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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Preferable vs. preferrable
According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but "preferable" is. Do a google search for: preferrable | preferable and almost everyone uses "preferrable". This intuitively seems better because preferable almost seems like the 2nd syllable should have a long "e" (don't ask me why!). At what point do official stewards of the language give in to the masses and allow the correct spelling to evolve? > According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but > "preferable" is. Do a google search for: > > preferrable | preferable > > and almost everyone uses "preferrable".o evolve? My Google search results: preferable 15,000,000; preferrable 183,000 so I think your assumption is seriously flawed.  SignatureLong-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions. >> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: >> >> preferrable | preferable >> >> and almost everyone uses "preferrable". > My Google search results: preferable 15,000,000; preferrable 183,000 > > so I think your assumption is seriously flawed. Quoting fixed. SignatureLong-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions. >> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > so I think your assumption is seriously flawed. prefferable 113,000 If you want a spelling that matches the pronunciation, that one seems to be preferable. And if you want a bigger Google count, try preferrable | preferable 35,400,000 and, just for comparison, preferable | preferrable 15,100,000 Those last two probably reveal something about how Google searches work; or possibly how they don't work. SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. >>> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >>> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Those last two probably reveal something about how Google searches work; > or possibly how they don't work. I get 15,100,000 for both of those searches, as I would expect. SignatureLong-time resident of Adelaide, South Australia, which may or may not influence my opinions. >>> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >>> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > If you want a spelling that matches the pronunciation, that one seems to > be preferable. Even then, only for those who stress the second syllable. For the rest who stress the first syllable, I suppose the spelling that matches the pronunciation might be "prefreble". SignatureRob Bannister > >> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but > >> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Those last two probably reveal something about how Google searches work; > or possibly how they don't work. Or, about how Google estimates or counts work. We know that these follow some unfathomable and undependable formulas, more erratic worldwide than the resulting hits it actually displays, which I tend to think as the search itself. The estimates and the hits come from different places somehow. What I get for your last attempt is: about 15,200,000 for preferrable | preferable about 15,200,000 for preferable | preferrable which is at least understandable in itself, if (predictably) different than yours. As I've said many a time in the last couple of years, we can't play the Google numbers game any more. The hits are reasonably solid, but the estimates are wacky. It took some hunting to figure out what the vertical bar stood for, by the way -- not a symbol I use. It's the same as the capital-letter OR. See "Googleguide" http://www.googleguide.com/or_operator.html Which means that the original poster started off on a bad foot. The estimate for preferrable | preferable would be for how many pages contain one *or* the other (or both), and wouldn't tell you a thing about the relative frequency. When I search the Web (not just English) for the words singly: about 15,000,000 for preferable about 181,000 for preferrable Just for the heck of it, calculating the ratio using those figures gives me 83. Really common spelling mistakes gave me ratios of about 7 to 20, back in previous years when I figured these things. So this indicates it is not a particularly common spelling mistake... Checking my old list, I see this falls between "sentence/sentance" (Ratio 93) and "of course/ofcourse" (Ratio 61). Then the next is the rather similar "referred/refered", Ratio 60... The common "occurred/occured" had a very low ratio of 5. But the current system is undependable and I really shouldn't give in to temptation. Garbage in, garbage out. SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux > According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but > "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > At what point do official stewards of the language give in to the > masses and allow the correct spelling to evolve? There is no cabal. English language dictionaries report usage, they don't steward. SignatureDavid >> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >> "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> At what point do official stewards of the language give in to the >> masses and allow the correct spelling to evolve? I don't think I have ever seen "preferrable", and I would certainly regard it as a simple mistake. Your "almost everyone" doesn't seem to include anybody I know or anybody I read. Katy >According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, but >"preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >because preferable almost seems like the 2nd syllable should have a >long "e" (don't ask me why!). This is the first time I've seen "preferrable". SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote >> According to online dictionaries, "preferrable" is not a word, >> but "preferable" is. Do a google search for: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > This is the first time I've seen "preferrable". Completely new one to me, too. SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Completely new one to me, too. I suspect these spellings reflect two different pronunciations, and that many of those who say preFERrable prefer two r's. SignatureJames >> On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >I suspect these spellings reflect two different pronunciations, and that >many of those who say preFERrable prefer two r's. Some people spell it "prefrable" prumably to match their pronunciation. Google finds 16,500 for that spelling. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >>> On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote >>> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Some people spell it "prefrable" prumably to match their pronunciation. > Google finds 16,500 for that spelling. Prumably... SignatureJames >>>> On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote >>>> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > >Prumably... <coughs> Where did the two missing letters go? Perhaps they were taken by the Spanish Liberation Front. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >> On 31 Jan 2010, Steve Hayes wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I suspect these spellings reflect two different pronunciations, and > that many of those who say preFERrable prefer two r's. I don't recall seeing "preferrable" either, but I think I would use it if I meant "capable or susceptible of being preferred". With a change in pronunciation, as you say. |
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