Whats the Difference?

Question

Can any one tell what's the Difference between spelaeology n speleology?

Pieanne · Accepted Answer

The dictionary gives the same definition for both. I guess it's just a different spelling to convey the same sound.

Vinodram · Answer

Pieanne! is it due to american accent of that sort that the spelling changes

Pieanne · Answer

No, not as far as I know. You mean "geneology" would be a simplification? More used in US then?
Well it's the same root as "gene", comes from ancient Greek genos (race)+ logos (treaty). But then I don't see why it should be written with -ae...

Aeon · Answer

Spelaeology is British English spelling, speleology is American English. Use whichever you please, just ensure that you are consistent within your document or conform to whichever is used as the local standard.

Mister Micawber · Answer

The BrE/AmE dichotomy is often flogged, and is probably true, but in any case the 'ae' form (as the 'oe') is older.

The option exists in many common words, like orthopaedics, archaeology, faeces and foetus.

Here's an interesting quote (note that the letters can be formed separately--'ae'-- or as the ligature--'æ'):

'My publisher and I can’t agree on the spelling of "encyclopedia," and we could use some guidance. Is that spelling right, or should it be "encyclopædia" with an "æ"? Please settle this for us. We often refer to Britannica and need to know which spelling to use.

I prefer the cleaner spelling of "encyclopedia" urged by most American stylebooks, but there are still many users of the old-style spelling. To be fair, I got in touch with Anita Wolff, first to apologize for misspelling "Britannica" in a recent issue and then to ask her about the spelling of the encyclopedic word.

As senior editor of Encyclopædia Britannica and a member of Copy Editor’s advisory board, she provided this explanation: "We’ve always used the æ ligature (or separate ae characters when the ligature was unavailable) in spelling our name, which reflects the usage from 1768 when the first edition was published.

"Internally we use the ae spelling (without a ligature) for any mention of an encyclopaedia other than Britannica, excepting the actual titles, for which we adopt the product’s spelling. Our general entry is titled ‘encyclopaedia.’

"This is part of our quasi-British spelling policy, also reflected in ‘-our’ (‘colour,’ ‘vigour’) and ‘-re’ (‘timbre,’ ‘metre’) endings."

Many style guides, though, prefer the "encyclopedia" spelling and advise writers to save the "ae" spelling just for the title of Encyclopædia Britannica.'

Vinodram · Answer

Thanks Mister Micawber

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