- Ghoti
Ghoti is a constructed example used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling. It is a respelling of the word "fish," and like "fish" is pronEng|ˈfɪʃ. It has,
* "gh," pronounced IPA|/f/ as in "tough" IPA|/tʌf/;
* "o," pronounced IPA|/ɪ/ as in "women" IPA|/ˈwɪmɪn/; and
* "ti," pronounced IPA|/ʃ/ as in "nation" IPA|/ˈneɪʃən/.The first known published reference is in 1874, citing an 1855 letter that credits "ghoti" to one William Ollier (born 1824). [cite web | author = Benjamin Zimmer | url = http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=81 | title = Ghoti before Shaw | work =
Language Log Cites S. R. Townshend Mayer, “Leigh Hunt and Charles Ollier”, "St. James’s Magazine", October 1874, page 406 (itself citing a 1855 letter from Ollier to Hunt).] "Ghoti" is often cited to supportEnglish spelling reform , and is often attributed toGeorge Bernard Shaw , [Holroyd, Michael, "Bernard Shaw: Volume III: 1918–1950: The Lure of Fantasy", Random House, 1994, ISBN 0-517-13035-1] a supporter of this cause. However, a biography of Shaw attributes it instead to an anonymous spelling reformer. [See [http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhat04.html Jim Scobbie's article at alt-usage-english.org] , citing Holroyd, page 501]Purpose of irregularities
It has also been noted [Venezky, Richard L., "The American Way of Spelling", Guilford Press, 1999, ISBN 1-572-30469-3, as cited in [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/EnglishSpellingSystem/Venezky.htm Venezky's English Spelling] by Cook, Vivian] that many of the irregularities that do exist in English spelling serve to preserve the word's history and etymology. For example, the word "electrician," in which the "ci" is pronounced IPA|/ʃ/ due to
palatalization , retains a linkage to its root "electricity," which would be lost if the different forms of the word were spelled "elektrishun," "elektrisity," and "elektrik."The IPA|/ʃ/ sound can be spelled eleven ways in English: [Sadoski, Mark in Erlbaum, Lawrence; "Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing", 2001] shirt, sugar, chute, action, issue, ocean, conscious, mansion, schwa, anxious, and special. It is spelled 'ti' only when the 'ti' comes before a vowel, as in "nation" and "initial".
However, "gh" can only be pronounced "f" at the end of the word, as in "tough" or "laugh". The consonant cluster "gh" makes a "g" sound at the beginning of words such as "ghost", and may be silent in the middle of words such as "right".
Cultural references
*In the fictional language of Klingon, ghotI' is the word for fish. [ [http://www.kli.org/tlh/newwords.html Klingon Language Institute] ]
*In the episode of Batman "An Egg Grows in Gotham", Egghead uses Ghoti Oeuf as the name for his caviar business, and Batman explains the reference to Robin.
*Ghoti Hook is a 1990s Christian punk band.ee also
*
Linguistics
*Phonology References
External links
* [http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/phono.html How to pronounce "ghoti"]
* [http://www.zompist.com/spell.html Hau tu pranownse Inglish] , an essay on spelling-to-sound rules that discusses "ghoti"
* [http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhat04.html "What is ghoti?" by Jim Scobbie]
* [http://www.saytheword.org.uk/shavian/ Information on the phonetic Shaw Alphabet]
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