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Is it Judgment or Judgement?


The English spelling system is a nightmare (see "The Chaos" in our library) caused by inconsistencies in the spelling system. To remain on the side of the orthographic angels and help our children learn to spell words in the language more accurately, alphaDictionary.com is committed to as much consistency in spelling as the English language allows. To spell judgement without an "e," while spelling abridgement, acknowledgement, arrangement, engagement, and the 40 other words in English with a soft "g" before -ment with an "e," is an act of bewildering inconsistency that makes learning the spelling system unnecessarily difficult. (See Dr. Goodword's article on the equally puzzling but ever popular editorial error, "an historical" for the correct "a historical".)

It is not a new problem; both spellings have trailed this word throughout history and all English-language dictionaries assure us that both are acceptable. However, we are offering a reasoned resolution to the dilemma that allows us to spell all such words accurately and consistently, making our kids' task of learning the language just a bit easier. We should use the "e" after "g" and "c" (e.g. "advancement" when they are are soft and omit it when they are hard (e.g. segment, pigment). By the way, we have William Shakespeare and all our British brethren on our side. Not bad company to keep.

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