Jack de Belin court case

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Although “gaol” is still acceptable in Britain, it’s now considered a variant spelling of “jail” on both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and the four standard British dictionaries we’ve checked.

As Fowler’s Modern English Usage (rev. 3rd ed.) explains, “gaol, gaoler, the traditional spellings in the UK, are now under severe and probably unstoppable pressure from jail, jailer, which are dominant in most other parts of the English-speaking world.”

Both pairs—“gaol, gaoler” and “jail, jailer”—are pronounced the same way, which leads to this question: why do the British have a “gaol” spelling if the word is pronounced “jail”?

The short answer, according to Oxford Dictionaries online, is that the word “gaol” was “originally pronounced with a hard g, as in goat.” Here’s a fuller answer.

“Etymologically, a jail is a ‘little cage,’ ” John Ayto says in his Dictionary of Word Origins.

Ayto explains that the English word is ultimately derived from caveola, a diminutive of cavea, Latin for cage (and the source of the English word “cage”).

Why do we have two spellings? Because Middle English (the language spoken from about 1100 to 1500) adopted two distinct versions of the word from French.

The “gaol” version comes from the Norman French gaiole or gaole, the OED says, while “jail” comes from the Old Parisian French jaiole or jaile.

Early versions of “gaol” (like gayhol and gayhole) first showed up in English in the 1200s, while early versions of “jail” (iaiole and iayll) appeared in the 1300s, according to Oxford citations.

“Until the 17th century,” Ayto writes, “gaol was pronounced with a hard /g/ sound, but then it gradually fell into line with jail.”

The two versions of the word were spelled all sorts of ways in Middle English, when our language had no letter “j”: gayhol, gayhole, gayll, gaylle, gaille, gayole, and so on. The “gaol” and “jail” spellings first showed up in the 1600s.

The OED describes “gaol” as an “archaic spelling” that’s still seen in writing “chiefly due to statutory and official tradition” in Britain. However, the dictionary adds that “this is obsolete in the spoken language, where the surviving word is jail.”
 
Although “gaol” is still acceptable in Britain, it’s now considered a variant spelling of “jail” on both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and the four standard British dictionaries we’ve checked.

As Fowler’s Modern English Usage (rev. 3rd ed.) explains, “gaol, gaoler, the traditional spellings in the UK, are now under severe and probably unstoppable pressure from jail, jailer, which are dominant in most other parts of the English-speaking world.”

Both pairs—“gaol, gaoler” and “jail, jailer”—are pronounced the same way, which leads to this question: why do the British have a “gaol” spelling if the word is pronounced “jail”?

The short answer, according to Oxford Dictionaries online, is that the word “gaol” was “originally pronounced with a hard g, as in goat.” Here’s a fuller answer.

“Etymologically, a jail is a ‘little cage,’ ” John Ayto says in his Dictionary of Word Origins.

Ayto explains that the English word is ultimately derived from caveola, a diminutive of cavea, Latin for cage (and the source of the English word “cage”).

Why do we have two spellings? Because Middle English (the language spoken from about 1100 to 1500) adopted two distinct versions of the word from French.

The “gaol” version comes from the Norman French gaiole or gaole, the OED says, while “jail” comes from the Old Parisian French jaiole or jaile.

Early versions of “gaol” (like gayhol and gayhole) first showed up in English in the 1200s, while early versions of “jail” (iaiole and iayll) appeared in the 1300s, according to Oxford citations.

“Until the 17th century,” Ayto writes, “gaol was pronounced with a hard /g/ sound, but then it gradually fell into line with jail.”

The two versions of the word were spelled all sorts of ways in Middle English, when our language had no letter “j”: gayhol, gayhole, gayll, gaylle, gaille, gayole, and so on. The “gaol” and “jail” spellings first showed up in the 1600s.

The OED describes “gaol” as an “archaic spelling” that’s still seen in writing “chiefly due to statutory and official tradition” in Britain. However, the dictionary adds that “this is obsolete in the spoken language, where the surviving word is jail.”
I work with old, Middle English and 17th-18th century English a bit, and spelling is pretty inconsistent and phonetic until the age of dictionaries in the early 19th century.
 
Although “gaol” is still acceptable in Britain, it’s now considered a variant spelling of “jail” on both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and the four standard British dictionaries we’ve checked.

As Fowler’s Modern English Usage (rev. 3rd ed.) explains, “gaol, gaoler, the traditional spellings in the UK, are now under severe and probably unstoppable pressure from jail, jailer, which are dominant in most other parts of the English-speaking world.”

Both pairs—“gaol, gaoler” and “jail, jailer”—are pronounced the same way, which leads to this question: why do the British have a “gaol” spelling if the word is pronounced “jail”?

The short answer, according to Oxford Dictionaries online, is that the word “gaol” was “originally pronounced with a hard g, as in goat.” Here’s a fuller answer.

“Etymologically, a jail is a ‘little cage,’ ” John Ayto says in his Dictionary of Word Origins.

Ayto explains that the English word is ultimately derived from caveola, a diminutive of cavea, Latin for cage (and the source of the English word “cage”).

Why do we have two spellings? Because Middle English (the language spoken from about 1100 to 1500) adopted two distinct versions of the word from French.

The “gaol” version comes from the Norman French gaiole or gaole, the OED says, while “jail” comes from the Old Parisian French jaiole or jaile.

Early versions of “gaol” (like gayhol and gayhole) first showed up in English in the 1200s, while early versions of “jail” (iaiole and iayll) appeared in the 1300s, according to Oxford citations.

“Until the 17th century,” Ayto writes, “gaol was pronounced with a hard /g/ sound, but then it gradually fell into line with jail.”

The two versions of the word were spelled all sorts of ways in Middle English, when our language had no letter “j”: gayhol, gayhole, gayll, gaylle, gaille, gayole, and so on. The “gaol” and “jail” spellings first showed up in the 1600s.

The OED describes “gaol” as an “archaic spelling” that’s still seen in writing “chiefly due to statutory and official tradition” in Britain. However, the dictionary adds that “this is obsolete in the spoken language, where the surviving word is jail.”


And of course the Americans tended to spell many of their words in the simpler phonetic form which is becoming more standard eg programme and program, aluminium and aluminum. Most words ending re like theatre become er as in theater. Most words with a double l like travelled, becomes traveled. Words with an ou in them becomes o such as colour and color. Most words like analyse switches to a z such as analyze. So it goes on and on. Analogue becomes analog, paedantic, pedantic, leukaemia, leukemia. Welcome to the Americanized world, or is that Americanised...not so sure any more
 
And of course the Americans tended to spell many of their words in the simpler phonetic form which is becoming more standard eg programme and program, aluminium and aluminum. Most words ending re like theatre become er as in theater. Most words with a double l like travelled, becomes traveled. Words with an ou in them becomes o such as colour and color. Most words like analyse switches to a z such as analyze. So it goes on and on. Analogue becomes analog, paedantic, pedantic, leukaemia, leukemia. Welcome to the Americanized world, or is that Americanised...not so sure any more
It is interesting that you can find many of those “American” spellings (-or instead of -our, z instead of s) in 1700s English. The pommy puritans took this spelling to America and kept it. The English in England changed their spelling a bit toward French in the 1800s with the -our, and we have inherited that in Australia. The differences reflect the earlier settlement of America compared with Australia.
 
And of course the Americans tended to spell many of their words in the simpler phonetic form which is becoming more standard eg programme and program, aluminium and aluminum. Most words ending re like theatre become er as in theater. Most words with a double l like travelled, becomes traveled. Words with an ou in them becomes o such as colour and color. Most words like analyse switches to a z such as analyze. So it goes on and on. Analogue becomes analog, paedantic, pedantic, leukaemia, leukemia. Welcome to the Americanized world, or is that Americanised...not so sure any more

I read an interesting book on the development of American English by Bill Bryson years ago.

From what I can recall, the original Pilgrims were basically a few shiploads of contrarians who were determined to do as much as possible differently to their UK counterparts.

Bryson instills a fair bit of humour in his writing so I'm not sure how true this sentiment is, but it certainly explains why they do everything differently to the test of the world as well as using both metric & imperial scales!
 
I live in a town with a gaol and work at a Council that corresponds with them regularly, over a 20 year period, I have never once seen the 'jail' used by either party. Only a month ago it was discussed at some detail because some wrote 'jail' on a 'post it' note for someone.

Not saying that makes it right but our former GM had a real handle on the English language and gramma. He would stick for the English version 100%.
 
It is interesting that you can find many of those “American” spellings (-or instead of -our, z instead of s) in 1700s English. The pommy puritans took this spelling to America and kept it. The English in England changed their spelling a bit toward French in the 1800s with the -our, and we have inherited that in Australia. The differences reflect the earlier settlement of America compared with Australia.


Yes it was inherited from early settlers but most of them didn't come from the main areas of England but rather poorer districts of south west England, Scotland and Ireland. It was called a rhotic dialect. Most of mainstream English was much more influenced by French. It wasn't a time frame that was different, it was where most of the people came from in England. At the time dialects were far more diverse and its only as people became more literate that written language became stabilised. Before the 1800s the majority of people couldn't read or write and certainly the early US settlers would have had a poor level of literacy which at that time was reserved for the rich and powerful. So a more phonetic means of writing was logical.
 
I read an interesting book on the development of American English by Bill Bryson years ago.

From what I can recall, the original Pilgrims were basically a few shiploads of contrarians who were determined to do as much as possible differently to their UK counterparts.

Bryson instills a fair bit of humour in his writing so I'm not sure how true this sentiment is, but it certainly explains why they do everything differently to the test of the world as well as using both metric & imperial scales!
Interesting. With the French having backed the Americans in their revolutionary war against the Brits & the anti British sentiment, it’s a wonder America didn’t adopt the French metric system.
 
Interesting. With the French having backed the Americans in their revolutionary war against the Brits & the anti British sentiment, it’s a wonder America didn’t adopt the French metric system.

Alexander graham Bell (and others) went to congress and argued the case for the metric system but rich cappo bastard industrialists successfully argued that their machines were in feet 'n inches and that it would cost too much to go metric.

Also Thomas Jefferson had the chance to go metric, but wussed out.

Also also....

In 1975, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act.
The legislation was meant to slowly transition its units of measurement from feet and pounds to meters and kilograms, bringing the US up to speed with the rest of the world.
There was only one issue: the law was completely voluntary. Of course, that meant it pretty much never took off.

er..that'll do.
 
Alexander graham Bell (and others) went to congress and argued the case for the metric system but rich cappo bastard industrialists successfully argued that their machines were in feet 'n inches and that it would cost too much to go metric.

Also Thomas Jefferson had the chance to go metric, but wussed out.

Also also....

In 1975, the United States passed the Metric Conversion Act.
The legislation was meant to slowly transition its units of measurement from feet and pounds to meters and kilograms, bringing the US up to speed with the rest of the world.
There was only one issue: the law was completely voluntary. Of course, that meant it pretty much never took off.

er..that'll do.
I grew up with the metric system but my parents were imperial, so I’m bilingual. Some measurements are more understandable in imperial, for example height. But I understand weight better in kilos.
 
I grew up with the metric system but my parents were imperial, so I’m bilingual. Some measurements are more understandable in imperial, for example height. But I understand weight better in kilos.
Acres is another Imperial that real estate agents still add to a property write up. A good thing as I’m lost with hectares.
Also, measuring a horse’s height dodged the metric system, a hand is 4”.
 

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