Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnee123
That word...straight. Shouldn't it be strate? Otherwise it's confused with strait. I can't keep it all strate. Spelling is ruining the post.
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An interesting word (it is the only common root word with the sequence
aigh), but I do not have an issue with this particular spelling.
The reasons are to do with pronunciation in regional accents in England, particularly the north of England. In the Middle Ages, the
gh was pronounced, but was later lost. In most places, the consonant simply fell silent and the vowel in the sequence
aigh was pronounced identically to the sequence
ai, and the same for the similar sequences
ei and
eigh. However, in some regions the vowel was modified before the consonant was lost. In these regions
wait and
weight are still pronounced differently.
Although I do not know for sure, it is likely that these people pronounce
strait and
straight differently. If so, these words should remain differentiated in spelling and the current spellings are fine.