LL-L "Orthography" 2003.09.09 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Ruud Harmsen <rha at rudhar.com>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2003.09.08 (03) [E]

04:46 PM 9/8/2003 -0700, Lowlands-L:
GaidhealdeAlba at aol.com <GaidhealdeAlba at aol.com>
Subject: Orthography
>I've been wondering about an orthographical variant I've seen around
>recently. It has to do with the word co-ordinate. I usually see it as
>co-ordinate. I also see coordinate nearly as often. But the most
rare form I
>see is coördinate. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen it at all,
how often
>they've seen it, if it's excepted, et cetera. I'd also like to know if
>you've seen other variants that are similar, IE: two of the same
vowel, with
>the second having an umlaut over it.

It seems unusual for English, but in Dutch spelling, this is the
normal thing to do. Examples: coördinaten, coöperatie, coöpteren.
Also in beëindingen (a verb meaning "to end", prefix be- plus
'eindigen'), etc.

>[...] with the second having an umlaut over it.

Actually, it's not an umlaut, although it looks the same. We call it
a trema (from Greek?), in English (from Latin) it is a diaeresis or
dieresis.
--
Ruud Harmsen http://rudhar.com/index/whatsnew.htm  Update 2
september 2003

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From: Szelog, Mike <Mike.Szelog at CITIZENSBANK.com>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2003.09.08 (03) [E]

Latha math, A Uilleam!

Well, way back when in grammar school (1970's), we were taught the correct
way of writing these words was indeed with the "umlaut" (though I think we
learned it as a "dieresis" (sp?)).

We were also taught that it was a "growing trend" that many people don't
write the two dots, though they really should.

I guess the dash has come to replace the two dots, perhaps because most
English typewriters (you have to think PRE-computer era here!), didn't have
the key to do the diacritic.

For myself, I tend to switch between all three! I guess it depends on what
I'm writing or even style or formality. For example, we have a county here
in New Hampshire (New England, USA) that's officially spelt Coös, though you
usually see it as Coos. It's pronounced "KO-wahs" (comes from W. Abenaki
meaning "pine tree"), but many people who see it as Coos, say "kooz" (like
the county in Illinois). It would never be spelt Co-os.

I can remember seeing  it all the time in school textbooks, but its use
seems to be fading.

Just my two cents on the issue, but others may have different answers.

Beannachtaí ort,

Mike S
Manchester, NH - USA

Uilleam wrote -

Latha math, a Lowlanders;

I've been wondering about an orthographical variant I've seen around
recently. It has to do with the word co-ordinate. I usually see it as
co-ordinate. I also see coordinate nearly as often. But the most rare form I
see is coödinate. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen it at all, how often
they've seen it, if it's excepted, et cetera. I'd also like to know if
you've seen other variants that are similar, IE: two of the same vowel, with
the second having an umlaut over it.

Beannachdan,
Uilleam Òg mhic Sheumais

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From: Brooks, Mark <mark.brooks at twc.state.tx.us>
Subject: LL-L "Orthography" 2003.09.08 (03) [E]

Re: coördinate.

I had always assumed it was a French spelling, sort of like Noël.  It's to
let the reader know that the two "0's" are pronounced individually and not
pronounced as the two "O's" in foot or food.  That's my limited
understanding.

Mark Brooks

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