pronunciation spelling

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pronunciation spelling (countable and uncountable, plural pronunciation spellings)

1. (countable, uncountable) Spelling intended to represent a pronunciation, which may or may not be the standard spelling of the word.

   Coordinate term: pronunciation respelling

   • 1954, Ira Edward Aaron, The Relationship of Auditory-visual Discrimination to Spelling Ability, page 6:

     A word of almost phonetic composition is one in which the pronunciation spelling uses exactly the same letters in the precise order of the correct spelling of the word, but one of the vowels used to represent a particular sound may be interchanged with some different vowel letter and still not change the pronunciation of the word.

   • 2005, The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style:

     Over time the new spelling may become as acceptable as the original spelling, as is the case with the pronunciation spelling bosun for boatswain.

   • 2009, Bryan Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage, page 537:

     This spelling (mic) seems to be a holdover from port labels on old stereos and tape players. Yet people had long since decided that the pronunciation spelling mike, which dates from the 1920s, was more sensible and convenient.

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