peculiar manner for each; but the voice may vary in loudness, pitch, or time, and still utter the same vowel.
The vowel sounds are those which are heard at the beginning of the following words: "ate, at, ah, all, eel, ell, isle, ill, old, on, ooze, use, us", and that of "u" in "bull". Let us note them as plainly as possible: "eigh, ~a, ah, awe, ~eh, ~e, eye, ~i, oh, ~o, oo, yew, ~u", and "u". "~a" is a sound generally given to the word "a": as,
In the formation of syllables, some of these fourteen primary sounds may be joined together, as in "ay, oil, out, owl". These essential sounds may be changed into a series of words by "f": as, "fate, fat, far, fall, feel, fell, file, fill, fold, fond, fool, fuse, fuss, full". Again, into as many with "p": as, "pate, pat, par, pall, peel, pell, pile, pill, pole, pond, pool, pule, purl, pull". The eight long sounds, "eigh, ah, awe, eh, eye, oh, ooh, yew", may be words; but the short vowel sounds, as in "at, et, it, ot, ut, put", are commonly heard only in connection with consonants.
The simple consonant sounds are twenty-two: "b, d, f, g hard, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, sh, t, th sharp, th flat, v, w, y, z", and "zh". "Zh" is written only to show the sound of other letters: as of "s" in "pleasure", or "z" in "azure".
All these sounds are heard in the following words: "buy, die, fie, guy, high, kie, lie, my, nigh, eying, pie, rye, sigh, shy, tie, thigh, thy, vie, we, ye, zebra, seizure". Most of them may be repeated in the same word or syllable: as, "bibber, diddle, fifty, giggle, high-hung, cackle, lily, mimic, ninny, singing, pippin, mirror, hissest, flesh-brush, tittle, thither, vivid, witwal, union, dizzies, vision".
The consonants "j" and "x" represent complex sounds; hence they are never doubled. "J" is equivalent to "dzh"; and "x", either to "ks" or to "gz". The former ends no English word, and the latter begins none. To the initial "z" of foreign words, we always give the simple sound of "z": as in "Xerxes, xebec".
The consonants "c" and "q" have no sounds peculiar to themselves. "Q" has always the power of "k". "C" is hard, like "k", before "a, o", and "u"; and soft, like "s", before "e, i", and "y". Thus the syllables, "ca, ce, ci, co, cu, cy", are pronounced, "ka, se, si, ko, ku, sy". "S" before "c" preserves the former sound, but coalesces with the latter. Hence the syllables, "sca, sce, sci, sco, scu, scy", are sounded, "ska, se, si, sko, sku, sy". "Ce" and "ci" have sometimes the sound of "sh": as, "ocean, social". "Ch" commonly represents the compound sound of "tsh": as in "church".
"G", as well as "c", has different sounds before different vowels. "G" is always hard, or guttural, before "a, o", and "u"; and generally soft, like "j", before "e, i", or "y". Thus the syllables, "ga, ge, gi, go, gu, gy", are pronounced "ga, je, ji, go, gu, jy".
Forms of the letters.
In printed books, the Roman characters are generally employed; sometimes, the italic. In handwriting, script letters are used.
Characters of different sorts or sizes should never be needlessly mixed; because facility of reading, as well as the beauty of a book, depends much on the regularity of its letters.
Italics are chiefly used to distinguish emphatic or remarkable words: in the Bible, they show what words were supplied by the translators.
In manuscripts, a single line drawn under a word is meant for Italics; a double line, for bold or small capitals.
Small letters constitute the body of every word; and capitals are used for the sake of eminence and distinction. Showbills, painted signs, and short inscriptions, commonly appear best in full capitals. Some of these are so copied in books: as,
Capitals.
When particular books are mentioned by their names, the chief words in their titles begin with capitals, and the other letters are small: as,
The first word of every distinct sentence, or of any clause separately numbered or paragraphed, should begin with a capital: as,
All names of the deity, and sometimes their emphatic substitutes, should begin with capitals: as, "God, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Supreme Being, Divine Providence, the Messiah, the Comforter, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Lord of Sabaoth".
Proper names, of every description, should always begin with capitals: as, "Saul of Tarsus, Simon Peter, Judas Iscariot, England, London, the Strand, the Thames, the Pyrenees, the Vatican, the Greeks, the Argo and the Argonauts".
Titles of office or honour, and epithets of distinction, applied to persons, begin usually with capitals: as, "His Majesty William the Fourth, Chief Justice Marshall, Sir Matthew Hale, Dr. Johnson, the Rev. Dr. Chalmers, Lewis the Bold, Charles the Second, James the Less, St. Bartholomew, Pliny the Younger, Noah Webster, Jun., Esq".
Those compound proper names which by analogy incline to a union of their parts without a hyphen, should be so written, and have but one capital: as, "Eastport, Eastville, Westborough, Westfield, Westtown, Whitehall, Whitechurch, Whitehaven, Whiteplains, Mountmellick, Mountpleasant, Germantown, Germanflats, Blackrock, Redhook, Kinderhook, Newfoundland, Statenland, Newcastle, Northcastle, Southbridge, Fairhaven, Dekalb, Deruyter, Lafayette, Macpherson".
The compounding of a name under one capital should be avoided when the general analogy of other similar terms suggests a separation under two: as,
Write "Ben Chasker".
When the word "East, West, North", or "South", as part of a name, denotes relative position, or when the word "New" distinguishes a place by contrast, we have generally separate words and two capitals: as, "East Greenwich, West Greenwich, North Bridgewater, South Bridgewater, New Jersey, New Hampshire".
When any adjective or common noun is made a distinct part of a compound proper name, it ought to begin with a capital: as, "the United States, the Argentine Republic, the Peak of Teneriffe, the Blue Ridge, the Little Pedee, Long Island, Jersey City, Lower Canada, Green Bay, Gretna Green, Land's End, the Gold Coast".
When a common and a proper name are associated merely to explain each other, it is in general sufficient, if the proper name begin with a capital, and the appellative, with a small letter: as, "the prophet Elisha, Matthew the publican, the brook Cherith, the river Euphrates, the Ohio river, Warren county, Flatbush village, New York city".
The name of an object personified, when it conveys an idea strictly individual, should begin with a capital: as,
Words derived from proper names, and having direct reference to particular persons, places, sects, or nations, should begin with capitals: as, "Platonic, Newtonian, Greek, Roman, Italic, or Italian, German, or Germanic, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese, Genoese, French, Dutch, Scotch, Welsh": so, perhaps, to "Platonize", to "Grecize", to "Romanize", to "Italicize", to "Latinize", or to "Frenchify".
The words I and O should always be capitals: as,
Every line in poetry, except what is regarded as making but one verse with the line preceding, should begin with a capital: as,
Of the exception, some editions of the Psalms in Metre are full of examples: as,
The first word of a full example, of a distinct speech, or of a direct quotation, should begin with a capital: as,
Other words of particular importance, and such as denote the principal subjects treated of, may be distinguished by capitals; and names subscribed frequently have capitals throughout: as,
Capitals are improper wherever there is not some special rule or reason for their use: as,
Compounding.
Compounds.
Words regularly or analogically united, and commonly known as forming a compound, should never be needlessly broken apart. Thus, "steamboat, railroad, red-hot, well-being, new-coined", are preferable to "steam boat, rail road, red hot, well being, new coined".
Simples.
When the simple words would form a regular phrase, the compounding of any of them ought to be avoided: as, "in lieu of, in place of, in room of".
The sense.
Words otherwise liable to be misunderstood, must be joined together or written separately, as the sense and construction may happen to require. Thus, a "glass house" is a house made of glass, but a "glasshouse" is a house in which glass is made.
Ellipsis.
When two or more compounds are connected in one sentence, none of them should be split to make an ellipsis of half a word. Thus, "six or seventeen" should not be said for "sixteen or seventeen"; nor ought we to say, "calf, goat, and sheepskins" for "calfskins, goatskins, and sheepskins". In the latter instance, however, it might be right to separate all the words: as,
Hyphen.
When the parts of a compound do not fully coalesce, or when each retains its original accent, as "first-born, hanger-on, laughter-loving, garlic-eater, butterfly-shell", the hyphen should be inserted between them.
No hyphen.
When a compound has but one accented syllable, as "watchword, statesman, gentleman", and the parts are such as admit of a complete coalescence, no hyphen should be inserted between them: as,
Spelling.
Final f, l, or s.
Monosyllables ending in "f, l", or "s", preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant: as, "staff, mill, pass, muff, knell, gloss, off, hiss, puss".
The words "clef, if", and "of", are written with single "f"; as, "gas, has, was, yes, his, is, this, us, pus", and "thus", with single "s"; and "bul, nul, sol", and "sal", with single "l".
Other finals.
Words ending in any other consonant than "f, l", or "s", do not double the final letter: as, "mob, nod, dog, sum, sun, cup, cur, cut, fix, whiz, ab, ad, jag, rag, in, bur, but".
We double the consonant in "abb, ebb, add, odd, egg, jagg, ragg, inn, err, burr, purr, butt, buzz, fuzz, yarr", and some proper names.
Doubling before additional syllable.
Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, when they end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, or by a vowel after qu, double their final consonant before an additional syllable that begins with a vowel: as, "rob, robbed, robber; fop, foppish, foppery; squat, squatter, squatting; thin, thinner, thinnest; swim, swimmer, swimming; commit, committing, committed, committer, committees; acquit, acquittal, acquittance, acquitted, acquitting".
"X" final, being equivalent to "ks", is never doubled: thus, from "mix", we have "mixed, mixing", and "mixer".
When the derivative retains not the accent of the root, the final consonant is not always doubled: as, prefer', pref'erence, pref'erable; refer', ref'erence, ref'erable, or refer'rible; infer', in'ference, in'ferable, or infer'rible;
transfer', a trans'fer, trans'ferable, or transfer'rible.
But letters doubled in Latin, are usually doubled in English, without regard to accent, or to any other principle: as, Britain, Britan'nic, Britannia; appeal, appel'lant; argil, argil'laus, argilla'ceous; cavil, cav'illous, cavilla'tion;
excel', ex'cellent, ex'cellence; inflame', inflam'mable, inflamma'tion.
No doubling before additional syllable.
A final consonant, when it is not preceded by a single vowel, or when the accent is not on the last syllable, should remain single before an additional syllable: as, "toil, toiling; oil, oily; visit, visited; differ, differing; peril, perilous; viol, violist; real, realize, realist; dial, dialing, dialist; equal, equalize, equality; vitriol, vitriolic, vitriolate".
The final "l" of words ending in "el", must be doubled before another vowel, lest the power of the "e" be mistaken, and a syllable be lost: as, "travel, traveller; duel, duellist; revel, revelling; gravel, gravelly; marvel, marvellous". Yet the word "parallel", having three "l"-s already, conforms to the rule in forming its derivatives: as, "paralleling, paralleled", and "unparalleled".
Contrary to the preceding rule, the preterits, participles, and derivative nouns, of the few verbs ending in "al, il", or "ol", unaccented,—namely, "equal, rival, vial, marshal, victual, cavil, pencil, carol, gambol", and "pistol",—are usually allowed to double the "l", though some dissent from the practice: as, "equalled, equalling; rivalled, rivalling; cavilled, cavilling, caviller; carolled, carolling, caroller".
When "ly" follows "l", we have two Ells of course, but in fact no doubling: as, "real, really; oral, orally; cruel, cruelly; civil, civilly; cool, coolly; wool, woolly".
Compounds, though they often remove the principal accent from the point of duplication, always retain the double letter: as, wit'snapper, kid'napper, grass'hopper, duck'-legged, spur'galled, hot'spurred, broad'-brimmed, hare'-lipped, half-witted. So, "compromitted" and "manumitted"; but "benefited" is different.
Final ck.
Monosyllables and English verbs end not with "c", but take "ck" for double "c": as, "rack, wreck, rock, attack": but, in general, words derived from the learned languages need not the "k", and common use discards it: as, "Italic, maniac, music, public".
The words "arc", "orc", "lac", "sac", and "soc", are ended with "c" only. "Zinc" is, perhaps, better spelled "zink"; "marc, mark"; "disc, disk"; and "talc, talck".
Words ending with a double letter.
Words ending with any double letter, preserve it double before any additional termination, not beginning with the same letter: as in the following derivatives: "wooer, seeing, blissful, oddly, gruffly, equally, shelly, hilly, stiffness, illness, stillness, shrillness, fellness, smallness, drollness,
freeness, grassless, passless, carelessness, recklessness, embarrassment, enfeoffment, agreement, agreeable".
Certain irregular derivatives in "d" or "t", from verbs ending in "ee, ll", or "ss", as "fled" from "flee", "sold" from "sell", "told" from "tell", "dwelt" from "dwell", "spelt" from "spell", "spilt" from "spill", "blest" from "bless", "past" from "pass", are exceptions to the foregoing rule.
If the word "pontiff" is properly spelled with two "f"-s, its eight derivatives are also exceptions to this rule; for they are severally spelled with one: as, "pontific, pontifical, pontificate", etc.
The words "skillful, skillfully, willful, willfully, chillness, tallness, dullness", and "fullness", have generally been allowed to drop the second "l", though all of them might well be made to conform to the general rule, agreeably to the orthography of Webster.
Words ending with any double letter, preserve it double in all derivatives formed from them by means of prefixes: as, "see, foresee; feoff, enfeoff; pass, repass; press, depress; miss, amiss; call, recall; stall, forestall; thrall, inthrall; spell, misspell; tell, foretell; sell, undersell; add, superadd; snuff, besnuff; swell, overswell".
Final ll.
Final "ll" is peculiar to monosyllables and their compounds, with the few derivatives formed from such roots by prefixes; consequently, all other words that end in "l", must be terminated with a single "l": as, "cabal, logical, appal, excel, rebel, refel, dispel, extol, control, mogul, jackal, rascal, damsel, handsel, tinsel, tendril, tranquil, gambol, consul".
Final e.
The final "e" of a primitive word, when this letter is mute or obscure, is generally omitted before an additional termination beginning with a vowel: as, "remove, removal; rate, ratable; force, forcible; true, truism; rave, raving; sue, suing; eye, eying; idle, idling; centre, centring".
Words ending in "ce" or "ge", retain the "e" before "able" or "ous", to preserve the soft sounds of "c" and "g": as, "trace, traceable; change, changeable; outrage, outrageous".
So, from "shoe", we write "shoeing", to preserve the sound of the root; from "hoe, hoeing", by apparent analogy; and, from "singe, singeing"; from "swinge, swingeing"; from "tinge, tingeing"; that they may not be confounded with singing, swinging, and tinging.
To compounds and prefixes, as "firearms, forearm, anteact, viceagent", the rule does not apply; and final "ee" remains double, as in "disagreeable, disagreeing".
The final "e" of a primitive word is generally retained before an additional termination beginning with a consonant: as, "pale, paleness; edge, edgeless; judge, judgeship; lodge, lodgement; change, changeful; infringe, infringement".
When the "e" is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omitted: as in "duly, truly, awful, argument"; but much more frequently retained: as in "dueness, trueness, blueness, bluely, rueful, dueful, shoeless, eyeless".
The word "wholly" is also an exception to the rule, for nobody writes it "wholely".
Some will have "judgment, abridgment", and "acknowledgment", to be irreclaimable exceptions; but on the authority of Lowth, Beattie, Ainsworth, Walker, Cobb, Chalmers and others, they retain "e".
Final y preceded by a consonant.
The final "y" of a primitive word, when preceded by a consonant, is generally changed into "i" before an additional termination: as, "merry, merrier, merriest, merrily, merriment; pity, pitied, pities, pitiest, pitiless, pitiful, pitiable; contrary, contrariness, contrarily".
This rule applies to derivatives, but not to compounds: thus, we write "merciful", and "mercy-seat"; "penniless", and "pennyworth"; "scurviness", and "scurvy-grass"; etc. But "ladyship" and "goodyship", being unlike "secretariship" and "suretiship"; "handicraft" and "handiwork", unlike "handygripe" and "handystroke"; "babyship" and "babyhood", unlike "stateliness" and likelihood"; the distinction between derivatives and compounds, we see, is too nice a point to have been always accurately observed.
Before "ing" or "ish", the "y" is retained to prevent the doubling of "i": as, "pity, pitying; baby, babyish".
Words ending in "ie", dropping the "e", change the "i" into "y", for the same reason: as, "die, dying; vie, vying; lie, lying".
Final y preceded by a vowel.
The final "y" of a primitive word, when preceded by a vowel, should not be changed into "i" before any additional termination: as, "day, days; key, keys; guy, guys; valley, valleys; coy, coyly; cloy, cloys, cloyed; boy, boyish, boyhood; annoy, annoyer, annoyance; joy, joyless, joyful".
From "lay, pay, say", and "stay", are formed "laid, paid, said", and "staid"; but the regular words, "layed, payed, stayed", are sometimes used.
"Raiment", contracted from "arrayment", is never written with the "y". "Daily" is more common than the regular form "dayly"; but "gayly, gayety", and "gayness", are justly superseding "gaily" and "gaiety".
Ize and ise.
Words ending in "ize" or "ise", as "wise" and "size", generally take the "z" in all such as are essentially formed by means of the termination; and the "s" in monosyllables, and in all such as are essentially formed by means of prefixes: "gormandize, apologize, brutalize, canonize, pilgrimize, philosophize, cauterize, anathematize, sympathize, disorganize", with "z"; "rise, arise, disguise, advise, devise, supervise, circumcise, despise, surmise, surprise, comprise, compromise, enterprise, presurmise", with "s". In Commonwealth English spelling, words ending in "ize" may also be written with "ise", such as "organise, realise" and "recognise".
"Advertise, catechise, chastise, criticise, exercise, exorcise", and "merchandise" are most commonly written with "s" and "size, assize, capsize, analyze, overprize, detonize", and "recognize", with "z".
"Prise", a thing taken, and "prize", to esteem; "apprise", to inform, and "apprize", to value, or "appraise", are often written either way, without this distinction of meaning, which some wish to establish. The want of the foregoing rule has also made many words variable, which ought, unquestionably, to conform to the general principle.
Compounds.
Compounds generally retain the orthography of the simple words which compose them: as, "wherein, horseman, uphill, shellfish, knee-deep, kneedgrass, kneading-trough, innkeeper, skylight, plumtree, mandrill".
In permanent compounds, or in any derivatives of which, they are not the roots, the words "full" and "all" drop one "l": as, "handful, careful, fulfil, always, although, withal"; in temporary compounds, they retain both: as, "full-eyed, chock-full, all-wise, save-all".
So the prefix "mis", (if from miss, to err,) drops one "s"; but it is wrong to drop them both, as in Johnson's "mispell" and "mispend", for "misspell" and "misspend".
In the names of days, the word "mass" also drops one "s": as, "Christmas, Candlemas, Lammas".
The possessive case often drops the apostrophe: as "herdsman, kitesfoot".
One letter is dropped, if three of the same kind come together: as, "Rosshire, chaffinch"; or else a hyphen is used: as, "Ross-shire, ill-looking, still-life".
"Chilblain, welcome", and "welfare", drop one "l".
"Pastime" drops an s.
"Shepherd, wherever", and "whosever", drop an "e"; and "wherefore" and "therefore" assume one.
Usage.
Any word for the spelling of which we have no rule but usage, is written wrong if not spelled according to the usage which is most common among the learned: as,
Figures of Orthography.
A figure of orthography is an intentional deviation from the ordinary or true spelling of a word.
Mimesis.
Mimesis is a ludicrous imitation of some mistake or mispronunciation of a word, in which the error is mimicked by a false spelling, or the taking of one word for another: as,
Archaism.
An archaism is a word or phrase expressed according to ancient usage, and not according to our modern orthography: as,
Figures of Etymology.
A figure of etymology is an intentional deviation from the ordinary formation of a word.
Aphaeresis.
Aphaeresis is the elision of some of the initial letters of a word: as, 'gainst, for against; 'gan, for began; 'neath, for beneath; 'thout, for without.
Prosthesis.
Prosthesis is the prefixing of an expletive syllable to a word: as, "adown", for "down"; "appaid", for "paid"; "bestrown", for "strown"; "evanished", for "vanished"; "yclad", for "clad".
Syncope.
Syncope is the elision of some of the middle letters of a word: as, med'cine, for medicine; e'en, for even; o'er, for over; conq'ring, for conquering; se'nnight, for sevennight.
Apocope.
Apocope is the elision of some of the final letters of a word: as, tho' for though; th', for the; t'other, for the other; thro', for through.
Paragoge.
Paragoge is the annexing of an expletive syllable to a word: as, "Johnny", for "John"; "deary", for "dear"; "withouten", for "without".
Diaeresis.
Diaeresis is the separating of two vowels that might be supposed to form a diphthong: as, "coöperate", not "cooperate"; "aëronaut", not "aeronaut"; "orthoëpy", not "orthoepy".
This used to be common in English but is now rare.
Synaeresis.
Synaeresis is the sinking of two syllables into one: as, seest, for seest; tacked, for tack-ed; drowned, for drown-ed; 'tis, for it is; I'll, for I will.
Tmesis.
Tmesis is the inserting of a word between the parts of a compound, or between two words which should be united if they stood together: as,