Grapheme clusters, a.k.a.real characters

[Marko Rauhamaa]

Random832 <random832 at fastmail.com>:

> As for double-v, a quick search through /usr/share/dict/words reveals
> "civvies", "divvy", "revved/revving", "savvy" and "skivvy", and
> various conjugations thereof. All following, more or less, the rule of
> using a double consonant after a short vowel in contexts where a
> single consonant would suggest the preceding vowel was long.

The single/double consonant rule is indeed an ancient Germanic spelling
principle. English makes several twists to the it:

 * "v" is never doubled ("shovel")

 * a final "v" receives a superfluous "e" ("love")

 * the final consonant of a single-syllable word is doubled only if the
   consonant is "k", "l" or "s" ("kick", "kill", "kiss")

 * "k" becomes "ck" when doubled ("lacking")

 * a final consonant is never doubled in a multisyllable word
   ("havoc", "shovel")

 * a final "k" of a multisyllable word becomes "c" ("magic")


Marko