My dad, who knows things, sent me a that’s-not-an-umlaut email about today’s “If you spell reelection with an umlaut” post. And so I ask … Q: What plays into the hands of the fake populists even more than spelling “reelection” as “reëlection”? A: Knowing what a diaeresis is. In defense of my dad’s man-of-the-people cred, he spelled it “dieresis” in his email, which seems to be correct but less snooty. Note: “ae” is never not snooty. Click for high-res photo

My dad, who knows things, sent me a that’s-not-an-umlaut email about today’s “If you spell reelection with an umlaut” post. And so I ask …

Q: What plays into the hands of the fake populists even more than spelling “reelection” as “reëlection”?

A: Knowing what a diaeresis is.

In defense of my dad’s man-of-the-people cred, he spelled it “dieresis” in his email, which seems to be correct but less snooty. Note: “ae” is never not snooty.

Notes

  1. maximallylikeable reblogged this from davidquigg and added:
    How sad that English doesn’t have something as cute and annoying as diaeresis. The word in French (Diérèse) is itself as...
  2. davidquigg posted this