3 ms·

Ooh nice, I didn't know that Ngram tool! I've heard references to word frequency but didn't know where to do it. Thanks for jumping in with a bit of analysis.

Ooh nice, I didn't know that Ngram tool! I've heard references to word frequency but didn't know where to do it. Thanks for jumping in with a bit of analysis. Of course, if USA-based anglophones want to continue using a particular spelling or pronunciation, we know we don't have the power to stop them. I bow out of this one.

ksenzee 2y ago
In this case, we really, really don’t want to continue using “busses” as a plural noun. Merriam-Webster is the authority. We’d rather fight our holy war over labor and center.
- rendall 2y ago
  The buses spelling looks to me like it should rhyme with fuses. Busses has the virtue of not... doing that.
  - sourcepluck 2y ago
    Ehh... Cough, tough, bough, lough, slough, and rough called, they wanted to know when English phonology became logical and consistent, and why no one informed them about it?
    - rendall 2y ago
      Rough and cough have different sounds so... buses is the winner? Not seeing the connection.
      - NeoTar 2y ago
        -ough notoriously has anywhere between four and twelve different pronunciations (if you count strange example with a limited number of words, like hiccough for hiccup). The point I believe the parent post is making is that you cannot assume that buses would rhyme with fuses, because English orthography is so inconsistent. Which is partially true - I haven’t seen any research to the effect, but I’d guess you can still predict the pronunciation of an English word with better than a fifty percent chance of success.
      - sourcepluck 2y ago
        Sorry, I thought it'd be obvious that all those -ough words have different pronunciations (for most people, anyway, I think) and that I'd be making my point clearly and lightheartedly. I was just saying that English spelling isn't always "guessable", or how you think it logically should be. [Even though it may well be guessable the majority of the time, as another responder points out, for some reason]. The fact you think "busses" is a preferable spelling to "buses" because it might help you pronounce "buses" differently to "fuses" is only relevant to you yourself. I would have thought this was tautological, myself. In summary, we could avoid all these fusses with a bit of effort to adhere to accepted usage.
- sourcepluck 2y ago
  I sympathizzze he-ugely with what you're saying, as "busses" looks very strange to me, I admit.
  - AStonesThrow 2y ago
    "Buss" is an archaic word for a kiss, so "busses" looks like a verb straight outta Shakespeare to me!

ksenzee 2y ago

In this case, we really, really don’t want to continue using “busses” as a plural noun. Merriam-Webster is the authority. We’d rather fight our holy war over labor and center.

rendall 2y ago
The buses spelling looks to me like it should rhyme with fuses. Busses has the virtue of not... doing that.
- sourcepluck 2y ago
  Ehh... Cough, tough, bough, lough, slough, and rough called, they wanted to know when English phonology became logical and consistent, and why no one informed them about it?
  - rendall 2y ago
    Rough and cough have different sounds so... buses is the winner? Not seeing the connection.
    - NeoTar 2y ago
      -ough notoriously has anywhere between four and twelve different pronunciations (if you count strange example with a limited number of words, like hiccough for hiccup). The point I believe the parent post is making is that you cannot assume that buses would rhyme with fuses, because English orthography is so inconsistent. Which is partially true - I haven’t seen any research to the effect, but I’d guess you can still predict the pronunciation of an English word with better than a fifty percent chance of success.
    - sourcepluck 2y ago
      Sorry, I thought it'd be obvious that all those -ough words have different pronunciations (for most people, anyway, I think) and that I'd be making my point clearly and lightheartedly. I was just saying that English spelling isn't always "guessable", or how you think it logically should be. [Even though it may well be guessable the majority of the time, as another responder points out, for some reason]. The fact you think "busses" is a preferable spelling to "buses" because it might help you pronounce "buses" differently to "fuses" is only relevant to you yourself. I would have thought this was tautological, myself. In summary, we could avoid all these fusses with a bit of effort to adhere to accepted usage.
sourcepluck 2y ago
I sympathizzze he-ugely with what you're saying, as "busses" looks very strange to me, I admit.
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  "Buss" is an archaic word for a kiss, so "busses" looks like a verb straight outta Shakespeare to me!