Consonant dubbling rules

Candy   Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:36 pm GMT
Skilful for me. :-)
eito(jpn)   Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:45 pm GMT
>>What about skilful and skillful? Which is correct?<<

I would choose "skillful", but both of them are correct, I think. By the way, "skil" is a fish's name.
Terry   Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:51 pm GMT
Thanks. I wonder what rule applies to skillfull/skilful that doesn't apply to, say, kidnapped vs. kidnaped.
Adam   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:08 pm GMT
"Skilful" is British and "skillful" is American. There, mystery solved.

It's definetely not "skillfull". The ONLY word in the English language that ends in "full" is the word "full."
Adam   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:09 pm GMT
"Most Americans would spell "worshipped" and "kidnapped". An American would look at "worshiped" and say "wer-SHIPD?". "

No, they wouldn't. Americans spell it "worshiped."
Adam   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:10 pm GMT
"so "p" can be dubbled like "kidnapped". "

Unless you speak American English, in which case it is "kidnaped."
Guest   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:13 pm GMT
The boundary between BrE and AmE might tend to blur...
Tiffany   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:14 pm GMT
Just like British films are dubbed in America, right Adam?

It's so obvious that you choose to live in your own world instead of listening to people around you - including native-born Americans who tell you that it is quite the norm to spell them "worshipped" and "kidnapped" in American English. Well have fun under whatever rock it is you chose.
eito(jpn)   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:15 pm GMT
To Adam:

I am Japanese. And I don't speak English.
Travis   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:22 pm GMT
>>No, they wouldn't. Americans spell it "worshiped."<<

We do?
Terry   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:45 pm GMT
While we are on the Brit/Am English subject, I'm having trouble in my critique group because I spell all right as one word - alright. I have always spelled it that way and worked for a while on a large newspaper and the editors left it that way. I have heard that it is acceptable in British English but disputed at best in American English. My spell-checker never red-flags it.

Anyone know what's what with this?
Tiffany   Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:56 pm GMT
Both versions are acceptable to me and I definitely use both. I've never had anyone tell me it was wrong.
Terry   Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:49 pm GMT
Thanks for your input Tiffany. Everyone in my group takes me up on this constantly, insisting it is absolutley wrong and they learned it in college etc. I can't seem to break myself of it but I also wonder if they are right and I wonder if it's okay in Brit English as one source I found on the internet said.
Tiffany   Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:57 pm GMT
Well, I don't know about BrE, since I'm American, but neither form is wrong to me and are used interchangeably in my speech.
Lazar   Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:57 am GMT
I think I'd usually write "worshiped" without the double p, because the second syllable of that word is completely unstressed, but I'd write "kidnapped" with the double p, because the second syllable of that word bears a secondary stress.