Lose vs Loose

[gareth19 (imported)]

The problem with loose [luws] and lose [luwz] is that the pair employs a unique graphic convention to signal a minimal pair with [s] and [z]; typically this opposition is signaled at the end of a word by -ce vs. -se (as in advice [ədvajs]:: advise [ədvajz]). Using a distinction of oo to signal that the final sound is [s] rather than [z] is anomalous. It cannot be learned as part of a spelling rule because it is a case unto itself. Those who get it have eidetic memories and can retain such stray information; others don't.

One reason to keep a spelling tradition is so people of different backgrounds and dialect patterns can communicate with one another, but to fetishize spelling as Americans do with spelling bees and imagine that there is some virtue in being able to rattle off antidisestablishmentarianism without knowing what the word means or being able to use it in a coherent sentence is like imagining that a return to the gold standard will solve our economic problems. It's a form of mental illness.

Rather than causing a decline in spelling ability, interactive spell checks help prevent further erosion of literacy skills. The user has to select among the options given and therefore needs to actually be familiar with English spellings. More people should use spell-check. If they read more, most people would have better spelling, but dyslexics don't seem to benefit from such experiences. They do seem to benefit from spell check and from putting clear colored sheets of plastic (usually orange) over the text they are reading.

[gellyfregy (imported)]

I certainly see no problem with jargon or dialect. On the other hand, most of us do learn to take our cues from the way the language is spelled and punctuated. They act as road marks to show us the way. Trying to spell a jargon word phonetically is okay, if there is no regular way to spell that word, but if there is a usual way to spell the jargon word, inventing a new way to spell it, even one phonetically accurate, might slow the reader down. Even jargon and dialect, written down, can benefit from proper punctuation, to indicate the pauses or emphasis one hears in speech.

English is one of the most complex languages. Still, because of its complexity, it is helpful to follow the conventions. The copy-editors among us, OCD though they be, can make things easier to read. Writers can almost never do copy-editing for their own work successfully. It shouldn't be that unusual or surprising for the creative amongst us (the story authors) to have trouble with rules, nor to ask someone else to look over their work for spelling and usage and so forth.

The authors here aren't applying for a job as copy-editor, nor seeking admission to an advanced English course. Passing along tips or corrections might trigger feelings of being criticized by that mean fourth grade teacher, or of siblings playing "gotcha". Sometimes it is intended that way, but not usually.

[Cainanite (imported)]

No. When we edit a story for readability, we are not trying to say to the author, "You aren't good enough." That is not our intent. What we want to do is make the story readable for the future. A large portion of the stories were submitted in a format that damaged the author's ability to tell their story. This is not their fault. It is the fault of multiple format options and changing software over the years. We're not trying to change what the author did, just repair what was damaged.

As a rule, I don't alter the story that is written except to insert paragraph breaks, where paragraph breaks did not exist in the original software format.

I happily leave incorrect usage of words like loose, lose. I don't change words that are spelled correctly. I only change incorrect spellings. (where the squiggly red line is already under the word.)

Personally, I like to learn. I actually appreciate being told when I am using words and punctuation incorrectly. As someone who writes a lot, I want to be understood, and give the reader a positive experience. Making sure I don't make common mistakes helps me. I make errors all the time. I'm not ashamed of them. I would, however like to avoid making them in the future.

I'm pointing out errors that stick out to me. I appreciate when people do the same for me.

I know some people can feel intimidated by criticism. I'm not picking on anyone here. Don't feel bad, and don't stop writing. This is just here as a guide if you want it.

I don't want to pick on anyone. No matter how differently written, I still want to read what you have to say. This is just some stuff that bugs people. It is not written in stone.

[gandalf (imported)]

When it comes to spelling, some words are difficult to remember. My Sunday School class teacher (a Dr.) keeps spelling "Judgment" as "Judgement" . The first spelling is right (or is that write?)

[Slammr (imported)]

...

The authors here aren't applying for a job as copy-editor, nor seeking admission to an advanced English course. Passing along tips or corrections might trigger feelings of being criticized by that mean fourth grade teacher, or of siblings playing "gotcha". Somet

imes it is intended that way, but not usually.

No. When we edit a story for readability, we are not trying to say to the author, "You aren't good enough." That is not our intent. What we want to do is make the story readable for the future. A large portion of the stories were submitted in a format that damaged the author's ability to tell their story. This is not their fault. It is the fault of multiple format options and changing software over the years. We're not trying to change what the author did, just repair what was damaged.

I'm pointing out errors that stick out to me. I appreciate when people do the same for me.

I know some people can feel intimidated by criticism. I'm not picking on anyone here. Don't feel bad, and don't stop writing. This is just here as a guide if you want it.

I don't want to pick on anyone. No matter how differently written, I still want to read what you have to say. This is jus

t some stuff that bugs people. It is not written in stone...

I'm not sure, but we may be talking about two different things here. Cainanite is talking about editing current stories, I believe, and gellyfregy seems to be talking about newly submitted stories.

I don't know when we will start accepting new stories or who is going to moderate those story submissions. In the past, we have rejected stories that had too many misspellings, lacked decent paragraph breaks, or had grammatical mistakes that made the stories difficult to read. The stories don't have to be perfect; but they do have to be readable. If dialog is run together and it's difficult to tell who is talking, and I'm moderating it, the story will probably get rejected.

The current story editor is a joy to work with compared to the old one, and if it's the one we have for new stories, there may be some more leeway in editing a submitted story. I could see inserting a few paragraph breaks instead of rejecting a story, if the story is good enough to warrant the extra effort it imposes on the moderator.

Maybe Cainanite will take over story moderation, and it will be up to him to make those decisions .

[Paolo]

Don't feel bad. I graduated with a 3.98 GPA from high school, have a 135+ IQ, and I still go out of my way to avoid this:

lie

lay

laid

lied

Unless I'm talking about a falsehood. I will type out "he placed it on the bed" rather than try to figure out which "L" verb to use.

[Slammr (imported)]

Don't feel bad. I graduated with a 3.98 GPA from high school, have a 135+ IQ, and I still go out of my way to avoid this:

lie

lay

laid

lied

Unless I'm talking about a falsehood. I will type out "he placed it on the bed" rather than try to figure out which "L" verb to use.

I hate those, too. There are a few others about as bad.

[tugon (imported)]

When it comes to spelling, some words are difficult to remember. My Sunday School class teacher (a Dr.) keeps spelling "Judgment" as "Judgement" . The first spelling is right (or is that write?)

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English both spellings are correct.

[gareth19 (imported)]

Don't feel bad. I graduated with a 3.98 GPA from high school, have a 135+ IQ, and I still go out of my way to avoid this:

lie

lay

laid

lied

Unless I'm talking about a falsehood. I will type out "he placed it on the bed" rather than try to figure out which "L" verb to use.

OE leogan > lie, lied lied (verb used of politicians' speech patterns)

OE licgan > lie, lay, lain 'to be in a prone position' the causative of which was

OE lecgan > lay, laid, laidm'to place in a prone position'

[gareth19 (imported)]

When it comes to spelling, some words are difficult to remember. My Sunday School class teacher (a Dr.) keeps spelling "Judgment" as "Judgement" . The first spelling is right (or is that write?)

Judgment is an American spelling; judgement is British; the American rule is that the final e in words ending in -dge is dropped before the suffix -ment; there is no such rule in the UK. In the US travel, traveled; in the UK travel, travelled; the final single consonant is doubled in the UK because the vowel is short and not a digraph; in the US it is not doubled because it doesn't bear the principal stress; both would spell rebel, rebelled. The problem is that most teachers haven't the damnest notion of what is going on, so they can't teach their students. I once heard a director of a university writing center spew drivel about commas and pauses; there are six reasons to use a comma. None of them have anything to do with imaginary pauses, and all are related to syntactic issues.