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Questions tagged [spelling-pronunciations]

Erroneous pronunciations of words based on their spellings.

A spelling pronunciation is a pronunciation that happens when someone unfamiliar with how a word is supposed to be said tries to pronounce it in a way the letters might seem to suggest it would be — but really isn’t.

64 questions
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Why do some words use duplicate letters seemingly without reason?

Usually, when we see two letters put together it is to define the pronunciation or to differentiate synonyms or just its foreign origins. But some words don't seem to have any reason to double up. Why does vacuum have two of the letter U? Why…
Eric Huelin
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1.3 Liters or 1.3 Liter? Fractions and plural form

I searched Google, but I couldn't get exact result. I think question is clear. Do you add 's' or not? 1.5 meter or meters , ...
Sir Meysam Ferguson
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What's the difference between heavyset and heavy set?

Adjective: heavyset or heavy set? With or without a seperator? E.g. a heavy set male, or a heavyset male? Could I say a male is heavy set? (space included)
hamburger
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How do you Spell: Smused? Smoosed?

How do you Spell: Smused, Smoosed? As in: "Bill Smused the clients. Warming them up for the spiel from marketing."
Jonathon
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What is the correct spelling for 'finash'/'feenash'/'phinash'/'pheenash'?

I have heard this word somewhere but am unsure how to spell it. He had a certain level of mastery of his pottery skills, he completed all his work with remarkable finash/feenash/phinash/phines It might not be the best example of the usage of the…
Devraj Gadhavi
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Why is "reconciliation" spelt with one L, and not two?

I would pronounce recon-see-lee-a-shon, not recon-see-lie-a-shon. I've been working with the word more often and spell it wrong often, only to be reminded by spell checker. Is this another one of those english oddities? Or are there more words that…
Luffy
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When spelling, when to say 'double xx' and when 'x x'

This is something I have been wondering for a long time. When you spell (out loud) words that have some consonants doubled, you can say those as "double-X", or not (e.g. Allan: "Ay double-ell ay en" vs. "Ay ell ell ay en"). What interests me is, is…
Murmillo
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Using perfunctory correctly

Perfunctory is defined as doing something in a hasty, cursory manner. Would it be correct to use this word as perfunctorily as well? If not, what would be the correct usage? For example, if you were to tell someone not to do something so…
Steven
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