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'I remember when I was five and you were ten boy' is the first line of WHICH Diana Ross hit?
A nice dilemma we have here...
I heard about this one recently and I just couldn't believe it. Apparently there are squillions of people who think that the word 'dilemma' is spelt 'dilemna' and, further, that they were taught this spelling at school and are sincerely shocked to find that the form is incorrect.
The dictionaries reveal no support at all for the 'dilemna' spelling. And that's no support in any version of English spelling - the North American dictionaries offer as few options as the English ones. There isn't even any history of alternative spellings - the word came in from ancient Greek and has remained, unchanged, ever since. Yet people from all around the world are quite sure that 'dilemna' was the correct version at their school or, in some cases, schools.
Even more weird is that it seems to run across the generations - spellers both old and young have been appalled at a lifetime of inadvertent error.
This is fascinating.
Apart from the simple fact that so many people, all of whom had access to dictionaries, and were, as they remember, formally schooled into this practice, managed to fix the 'dilemna' version into their brain, I'm intrigued as to how such a meme developed. Was there a misprint in a widely distributed school text or, perhaps, in an edition of that book even more widely distributed than education texts, the Bible.
Or is the whole thing an internet chimera? It would be an easy enough hare to start. A blog here, a few posts well larded with keywords there, and the whole thing's off and running.
So please help me here - have any of you word wizards ever heard of this dilemma/dilemna quandary? And, even more importantly, can you locate its source?
Miranda
A nice dilemma we have here...
To be truthful, the only spelling I have ever known is dilemma. I had to read your article three times, before I noticed that you also spelt it dilemna. I did not know at first what on earth you were on at. So it is not surprising that many people might make that mistake. It shows that we see what we expect to see.
Dilemma is an easy one for me - always known as dilemma. But I have a real problem when I hear professional speakers continually using the term "everythink!!!!" Have they never been told by anyone that there is no such word?
I think it is all relevant to the way you speak - if you mind set says that 'everythink' or 'dilemna' is correct then that is the way you will visualise those things.
Having been a reasonably good "speller",(and of the older generation) I was surprised to find that dilemma is the correct spelling. I don't know that I was ever taught the word at school, but only know it from my reading of various books. Amazing how our brains can play tricks on us!
My problem is not with "dilemma" but with "anemone", which I constantly spell (and say as) "anenome".
Definitely taught dilemna at school - i always used to sound the "n" in my head to remember it.
Seems like misinformation to me! While studying Mathematics, I discovered the word 'lemma' which means 'an intermediate step in a proof', and it's made sense ever since. Now I always remember it by 'di' as in 'two' and 'lemma' as in 'premise', easy!
Dilemma - always been dilemma however I can remember surprise vs suprise - to this day I still have to check the dictionary to check which is correct! Goes to show how much faith we put in our teachers and how easily lead we are on some things. Wonder whether our kids will be the same - anyone have any funny stories to tell from their kids spelling? Mine's not quite old enough for that yet.
Ok is this a trick question lol Dilemma it is!!!! I have problems with American spelling when the s becomes z for some reason. ie realise becomes realize!!!
Dilemma is spelt the way it is pronounced it has always been dilemma if it was spelt dilemna the n would have to be pronounced and I have never heard anyone say dilem na have you?
How about the spelling of definitely? WHY do people spell it with an 'a'? Definitely DEFINITELY does NOT have an 'a'!
Maybe people thought it was related to column, damn or autumn so the unspoken "n" was not so strange! I wish the English language was simplified to one sound, one symbol. Pronunciation and spelling would become simple then we would just have to focus on meaning. At the moment we need to know the history and the related words, meanings and homonyms just to spell words correctly.
Not only do people pronounce "everything" as "everythink", some also insist on replacing "th" with "f" resulting in everyfink (similarly "nufink" in place of "nothing"). My big gripes are "stastistics" (statistics), "nucula" (nuclear), filum (film) and "cholesterol maps" (cadastral maps). I'm sure there are many more examples of incorrect usage. Hyacinth Bucket would be in her element.
ah stitchpuzz, the reason that English spelling is so difficult is because it is made up of celtic, roman, old german, and even greek roots. All those people who "conquered" that small island. Or influenced it in some way. The Americans try to simplify it in some ways, in my opinion, not very successfully. I am sure the younger generations i.e. people 20 y.o. or less, will change the laguage drastically before another 50 years is past. Mainly because of the common use of computerised equipment.
Pet hates for me are: Men who are having their 'prostrate' removed, instead of their 'prostate' and people who pronounce 'millions'as 'me-yons'!
I lose all confidence in anyone who 'arks' me a question, grrrrr. Not only is spelling losing out to computer correction, people are blindly accepting the computer adjustment for homophones and automated grammar. Fun to laugh at but sad really if you arks me
Yes mattjn ~ or axes me a question... and gatecharmer ~ what about oongyuns instead of onions?
How about "reggli" instead of regularly "febri" instead of february "straya" instead of australia "aks" instead of asks & all the "finks" instead of things I finks yous lot is ignant,
according to franklin ace speller and dictionary there is no variant spelling just one dilemma
Another one - dinted! I always thought cars got "dented", but apparently not. And thanks gm1951, nucula, and gatecharmer, prostrate! The only good thing is that by the time our wonderful language is sterilised, deodorised, standardised and Americanised, we won't be around to gnash our teeth!
Much of the wild and wooly spelling we have in the English language is not based on the origins of the words but on the contrived status of the 'clever' writers in Olde England. When most people could not read or write, the elite who could would often show how clever they were by actually embellishing their words. This showed up in the stylised writing styles with flourishes and embellishments, as well as contrived spelling. Which, I believe does not deserve to be carried on through the years when it could so easily be simplified. I really begrudge the time I spend learning some archaic spelling, only to find some years later that I have to look it up again because there is no rhyme nor reason to it. Honestly, why can't we spell night/knight "nite"?
I have never heard dilemna!!! Perhaps we were listening more carefully back in ancient times when I was at school? What really annoys me is the American spellings on computers - surely they can give other options for the countries which don't speak American?
Hey Yudit, my computer (a dirt cheap desk top) which has Microsoft works, is definitely set for British spelling, not American. So it can be set.
I have never heard of dilemna either. Even when there is a silent n at the end of a word as soon as you put a vowel after it it stops being silent. eg solemnise damnation autumnal One of my pet peeves is "haitch" instead of "aitch". Easily checked in a dictionary but oh so common.
Ex-pat Aussie, living in Canada. My ex-wife used to say capsicun.. also 'excape' drove me nuts
I too was taught dilemna and never had a reason to doubt it until now.
dilemna - no dictionary results This is what comes up when you type dilemna into dictioary.com Dilemna is no a word!!!
Schooled in the USA in the 50's and 60's, I definitely remember being taught "dilemna." Actually, until now, I thought it was a word with dual acceptable spellings. I must admit that at times I have difficulty with British/Aussie/Canadian spelling. What do ya'all have against the letter "Z?" (And I mean zee, not zed.) Cheers!
Canux1, according to my mother's old 1945, Webster's New Standard Dictionary, printed in Chicago, there is "dilemma" and no alternative.
I was amused to read all the different comments on mis-spelled and mis-pronounced words and was surprised that my pet peeve word hasn't until this posting been cited. Libary instead of library.
My pet peeve is people saying 'pavalova' instead of 'pavlova'.
My biggest pet peeve (as there are many being a singing teacher) is "pacific" instead of specific. Do they not listen when other people speak?
It has only ever been 'dilemma' for me but I still have a problem with Australians saying 'heightth' instead of height (should be pronounced as in kite) and 'filum' instead of film. I know educated, professional people who use these words as part of their everyday language in education.
My pet peeve is hearing people use 'they' or 'them' as a singular pronoun. I understand the dilemma here. Our language doesn't have a gender neutral third person singular pronoun for a person and he/she is awkward. So we seem to be adopting them/they as a solution. But my nun-trained grammar sense cringes whenever I hear it.
Goodness! I've been away for just a few days and a flood of pet-peeves has drenched Miranda's blog! Well far be it from cranky Kragzy to let the side down... On spelling, the difference between practice and practise seems to becoming rapidly lost (ice is a noun; is is a verb) and in the spoken word, recently I have heard people say 'preform' when they mean 'perform'. How weird is that? Self-confession: I am never confident enough to write 'occasion' without reverting to the the spell checker (the English - Australian version available in MS Word).
apozzi, you're right about they and them. in the past we would have used he and him as gender neutral terms (only the feminine was specific) but in these times of political correctness and "inclusive language" we've lost that and had to come up with all sorts of awkward replacements.
I've never known it as anything but dilemma, however, the brain is an amazing thing. Surely you have all seem the little paragraph going around the email circles a few years back showing how the human brain only needs the first and last characters in the correct position in a word to be able to recognise it! The middle letters can be jumbled about any which way - it doesn't matter. It's soemtnhig evyrenoe suohld try.
Never had the "dilemma" of spelling "dilemma" wrong! Always known how to spell it. Maybe it's because Kiwi's speak proper english!! LOL
LesleyB says Kiwi's speak proper english? Imagine the surprise when the party host in Auckland said he spent all morning sanding his dck.
I've always known how to spell dilemma - and can spell most things if I can write them down, but my pet peeve is people who say yous instead of you - sounds like ewes to me and I definitely don't want to be a sheep
Good to see Kragzy didn't let the side down while I was off trying to kill myself & Small Squaw Voice of Thunder on a quad bike in W.A., and Tennotrumps, being a sheep isn't all that bad, providing you're of the prime breeding/shearing variety rather than the lamb chop type.
Love Kiwi speak like: Ups, I slupped en sem chup dup, trupped and rupped me nutted wundcheater. They often "hev a delumma when trying to fugga out how to spull delumma, us et with a em or en en?"
Oh I agree, mattjn! I love the sound of Kiwi speak. My dry-cleaning comes to the musical total of "sux-fufty". I'll be disappointed when they put the price up:-)
I was always taught "dilemma". My biggest problem was ensuring that my children pronounced "h" correctly. It is supposed to be pronounced "aitch" but at school these days they teach the children "Haitch"! I have no idea why but I really hate it!
When I was in primary school (way back in the dark ages), the kids from public schools said 'aitch', and 'sez' for 'says', whereas the kids from Catholic schools said 'haitch' and 'saize'. I have no idea what practice is these days - do they even teach children pronunciation anymore?
Can you imagine the dilemma (1940's schooling so no"n") I had a few years back when managing a medical practice. One receptionist would answer the phone with "Medical Senner"(instead of Medical Centre) and the other would say things like "I fink youse should arks him yself." When I tried to correct them I was accused of harassment!
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Staff
Me me me! I am positive I was taught the 'dilemna' spelling at school, and to this day it always creates one of those wordy anxious moments where I'm compelled to look it up. Very interesting...