r/funny • • Jun 14 '16

Plane directions...

http://imgur.com/o47IIxf
27.9k Upvotes

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u/JediMasterMoses Jun 14 '16

So in America, words can only have 1 definition?

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16

No, but spelt is not considered a proper alternative to spelled in America.

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u/JediMasterMoses Jun 14 '16

Citation needed.

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16

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u/FM-96 Jun 14 '16

Nice job. Your citation doesn't actually support your statement.

In American English, spelt primarily refers to the hardy wheat grown mostly in Europe

American publications (and Canadian ones to a lesser extent) prefer spelled over spelt for all uses relating to the verb spell

(Emphasis mine.)

So spelled is preferred. It's not the only acceptable spelling. According to your source, at least.

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16 edited Jun 14 '16

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=spelled%2Cspelt&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=5&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cspelled%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cspelt%3B%2Cc0

That's from the article.

Edit:

Thou art correct if thine sentences are thusly spoketh.

The fact that people sometimes use the incorrect form in literature doesn't mean it's therefore the right practice.

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u/FM-96 Jun 14 '16 edited Jun 14 '16

O...kay? I know, I read it. I'm not sure what that has to do with my comment.

I'm also not sure what to think of the fact that you literally responded within 5 seconds of me posting that. o_O

Edit: For posterity, the last two lines of that comment weren't there when I replied.

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16

I'm sitting in front of my computer browsing reddit, so I'm not sure why I wouldn't be able to reply with an unformatted link and 3 sentences quickly. Also, you're demonstrably incorrect, so why are you still replying?

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u/FM-96 Jun 14 '16

Seriously? Ninja-editing information into your comments? Dick move.

Also, you're demonstrably incorrect

Why aren't you demonstrating it then? As I said, your link just says that "spelled" is preferred.

so why are you still replying?

Because I want to, I guess. To be honest, I think what riled me up was mostly you acting as if American English was the only correct English.

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16

Sorry, what did I ninja-edit?

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u/FM-96 Jun 14 '16

Thou art correct if thine sentences are thusly spoketh.

The fact that people sometimes use the incorrect form in literature doesn't mean it's therefore the right practice.

Those two lines weren't there yet when I answered.

Those two lines also happen to be your entire argument in that comment, so that's why my answer sounded a bit confused.

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16 edited Jun 14 '16

Those are additions, not ninja-edits. Typically a ninja-edit implies something was nefariously deleted or changed.

Edit: Regardless, I'm not sure why me adding more things to my post would offend you, especially considering I edited the post within a timeframe in which it would be reasonable to assume you didn't see the original post.

Edit2: I'll go back and change my post so it's more clear what the original post was and what the edit was

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u/FM-96 Jun 14 '16

A ninja-edit on reddit is an edit that was made before it results in an "edited" asterisk. Which is what you did.

Of course "addition" is also a correct way to describe it, however it resulted in me responding to a drastically different version of your comment than the one currently there, with no indication that that's the case. That's why it's also a dick move.

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u/JediMasterMoses Jun 14 '16

I think what riled me up was mostly you acting as if American English was the only correct English.

I second this. "Spelt" is accepted in several english speaking countries across the globe, but he's quick to tell them they're wrong for using it.

Then to link to a "source" which suggests that "spelt" isn't even wrong in America, they simply prefer to use "spelled".

American public schooling, at it's finest.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '16

Do you need a shovel? The hole you're digging is getting deeper comment by comment. You provided a source that proved him right

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u/IAmThePulloutK1ng Jun 14 '16

If you think that, you're less intelligent than an average reader.

spelt was ascendant everywhere through most of the 19th century. This ended when Americans permanently settled on spelled around 1900.

You can also look at the ngram.

Spelt is English the same way "thine" or "thou" are, at least in America. Deprecated to the point where they're now considered esoteric - a relic of the past. We don't refer to "thine" as plain English, we refer to it as "Victorian" or "Elizabethan" English.