From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!uwvax!jon Newsgroups: net.nlang Title: spelling Article-I.D.: uwvax.471 Posted: Fri Jul 9 09:54:59 1982 Received: Sun Jul 11 02:12:25 1982 I don't equate language and spelling. I do equate written language and spelling. I don't see how the two can be divorced. Understandability is one thing, accepted usage another. Island has an 's' in for the same reason many other words have silent letters: that's how the word is spelled. (typically, the spelling dates from days when the letter was pronounced, but that is no longer relevant) Jon (jon is not an uncommon name) Mauney (you don't want to know how I pronounce THAT)