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Comment by a4isms

13 hours ago

I worked for GitHub for a time. There was a cultural abhorrence of the diaeresis, it was considered reader-hostile and elitist. I refused to coöperate with that edict internally, although I grant that every company has the right to micro-manage communications with the public.

It is reader hostile and elitist.

Is there any good argument in favor of it, or any other house style quirks for that matter, other than in-group signaling?

  • It exists to indicate how a word is pronounced. Naïve is a better example IMO, cooperation feels too familiar.

    Non-native speakers might see something like "nave" instead of "nigh-eve" unless it is clear that there is a stress that breaks out of the diphthong.

    I don't think style guides are (usually) about absolute correctness, but relative correctness. A question is asked, a decision needs making, someone makes it, and now a team of individuals can speak with a consistent voice because there's a guideline to minimize variation.

  • IIRC it's use is to distinguish vowels that belong to separate syllables with vowels which form a diphthong. I think this could be beneficial to language learners, to give them a hint that cooperate is pronounced "ko ah puh rayt" instead of "ku puh rayt", and likewise naïve as "nah eev" than "nayv" or "nighv".

  • You’re replying to a troll - their entire argument was circular and self contradictory.