On Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 5:24 AM, Leo Goodstadt <bunbun68@gmail.com> wrote:
John Bytheway <jbytheway+boost <at> gmail.com> writes:
On 19/11/11 20:39, Brent Spillner wrote:
On Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:59:26 lorcaminiti wrote:
The title is spelt wrong (should be Acknowledgements) Actually, "Acknowledgments" is the traditionally correct spelling. There are some dictionaries that accept "Acknowledgement," but this reads as faddish and less literate. A similar word is "judgment"--- both are frequently misspelled even by native speakers.
BTW, I grew up spelling both as "acknowledgement" and "judgement". Online sources seem to indicate that in Britain those spellings are the norm while in the US the 'e' after 'g' is usually dropped. But I was born and raised here in the US so what gives? Given that my first name is "Geoff" (English spelling) and not "Jeff" (American spelling) the confusion is readily apparent?
This is where the Oxford English Dictionary with all its historical citations comes in handy.
For "acknowledgment" / "acknowledgement": both spellings started out in the 16th c. but the first form historically was found more in the US. Citations from the 19th and 20th c show that both variants are found on both sides of the Atlantic (e.g. the short form in the UK in Dickens, Bronte, Macaulay) though the long form seems to predominate in the 20c only in U.K. newspapers.
For "judgement" / "judgment": judgement seems slightly more consistent etymologically (with the Old French/Norman "iugement"?). This may be why it seems to be preferred by the OED. However, both forms are equally old, and >80% of the modern citations have the *short* form not the long form, on both sides of the Atlantic.
Conclusion: Spell these words however you want!
OK, thanks a lot :)
Hope that clears thing up.
--Lorenzo