[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable
From: |
Lawrence Mitchell |
Subject: |
bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable |
Date: |
Wed, 3 Dec 2008 14:00:36 +0000 |
User-agent: |
Mutt/1.5.18 (2008-05-17) |
Drew Adams wrote:
>>> Emacs manual, node Directory Variables.
>>> Please change "unwriteable" to "unwritable".
>>> Not very important, since this is just an invented name in
>>> an example, but it can lead users to think that's the spelling
>>> and thus to look for such a term in the future. Googling shows
>>> that similar bugs have been logged for Scheme, Python, man
>>> pages, and elsewhere.
>> FWIW the OED says both are fine: writable, a. Also writeable.
> English has no equivalent of l'Academie Francaise, and that includes
> the OED.
Of this I am well aware, however, the OED's quotations for both forms
do not have writeable as an obsolete variant.
> It's about general usage, in practice. Whether "both are fine" is
> really beside the point. There are lots of English expressions that
> are fine or that are used in some contexts by some people, but which
> if used generally will get you stares of incomprehensibility most of
> the time.
> "writeable" is relatively little used,
If you're willing to believe that the internet is a reasonable corpus,
this is not a true statement:
~ 1e6 results for writeable
~ 3e6 results for writable
Emacs should certainly standardise on one or other of the two
variants, but it's not as obviously clearcut as you make out.
Lawrence
--
Lawrence Mitchell <wence@gmx.li>
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Drew Adams, 2008/12/02
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Stephen Berman, 2008/12/02
- bug#1476: marked as done (23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable), Emacs bug Tracking System, 2008/12/02
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Lawrence Mitchell, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Drew Adams, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Juanma Barranquero, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Drew Adams, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Juanma Barranquero, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Drew Adams, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Jason Rumney, 2008/12/03
- bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Drew Adams, 2008/12/03
bug#1476: 23.0.60; spelling of (un)writeable should be (un)writable, Stefan Monnier, 2008/12/03