I before E except when it's not

[Tom Zurinskas]

At m-w.com the pronunciation of "blog" when the icon is clicked is "blahg (~blaag) however, the first phonetic spelling is "blawg" (~blaug). Not good.  I can't recall hearing ~blaug.

from m-w.com
Main Entry: blog
Pronunciation: \ˈblȯg, ˈbläg\

~blaug is apparently not British.  UK gives ~blug at thefreedictionary.com

Regards the rule - It's "i" before "e" for the sound of ~ee except after "c" -  It doesn't relate to word count because "ci" or "ce" have about an equal number.  But when you consider word frequency, it's double for "ce", especially because of the popularity of the word "receive" and its forms.  This was checked with word frequency data from Collins Cobuild.

Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
see truespel.com phonetic spelling



> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "David A. Daniel"
> Subject: I before E except when it's not
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Some months ago we went through a thread or two about the (in)applicability
> of the I Before E Rule. Here http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blog
> MW has one of their "Ask the Editor" clips on the subject. I thought it was
> cute and, in the Christmas spirit of sharing, am passing it on. And a jolly
> Ho, Ho, Ho to all.
> DAD
>
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