ABOUT Spell Checking Wordlist, en_BE.dic
RULES Used in this version of Basic Spell Checking.
All derivatives of the Basic words are allowed. Ogden has more limitations by specifying which derivatives are allowed for each word. A teacher of basic Basic will need to filter out these unallowed suffixes.
When a Basic word is a Basic derivative of a root word, then the root word is considered Basic for spell checking purposes. Example: living is derived from "live," therefore this root yields "lived, lives".
boiling = boil
building = build
computer = compute
driving = drive
error = err
feeling = feel
fixed = fix
hanging = hang
hearing = hear (Ogden disagrees)
learning = learn
living = live
manager = manage
married = marry
owner = own
reading = read
stocking = stock (hosiery, not inventory)
teaching = teach
waiting = wait
writing = write
Non-examples -- flower does not come from flow, nor mother from moth ; drawer, draw.
Commonwealth spelling. The customary word spelling of humour, harbour, etc. but the wordlist is tested against U.S. writings so that the American versions are a bit more likely to be complete. Spelling differences are slightly more difficult and we do not do a good job with 'ize" vs. "ise", etc.
Alternate spelling : flies, flys ; moneys, monies ; are occationally included.
Some words are in three supplemental wordlists.
Different learners are supposed to learn from some of these lists. These common words are included as if part of the Basic 850.
cross/BDGJMRSZ
reference/BDGJMRS
strike/GMRSZ
supply/BDGRSZ
Numbers, written numbers, and -th suffix are included.
The list of 50 International Words, with a few of today's added (computer, television, etc.), and many international units of money and units measurement are included.
The most common chemical elements : carbon, helium, hydrogen, magnesium, neon, oxygen, silicon, sulfur.
Complex words (compounds). New words for joining are found all the time. Many might be interpreted either way. Examples : Are "weekday" and "secondhand" valid? We selected one and rejected the other.
Complex words are formed from -able, -ful as if they were suffixes. We conjugate in full using -en as in normal English.
Proper names are provided by OOo and are the
largest element of this list.
QUIRKS of Electronic Spell Checking.
A spell-checker cannot tell what sense of a word is intended. Thus you will be seeing that the past tense of "see" is "saw". But a "saw" is a toothed instrument of the same spelling and will not be flagged as not Basic word. "Saw" is also a verb to make cuts with such a toothed instrument. We do not carry through with the derivatives of "to saw" wood. Though an argument might be made to do that.
Most significant effect of this is that dozens of Basic nouns are spelled exactly as a related verb form. This any form of electronic spell checking will allow usage of many verbs without being flagged as misspelled. This is taught in “Next Step” Basic.
Because "lives" is derived from "living", it will spell check as a valid word, even when used in the sense of "lives = human beings". This is an accidental characteristic of electronic spell checking. Consider "liver", conceivably one who enjoys life, but not a body organ, even though it will not be flagged as a spelling error.
There are a number of Basic words that use a noun-forming suffix because of Ogden's intent to concentrate on nouns, rather than verbs. Soon after learners are taught that dozens of nouns can be used as verbs, then these noun-forming suffixes can be taught as also having verb and other uses.
-MENT Suffix forming nouns with the sense “of ___ing/”
Regular in form. (y becomes i)
adjustment
advertisement
agreement
amusement
argument
development
government
payment
punishment - punish/DGJS ; - punisher/MS
statement - state/DGJMRSZ with the sense of "to say"
-TION Suffix forming nouns with the sense be ___ing.
Rules, do not double t, -ion after t ; Sometimes a schwa
(short a or i) is added or replaces an e or y that may be there
before -tion.
addition - add/DGJMRSZ
attraction - attract/DGJRSZ
connection - connect/DGJMS ; connecter/MS ;connector/MS
competition - compete/DGJMS -or
destruction - too far from destroy
digestion - digest/DGJMRSZ
direction - direct/DGJS -or
distribution - distribute/DGJMS -or
education - educate/DGJRSZ
invention - invent/DGJRSZ
instruction - instruct with all derivatives.
observation - observe/DGSZ ; observer/MS
operation - operate/DGJMS
organization - organize/DGJMRSZ
reaction - react/DGJRSZ ; - reactor/MS
relation - relate/DGJRSZ
suggestion - add root suggest and derivatives
WHAT ABOUT THESE?
automatic - automate/DGJMRSZ
authority - authorize/DMS
comparison - compare/DGJS
decision - decide/DGJRSZ
discussion - discuss/DGJRSZ
division - divide/DGJMRSZ
electric - electricity (if today, Ogden, might have reversed)
expansion - expand/DGJMS
insurance - insure/DGJMS ; insurer/MS
political - politic/MS
post - mail (US)
relative - relate/DGJS
saw - valid as past of "see" how about a toothed tool.?
tendency - tend/DGJS ; what about tender/DGMSY
CUSTOMIZATIONS.
You can add, change and delete words as desired. en_BE.dic is a simple flat file -- it may be changed with any text editor. We would expect everybody to add their name, town, street, organization, words of your area of special interest, etc. Teachers might add each student's names, etc.
Just enter the words, one on a line
foo
fooed
fooing
foos
unfoo
unfooing
If an instructor or any user decides that two spelling systems is too confusing, (Commonwealth, etc.) the alternate spellings can be removed easily with any text editor -- just delete that word from en_BE.dic. Or the desired spelling can be added.
If you add or delete a lot of words, you will want to change the line count in the first line of the en-BE.dic file. (It is about efficiency). OoenOffice has a LINE NUMBERING feature under TOOLS, where the highest number is found. TOOLS also is where a SORT feature may be found.
When finished, sort the entire file. If many lines are added or deleted, then change the line count in the first line of the file.
The en-BE.dic was tested using the very complete IDP dictionary definitions. This pointed out missing words for spell checking. Correction of the missing words allowed further improvement of the dictionary, in an iterative circle of improvements.
Example: we had originally accepted the Basic word "tendency" to include the root "tend" with its several derivatives. We had to reconsider the correctness of this and chose to replace "tend" in all definitions with a verb and "tendency".
AFFIXES:
You need not be conserved with affixes.
The software allows for some
simplicity and efficiency by specifying a root word and the allowed prefix and suffixes for that root. The affix codes are separated from the root
with a slant-line "/ ". A table of uses in attached; /G means that a -ing form allowed. However,
there are irregularities in English spelling that do not follow
the simple rules that the affix definitions cannot handle correctly.
Therefore you should simply enter the spelling of each of your new words on a different line.
More on Affixes:
/DGJMT seem reliable. -ed, -ing, ings, 'S, -est.
/RZ, -er, -ers works, but English sometimes spells with -or.
The software has idiosyncrasies, that is, it (ASpell, IPpell, MySpell, HunSpell) does not always add affixes with correct spelling. It cannot always handle doubled ending letters (full/Y allows "fullly")
(run/G allows "runing") ; plural of ending with "gh", "th" ;
"-ly" suffixes are simply added, which is not correct for words ending in "y". Multiple affixes, -ingly, are unreliable. So, feel free to neglect the affix feature and enter your spellings on different lines.
Other (future) Spell Checking Wordlists.
More Advanced and more restrictive Spell Check May be needed. This spelling word list is bit of a compromise and is intended to be suitable for those who have learned Basic and for the general public. It includes a few features that may not have been taught, but should be easy or even obvious to recognize.
There is a possible need for a higher level of spell checking that is even more reader friendly. This would accept Ogden's "next step" Basic words and such roots as "tend" from "tendency", that are only a small stretch from pure, or learner, Basic. There might also be even further simplification/restrictive for a learner Basic. As example, see "living" above. The version we have now uses -able, -en, -ful, -th which would not be included in really basic Basic.
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About this Page : readword.html -- Read about what is included and how to change the en_BE.dic wordlist.
Last updated on April 24, 2008
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