Subject: Re: On comparing apples and oranges (was: Q: on hashes and counting) From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net> Date: 2000/10/24 Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Message-ID: <3181386946431105@naggum.net> * Adam Sampson <ats1@ukc.ac.uk> | Because English doesn't have as fine a distinction between the "ie" | and "ei" sounds as most other European languages do; it's hard to tell | how to pronounce a random word with "ie" in the middle, so it's | equally hard to tell how to write a random word with the "ie" or "ei" | sound in the middle. Why do you assume that the misspeller would pronounce it right? Why not just assume that the misspeller didn't care to check that he spelled it correctly? It is impossible not to make typos one way or the other, but caring about the result requires that we at least go over it afterwards to see if it _looks_ right. Blaming the English spelling system for spelling mistakes is a sure sign of a careless dolt who never _wanted_ to get his spelling right. A book to recommend to people who care about spelling is Marilyn Vos Savant: The Art of Spelling, ISBN 0-393-04903-5. From the back cover: What kind of speller are you? Take this instant quiz to find out! A fair speller will know which of these words are _not_ spelled correctly: (1) aquainted, (2) arguement, (3) cantalope, (4) congradulate, (5) fourty. A good speller will know which of these words are _not_ spelled correctly: (1) counterfeit, (2) hygiene, (3) niece, (4) seize, (5) accomodate. An excellent speller will know which of these words are _not_ spelled correctly: (1) caterpillar, (2) changable, (3) harrass, (4) hemorhage, (5) judgement. She writes with a carefree humor that means you will probably want to read this book somewhere people aren't likely to consider you a lunatic for laughing about English spelling. #:Erik -- I agree with everything you say, but I would attack to death your right to say it. -- Tom Stoppard