h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Although I checked my dictionary, the spelling of "supercede" should be "supersede". I guess the dictionary, like so many others, allows for bad spelling, and considers "supercede" an alternative. But please, for those of us who care, please do try and spell things correctly. That's why we have dictionaries. Written language is useless unless people can understand what you are saying, and if some don't know the meaning of a word, the wrong spelling may just turn them away from what you are trying to convey.

Well, having carefully checked the etymology of the word - and my UK dictionary - I can safely say that the usual spelling is, infact, supercede. It comes from the Middle English 'superceden' and also has some origin in the Latin word cedere - to yield/withdraw. Supersede is offered as an alternative so, by definition (depending on where you are from) both are correct and neither constitute 'bad spelling'.

We, at the Post Office, *do* care and I am, frankly, slightly put out by the tone of your message when a friendlier posting would have sufficed.

shazz

Spellin!! Whit aboot us Ulster-Scots? Hoo dae we git roon tha spellin daelemma?

Whun A wus a weachil it schuil,tha taechers try't tae mak us taak an spell proper,they didnae unnerstan thit we had oor ain lengwidge,monys tha time A goat tha cane fur no taakin tha richt wye!Bit A goat a bit crafty,a wus able tae taak an scrieve Tha Queens English in cless,aye an spell hit proper tae....bit as shuin is A goat oot, an wus makin mae wye hame,mae freens an me taaked away in oor ain Braid tung.Sae,mebbee wae shuidnae bae ower-rigid whun hit comes doon tae spellin.....whut daes tha rest o' yei'ns think?

Hello dwight and welcome to h2g2

Are you a new member?

If so I am sure that an ACE, one of our meeters and greeters, will drop by your page very soon and welcome you officially.

In the meantime, thanks for commenting in here. It took me a little work to decipher your answer I must admit, but of course there is room for localised language here. We regularly feature articles which feature colloquial speech.

I recently read 'The Lancashire Witches' and that was full of dialect. Having said that, as I commented above, we do try to use 'correct english' in the majority of our pieces as many of our foreign readers would have trouble understanding anything else. The occasional spelling slip is to be expected - we are only human after all - and, being based in Holland, I don't have access to an English automagic spellchecker and have to rely on my dusty encyclopaedic tomes instead.

shazz

Facinated by the story Barnaby Rudge contained in an old volume with fine tracing paper pages which added to the overall effect the language portrayed, it was proberbly spelled right but as I am not too good at spelling I couldnt be sure, I wouldnt like to feel restricted in the language I write for the sake of spelling or taking the time to check in a dictionary. I agree seeing a word spelled right is the way to learn but its not as bad as the wrong usage is it ? or such as witch way to over their, yew no .
Geraniums.

Why do people get Effect, and Affect mixed up? How about Advise, and Advice? My local Council dont know the difference in a recent letter to me. Is is Advisor, or Adviser when you seek advice? And what do you think of American spellings?

So many seem to be accepted now. Ie Center how many shopping centres now call themselves 'The Broadway Center'?

Also is 'Jail' American? Should we use 'Gaol' instead?