tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20974756.post1327851110203719914..comments2024-03-29T05:16:16.874+00:00Comments on HERBIE!: Of Gunwales, Yoghurts and Not WasabiNeil Corbetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06198251427537653059noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20974756.post-78867706894168607202012-04-18T08:59:36.771+00:002012-04-18T08:59:36.771+00:00If yoghurt, why not yoghourt, which seems to have ...If yoghurt, why not yoghourt, which seems to have enjoyed a vogue in the past. The Concise Oxford (even my very old edition) gives yogurt as an acceptable spelling (along with yaourt, which doesn't seem to have caught on). I wonder whether there is a tendency for foreign words entering the English language to start off with complex spellings, reflecting their exocitism and exclusivity, that gradually become simplified as they become part of day to day English, and the day to day English diet.<br /><br />As for gunnel, again the COD gives this as an alternative spelling; I tend to think of it as a canal boat term, used and spelled casually, whereas gunwale is the more 'proper' nautical term. It is surely no different from bosun for boatswain, and 'bosun' is now almost universally used (hence the challenge of that particular conundrum).Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01759448161130667128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20974756.post-58730594071067453772012-04-17T23:38:58.355+00:002012-04-17T23:38:58.355+00:00Ah the old wagon for carrying boats, a bit like th...Ah the old wagon for carrying boats, a bit like the one for carrying hay PC99 painted.Roger Smithnoreply@blogger.com