3 ms·
Here's something else to get worked up about. One overcorrection I often see (even elsewhere in these comments) is "focussed". This is an attempt to avoid the A
by quietbritishjim 6y ago
Here's something else to get worked up about. One overcorrection I often see (even elsewhere in these comments) is "focussed". This is an attempt to avoid the American tenancy never to double consonants in words with the "ed" ending, but it's not correct in British English to always double the consonant. Instead, the rule is too double the letter when the last syllable is stressed, so "focussed" would sound like foCUSSED whereas the normal pronunciation is FOcused. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to this rule.
- ubercow13 6y agoMy intuition was that the doubling of the consonant was to prevent the modifying effect that the e would normally have. For example bat->batted. Bated doesn’t work because it looks like it should be pronounced the same as baited.
- function_seven 6y agoThis makes sense. If I didn't already know the word, I could see mistakenly pronouncing “focused” to rhyme with “accused” (i.e. fohk-YOO-zed )