Comment by ainch
3 hours ago
Great piece. And a good excuse to read up on the use of diaeresis in English (eg. coördination, reëlection) to distinguish repeated vowels - I hadn't seen the New Yorker's usage before.
3 hours ago
Great piece. And a good excuse to read up on the use of diaeresis in English (eg. coördination, reëlection) to distinguish repeated vowels - I hadn't seen the New Yorker's usage before.
It isn’t for all repeated vowels; only for when the 2 vowels don’t make a single sound. So “chicken coop” wouldn’t have a dieresis
It would if the chickens formed a business structure that was owned and democratically controlled by its member-owners.
That, is likely co-op.
Unless it was a chicken coöp... One of few cases it actually resolves an ambiguity!