How Do You Spell That Again?

[mabfan]

Well, if gnomi can get away with language polls and Jewish-themed polls, so can I!

[Poll #891157]

Comments

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

I always misspell/double check spelling it three or four times, and end up grabbing a dictionary. :) Thus "other". :)

[batyatoon]

"Chanukah." It seems like the closest.

'Course I'm not sure there is (or should be) such a thing as correct spelling in transliteration.

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's the thing. I would spell it with a 'C' but I can never spell the word correctly. Is is Chanukkah?

I suck at spelling.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

That's the point; there is no correct spelling of the holiday name in English. It's a Hebrew word, transliterated. I've seen people use all of the above.

In the end, it's a matter of personal preference and what looks right to you.

[sfrose.livejournal.com]

Which is why I thought it was very strange that they had transliterated words in the National Spelling Bee.

[somehedgehog.livejournal.com]

Seeing as I come from Unitarianism, also known as The Living Tradition of Whatever, Just Don't Be A Jerk, I probably shouldn't even guess.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

But the point of the poll is that there is no correct spelling of the holiday name in English. It's a Hebrew word, transliterated. I've seen people use all of the above.

In the end, it's a matter of personal preference and what looks right to you.

[somehedgehog.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'd probably come up with some atrocity like "Haunukkha," because I always read it as having a broader A sound at the beginning. This may of course be totally erroneous.

[jencallisto]

now that i know more about the Hebrew alphabet than i did while growing up, i suspect that spelling it with the C at the beginning is marginally more "right," but i still default to Hanukkah (or Hannukah) because that's how it showed up in elementary school music class.

[gingicat]

Well, it starts with a het, not a chaf. At least, that's how I distinguish them in my head. :)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Depends on my mood, though I tend not to double letters.

[sorek.livejournal.com]

I like Wikipedia's article especially this section in the same article. And in case you can't tell from my answer in the poll, I voted for Chanukah.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Any or all of the above, as I feel like it at the time, and usually not consistently from sentence to sentence. Although, I have been known to spell it "xnch", or "xnwch" every once in a while, if I'm feeling like using the now-mostly-obselete Michigan-Clairmont scheme.

[sethcohen.livejournal.com]

It's spelled (C)han(n)uk(k)a(h). Letters in parentheses are optional.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

It is one of the few words with which I'm comfortable with a non-standardized spelling. I spell it in a manner that feels right at any given moment and make sure all instances in the single text are the same.

Chappy Channukah

With as many letters as possible:

[fynixsoul.livejournal.com]

Channukkah

actually, that's my approach to spelling most words...

[wesley-1701.livejournal.com]

Mr. Burnstein,

If you would check your P.O. Box this week you'll find something from me. I also wished you a "Happy Chanukah" in the card. If you would please let me know when you recieve it, I would be most appreciative. Also, please extend the greeting to Nomi. Thanks!

-Wesley

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Wesley, please feel free to call me Michael. (And just FYI, it's Burstein, not Burnstein.)

We did indeed get the card, and the greeting was given to Nomi as well. If you check your mail over the next few days, you may find something too...

[wesley-1701.livejournal.com]

Michael,

I'm so sorry! So, I'd imagine that I've been misspelling it this entire time, right? If I had known.... :embarrassed:

I'm glad you got the article! I called Spark! and I actually talked to the editor who wrote it without realizing it.

I hope that it wouldn't be rude of me to point out that my name is misspelled on the SP3 Supporters page on the website. Only one "c." Again, I'm sorry that I've been getting it wrong this whole time!

-Wesley

P.S. LJ's spellcheck corrects my spelling of "Chanukah." Hmmm...

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

No apology necessary. And of course you should have told me we had your last name misspelled. I've contacted our webmaster, so hopefully she'll have time to fix it later today.

I answered the poll myself; I tend to use "Chanukah."

[wesley-1701.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I got the card today.

I still feel terrible about misspelling your name (this entire time)!

Well, I hope your Chanukah is great.

-Wesley