Ghoti

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This article is about spelling irregularities in English. For people of western Bengal, see Ghotis.

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Ghoti is a constructed example used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling. It is a respelling of the word fish, and like it is pronounced /ˈfɪʃ/. It has,

gh, pronounced /f/ as in tough /tʌf/;
o, pronounced /ɪ/ as in women /ˈwɪmɪn/; and
ti, pronounced /ʃ/ as in nation /ˈneɪʃən/.

The first known published reference is in 1874, citing an 1855 letter that credits ghoti to one William Ollier (born 1824).^[1] Ghoti is often cited to support English spelling reform, and is often attributed to George Bernard Shaw,^[2] a supporter of this cause. However, a biography of Shaw attributes it instead to an anonymous spelling reformer.^[3]

1 Purpose of irregularities
2 Cultural references
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Purpose of irregularities

See also: English spelling reform

It has also been noted^[4] that many of the irregularities that do exist in English spelling serve to preserve the word's history and etymology. For example, the word "electrician," in which the ci is pronounced /ʃ/ due to palatalization, retains a linkage to its root "electricity," which would be lost if the different forms of the word were spelled "elektrishun," "elektrisity," and "elektrik."

The /ʃ/ sound can be spelled eleven ways in English:^[5] shirt, sugar, chute, action, issue, ocean, conscious, mansion, schwa, anxious, and special. It is spelled 'ti' only when the 'ti' comes before a vowel, as in nation and initial.

[edit] Cultural references

In the fictional language of Klingon, ghotI' is the word for fish.^[6] In the webcomic superhero parody Supermegatopia, one of the recurring villains is "Dr. Ghoti," a superintelligent goldfish in a suit of robotic armor. In the episode Egg Grows in Gotham of Batman, Egghead uses Ghoti Oeuf as the name for his caviar business. Batman explains the reference to Robin. Ghoti Hook: a christian punk band from the 1990's

[edit] See also

Linguistics
Phonology
Ghoti Hook, a band deriving its name from the term.

[edit] References

^ Benjamin Zimmer. Ghoti before Shaw. Language Log. Cites S. R. Townshend Mayer, “Leigh Hunt and Charles Ollier”, St. James’s Magazine, October 1874, page 406 (itself citing a 1855 letter from Ollier to Hunt).
^ Holroyd, Michael, Bernard Shaw: Volume III: 1918–1950: The Lure of Fantasy, Random House, 1994, ISBN 0-517-13035-1
^ See Jim Scobbie's article at alt-usage-english.org, citing Holroyd, page 501
^ Venezky, Richard L., The American Way of Spelling, Guilford Press, 1999, ISBN 1-572-30469-3, as cited in Venezky's English Spelling by Cook, Vivian
^ Sadoski, Mark in Erlbaum, Lawrence; Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing, 2001
^ Klingon Language Institute