Howard Silcock wrote: > Hi Geoffey <snip>------ > > First, I think it's arguable that for most words we can now identify a > correct spelling > - and that the use of the word 'correct' is appropriate in that context. Of > course, you > could say it's just a conventional spelling, but in normal usage the word > 'correct' > often means 'correct according to some standard', which is nothing other than > a > convention. If I take a driving test, my answers will be correct if they > reflect the > conventions of road usage that underlie our laws. According to this > interpretation of > 'correct', Shakespeare's spelling is often incorrect - but we all know that > our current > standards weren't around when Shakespeare wrote, so what's the harm? And a > word's > spelling can be correct according to American usage but incorrect according to > Australian usage. Again, everyone understands that. The point is that it's > ridiculous > to restrict 'correct' to some absolute interpretation - that just isn't how > we normally > use the word. And of course, "Shakespeare" is only one way to spell the man's name... and, if I recall correctly, is not the spelling used in his known signatures. And amongst his contemporaries (1564-1616) he was known as: Shakespeare, Shakespere, Shakespear, Shakspeare, Shackspeare, Shakspere, Shackespeare, Shackspere, Shackespere, Shaxspere,, Shexpere, Shakspe~, Shaxpere, Shagspere, Shaksper, Shaxpeare, Shaxper, Shake-speare, Shakespe, and even Shakp. (see http://shakespeareauthorship.com/name1.html) Indeed this so-called writer had several ways of spelling his own name in his known signature -- amongst the "incorrect" spellings were "Shakspere" and "Shakspeare" . I mean to say, if you can't even get the spelling of your own name write, how can you ever expect to be regarded as a decent communicator? -PeterM peterm_5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail. - Confucius ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************