ApostaCy or ApostaSy, which is the correct spelling ?

by Phizzy 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  Phizzy

  I am a pedant, but the reason I care about spelling and grammar etc on JWN is that JW's will pick on any minor error and discount everything else you say, so if you are writing articles on blogs or wherever, you need to get it "right", in the sense that it cannot be criticised.

  I know that "apostasy" can be written with a C and be acceptable to some, but as the origin is the Greek word Apostasia I prefer to spell it with an S to avoid criticism.

  We should try to make our spelling and grammar acceptable to all if we wish to be taken seriously, I think we need to pay attention on here too to make sure our posts make sense, with some posts I just think, "WTF are you on about ?"

  Pedants rant over.
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  steve2

  "True" apostates don't give a flying fig how it's spelt, "false" apostates worry about what "true" apostates think of the correct spelling of apostasy.
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  Phizzy

  I know most people do not care, and I don't think it matters too much on here, but my O.P was really aimed at those who write stuff as articles to be read on the Net.

  If they want them to hit home, it is no good having glaring errors in them, mainly of fact of course, those are the most important, but also spelling etc

  A JW will dismiss a super argument with "he can't even spell properly !".

  Looking forward to some real Ale with you too Cantleave ! Old Thumper is good !
• 

  Mum

  Hi, Phizzy. I hate to admit it, but I'm a spelling and grammar Nazi. Some of the things I read here and elsewhere make me wince. It's hard for me to keep mum sometimes.

  I am pretty sure that the correct American spelling is with an "s." Ths spelling with a "c" may be the British spelling, but I'm not sure.

  What you say about JW's and grammar does not seem right to me. My experience with them is that they are uneducated and given to lots of grammatical and spelling errors, and that's not all.
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  JeffT

  I agree with Mum. I've seen stuff published in the Watchtower that would have gotten a "D" in junior high school English class.

  Everything I'm looking at on google has an "s"
• 

  QueenWitch

  seems like "s" is the correct spelling
• 

  AnnOMaly

  'Apostasy.' British, American, always 'apostasy.'

  I don't think it matters too much on here, but my O.P was really aimed at those who write stuff as articles to be read on the Net.

  If they want them to hit home, it is no good having glaring errors in them, mainly of fact of course, those are the most important, but also spelling etc

  I'm with you, Phizzy.
• 

  aposta-Z

  Just passing by. My user name shows I am also unclear about the whole thing. lol.
• 

  steve2

  Moving on from my earlier flippant response, there is no etymological precedent for spelling the word with a 'c' as in "apostacy".

  While many words have American and English spelling variations (e.g., "color" - American ; "colour" - English), that is not so with the spelling of the word "apostasy". Besides - and crucially - the Watchtower literature itself consistently spells the word as "apostasy. On that ground alone, if you'd like your media releases to be in line with spellings that the witnesses use, and out of sensitivity that they could be reading the releases, it's a no-brainer: Spell the word the way the Watchtower does, which, happily, is the correct spelling.