Val Dumond

Author

Publisher

Editor

Consultant

Articles on Writing, Grammar, and Publishing
by Val Dumond

What's on Val's mind now?

Val writes articles on grammar, the art and science of writing, and publishing, for budding writers and seasoned authors alike. These articles are not only informative and educational, they're entertaining - written as only Val can. Enjoy this latest of her articles:

How Pour Is Yur Speling Mind?
by Val Dumond
©2008

In this month that is much about Presidents, I'm presenting the words of one of them, Andrew Jackson (as much as we can depend upon accuracy of quotations from people who lived and were quoted in an age before electronic recording). President Jackson is reputed to have said,

"It's a damn poor mind that can spell a word only one way."

Which brings me to the subject of spelling.

Don't leave! I'm trying to make it easier for you.

First the reason for so much falderal and whoopdedoo concerning how we spell words: the language in the U.S. is put together with spit and glue and contributions from all around the world. Some words are spelled as they were in the old country; some are made up for American usage only; some are used infrequently; and some are just plain troublesome because they don't make sense.

F'rinstance: how do you spell that red stuff you pour on your hamburger? The word originally is thought to have meant a kind of fish sauce from Asia and was spelled "kechap" in Malay, and was made without tomatos. The recipe was changed as it made its way through Europe and into the English language (becoming "catchup" in 17th century England). It changed over the next two centuries into "ketchup" to reflect the use of vinegar, into "catsup", and back again. All three are accepted spellings now.

Oh, you noticed! I spelled "tomatos" without an "E" and yes, I know I did. I am trying to clear up the confusion about which nouns-ending-in-O are made plural by adding "S" and which by adding "ES". I have tried and tried to find a noun ending in "O" that isn't perfectly clear with an "S" used to pluralize it. Only one of the many "rules" about this situation makes sense: the one that suggests adding an "S" to make plural any musical terms. I simply expanded that "rule" to apply to ALL nouns ending in "O".

You may notice that I spelled President with a capital "P". My guideline is to use the capital letter when referring to the highest office in the land and a lower case "P" when referring to the president of a company. My reason is to honor the office (not necessarily the person holding it).

Here's where I make life easier for you with four ways to improve your spelling.

1. Find the root word. When spelling a form of a word that has other forms, look at the form that is most familiar ("medicinal" is a form of "medicine", "hypnotize" is a form of "hypnosis").

2. Look at the prefix or suffix. Simple math says 1 + 1 = 2. If the prefix ends in the same letter as the root word, you can use both of them (un-necessary, immobile, ac-commodate, misspell). Suggestion: If the combination results in a double vowel, use the hyphen, otherwise it's unnecessary (pre-emption, co-operate, de-emphasize), especially if the absence of the hyphen confuses the pronunciation. The same applies to a suffix (usual-ly, practical-ly).

3. Pronounce words correctly. When words are mispronounced, they're often misspelled (nuclear, realty, library, strength).

4. Look-It-Up-And-Memorize-It Method: If all else fails, look up a word and devise a weird or funny way to remember it. Take the word apart; recognize its roots and meaning. Another method is to misspell the word unwittingly in a spelling bee or a business report. You'll never misspell it again!

There you have it. Permission to research words for meaning; permission to learn the way most people spell; and permission to spell some words your own way.

Remember, you may be judged by the way you spell. Either learn the acceptable way or have a damn good reason for how you do it.

Back to the main Articles page

"Please feel free to contact me. I welcome your comments and any specific questions you may have. "