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Other spellings

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:48 pm
by PB
How do I compile a word list of alternate spellings in words. e.g. for the sound (k), some spellings you can have are:- 'c', in 'cat', 'k', in 'kitten', 'ck', in 'duck','ch' in 'school', 'q' in 'queen'.

What I'm looking for is a dictionary, advice on how to search for or other ways to find alternate spellings for this sound, and all the others of course. e.g. 'cc' in the word 'baccalaureate', or the 'cc' in 'soccer or 'qu' in 'bouquet' all have the sound (k) but with different spellings.

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2005 8:58 pm
by Apoclima
Ghoti

Apo

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 2:38 am
by Stargzer
Welcome aboard, PB!

Fishing around AlphaDictionary finds this from our own Good Doctor . . .

As to actually answering your question, though, I'm not sure, other than taking a brute force approach and just listing the ones you know. Or are you looking for how the variations came into being?

You might try browsing Wikipedia's entry on Linquistics. There's a link to a detailed list of topics. This sounds like it's related to Phonology.

Also check out some of the links under Consonant. One of the entries lists the "hard C" as a "voiceless velar plosive" with the symbol "/k/" in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

We expect a report here when you're done!

:wink:

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:56 am
by bnjtokyo
PB, Try to find the little book I ran into on a remainder table once. It's called "The Bad Speller's Dictionary" by Krevisky & Linfield, published by Random House in 1967 (ISBN 67-14465). My copy is a reprint dated 1985.

It allows the reader to look up "vetaranery" to find "veterinary" for example.

Happy spelling,

Spellings

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:27 pm
by PB
Larry, I eventually found what I was looking for. Merriam Webster Dictionary some years ago listed alternate spellings for the sounds of our language, in one of their editions:- Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. This book was published from 1983 to 1992 and unfortunately is no longer in print. The list was also removed from later editions due to space constraints. The book is fairly common in libraries and used bookstores,however.
The list is not available in any digital form, but they did me send you a copy.
My thanks goes to Joshua S. Guenter, Ph.D.
Editor of Pronunciation Merriam Webster Dictionary who saved me many hours of tedious searching.

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:49 pm
by Stargzer
Hey, glad to be of help for a change! :wink: