Do you spell it "dilemma" or "dilemna"

[HeidiKC]

Here is a post of mine from another thread regarding spelling:

 

My whole life I spelled it dilemna, until a friend told me about this whole dilemma...and if you look it up online it is pretty interesting. Apparently TONS of people grew up spelling it "dilemna", and not just in the US, but also Britain and Australia. And I think also the French version has been misspelled! From what I've read, they never could figure out how so many people got that wrong. It seems that lots of these people (but I don't think all) attended Catholic schools, and the misspellings began in the 1950s or 1960s, but I don't think they ever found any spelling book or anything that taught the incorrect spelling (but I may be wrong). I think I read that it has even been printed in books (novels or whatever) incorrectly.

 

My parents were born in 1940 and attended Catholic schools and never heard of it spelled dilemna and thought I was NUTS. But my sister spelled it the same way I did (incorrectly). I also think it's funny that I've never been made aware of my error until this past year. Funny that I must have read it in books spelled correctly, and didn't notice it! Whenever I wrote it, I was always very careful to spell it "dilemna", because I THOUGHT I knew it didn't sound like it was spelled and was one of those tricky words! My friend said the same thing!

 

Didn't want to put it in the poll, but would love to know your approximate age and whether or not you attended Catholic grade school.

 

This stuff fascinates me! Thanks!

[regentrude]

Dilemma.

Age 43, public school, not catholic

 

How then, do these people spell the word "lemma"? I have never seen anybody spell that one wrong.

[redsquirrel]

I have never seen it spelled that way and would giggle if I did. I would assume it to be a misspelling or a finger slip on the keypad.

[ByGrace3]

Interesting. I ALWAYS go to write it as "Dilemna" see it spelled wrong, fix it and then go :001_huh: I really thought it had an "n" in it. Very weird. I actually have always been pretty good at spelling, and I find this odd. I wonder if I was taught it at one time with an "n"? :confused:

 

30, private Christian school

[Trresh]

I always spelled it dilemna until it started popping up as misspelled on spell check. I don't remember where I learned to spell it. I went to ps and am not Catholic.

[HeidiKC]

Interesting. I wonder if I was taught it at one time with an "n"? :confused:

 

I'm SURE I was taught it incorrectly. Otherwise why would I (and so many others) spell it incorrectly...and incorrectly in a way that doesn't even make sense?!

 

All the stuff I could find on the internet (it is fascinating to read!) says people were actually taught it incorrectly. That's why I wondered if maybe there was a Catholic speller with an error that came out in the 1960s or something. But so strange that it is in other countries as well, including France!!!

[Word Nerd]

Just curious why would anyone spell it dilemna. Do some regions pronounce it with an n or something?

[amyable]

I'm 42, went to public school all my life, and remember being taught to spell it dilemNa. I was freaked out when I discovered the internets :D and saw everyone spelling it dilemma!:tongue_smilie:

[Janie Grace]

I have never seen it spelled that way and would giggle if I did. I would assume it to be a misspelling or a finger slip on the keypad.

 

Me too. How funny that people were taught "mn"! I wonder if it's a regional thing. Where were you educated, dilemna people? Northeast for me (ps)... dilemma.

[Trresh]

Just curious why would anyone spell it dilemna. Do some regions pronounce it with an n or something?

 

I'm not sure if it was taught to me or I read it in a book or something.

[regentrude]

I'm 42, went to public school all my life, and remember being taught to spell it dilemNa.

 

How were you taught to spell the word "lemma"?

[Lady Florida.]

Here's what I said about it in the Natural Speller thread:

 

I have never heard of this, but I attended Catholic school in the 1960's and have always spelled it dilemna. In fact, it was always one of those words I sounded out in my head - dil em na, like Wed nes day. It's only been in recent (10?) years that I noticed my spelling seems to be wrong. I wonder what other incorrect spellings those nuns taught us...:)

 

Your post on that thread made me curious, so I started looking around the internet. Now that I know the literal meaning of dilemma I'm even more confused. Here's what I don't get: While we weren't taught Latin or Greek in 1960's Catholic school, we were taught their root words, suffixes and prefixes. I think it's what helped me become a good speller (though part of it is also "natural"). So why on earth didn't they teach us where that word came from and how to spell it correctly? It's even more confusing than just knowing I was taught to spell it incorrectly.

Edited November 17, 2011 by floridamom

[OLG]

I was taught 'MN" at Catholic school but I was also taught 'theatre' which evidently is now 'theater'. I just think it is a slow evolution with the advent of the internet. I am still going to spell it 'MN' though:001_smile:

[Susan in TN]

This is very funny and fascinating. A publishing error that changed a nation('s spelling of a word)?

[Another Lynn]

I'm 42, went to public school all my life, and remember being taught to spell it dilemNa. I was freaked out when I discovered the internets :D and saw everyone spelling it dilemma!:tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree: except I'm still 41 and this is the first time I've seen it spelled dilemma. (Age 41, public schooled, dilemNa.... and otherwise I'm a pretty good speller)

[Lady Florida.]

I was taught 'MN" at Catholic school but I was also taught 'theatre' which evidently is now 'theater'. I just think it is a slow evolution with the advent of the internet. I am still going to spell it 'MN' though:001_smile:

 

I was taught theatre as well, then later was taught that theatre was the spelling for stage, and theater for movies. I don't remember where I learned that. However, in that case either spelling is correct, one is British and the other American. With dilemma, one is incorrect. And it seems to be that many of us were actually taught to spell it incorrectly.

 

 

BTW, I'm getting the red squiggly line under theatre.

[ByGrace3]

but I was also taught 'theatre' which evidently is now 'theater'.

 

I read that, "theatre" and thought, what's wrong with it? :lol: oh dear...

 

 

oh, and I spent elementary school in NY, using Abeka . . . so, super strange!

[HeidiKC]

Words like "theatre", "theater" are just British and American spelling, so "theatre" isn't really incorrect.

 

I was taught in the midwest. But as I mentioned, when I began reading about this it appears that people around the world were taught incorrectly. And now it appears from this thread that it wasn't just Catholic schools. I read that somewhere, and that might have just been some random person making assumptions. I'm guessing it was a popular spelling text published in the 1960s or something that spelled it incorrectly. And maybe if more Catholic-educated people are misspelling it, it just shows that this speller was more heavily used in Catholic schools but also in some public and private Christian schools?

 

SO strange!!! And even stranger that most of us were not aware of the misspelling.

[Aelwydd]

I believe in most British commonwealth countries, it's still spelled "theatre." Americans have always had a penchant for deviant spelling--225 years later, and we're still rebelling. :D

 

 

As regards to the dilemma at hand, I attended public high school, from 1982 until 1995. I learned to spell it "dilemNa," but not from school. I learned that spelling from published novels and books (I was a heavy reader). I remember thinking it yet another example of odd English spelling, but went with it.

 

Imagine my consternation when, several years ago, the dictionaries all showed "dilemma" instead.

[HeidiKC]

Now this is even stranger!!! I just asked ds12 how he spells it and guess what??? He said DILEMNA!!! YIKES!

 

He sure didn't learn that since I've been homeschooling him. He went to Catholic school through 4th grade and I don't ever remember that being on a spelling test and it seems too hard for 4th grade anyway. So I don't think he was TAUGHT to spell it that way. So why the heck does he think it is spelled that way? He's a huge reader, so all I can figure out is he's seen it spelled that way in a book? Very curious. I asked him why he thinks it is spelled that way or where he learned it like that and he doesn't know.

[Trresh]

Now this is even stranger!!! I just asked ds12 how he spells it and guess what??? He said DILEMNA!!! YIKES!

 

He sure didn't learn that since I've been homeschooling him. He went to Catholic school through 4th grade and I don't ever remember that being on a spelling test and it seems too hard for 4th grade anyway. So I don't think he was TAUGHT to spell it that way. So why the heck does he think it is spelled that way? He's a huge reader, so all I can figure out is he's seen it spelled that way in a book? Very curious. I asked him why he thinks it is spelled that way or where he learned it like that and he doesn't know.

 

I just asked my 14 year old and she spelled it the same. She said she didn't know why she spells it like that, either. She went to a Montessori school until half way through 5th grade. The school was big on spelling words as you hear them. :confused:

[QuirkyKapers]

I spell it dilemma

[Serenade]

I went to a Catholic school in first grade, but I don't think I was spelling that word at that age. LOL! But, until recently, I spelled it dilemna, and I'm sure that's what I was taught. I only learned I was wrong several years ago, and I did a lot of research at that time. I'm 48, and I went to public school every year except first grade.

 

Makes me wonder if there was an error in a spelling book that was widely used.

 

ETA: Except for first grade in NY at a Catholic school, I was educated in NC.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Serenade

[amyable]

How were you taught to spell the word "lemma"?

 

Lemma, but because I spelled dilemna with an N, I never put two and two together and realized that DI-lemma was a "double lemma". I just knew it was a problem. :tongue_smilie: (and yes I did very well in English and on my SATs :lol:)

[Lady Florida.]

Lemma, but because I spelled dilemna with an N, I never put two and two together and realized that DI-lemma was a "double lemma". I just knew it was a problem. :tongue_smilie: (and yes I did very well in English and on my SATs :lol:)

 

Yes!

[Ester Maria]

Dilemma, always was, always will be.

 

I don't even get HOW you can misspell it. :confused: WHERE do you hear that N? It's just not there. The English spelling, while not entirely consistent, is still not completely random. It just makes no sense to spell it with an N.

[Laura Corin]

If you search for it there are lots of threads here containing the 'word'.

 

Laura

[cathmom]

How were you taught to spell the word "lemma"?

 

Lemma is a word? I never heard it before.

 

I have always spelled and said dilemma with 2 ms. My dh, who did not attend Catholic school but is Catholic, has spelled and said it "dilemna" until eventually he asked me and I corrected him. :lol:

[Annie Laurie]

 

As regards to the dilemma at hand, I attended public high school, from 1982 until 1995. I learned to spell it "dilemNa," but not from school. I learned that spelling from published novels and books (I was a heavy reader). I remember thinking it yet another example of odd English spelling, but went with it.

 

Imagine my consternation when, several years ago, the dictionaries all showed "dilemma" instead.

 

I think that's where I got it from too, I also thought it had an n. I voted dilemma in the op's thread, because that's how I spell it now, but I spelled it w an n for the longest time, and I'm a good speller.

[freesia]

I spell it dilemna. I also sound it out to remember. How odd!

 

I was educated in PS and graduated in 1985. My Dad was Catholic School educated and probably many of my teachers, too. However, my guess is I got it from a book.

 

How strange,

Anne

[cathmom]

Dilemma, always was, always will be.

 

I don't even get HOW you can misspell it. :confused: WHERE do you hear that N? It's just not there. The English spelling, while not entirely consistent, is still not completely random. It just makes no sense to spell it with an N.

 

we posted at the same time - my dh said it with an "n" and spelled it that way too. So in that case it wouldn't be random.

[Trresh]

Dilemma, always was, always will be.

 

I don't even get HOW you can misspell it. :confused: WHERE do you hear that N? It's just not there. The English spelling, while not entirely consistent, is still not completely random. It just makes no sense to spell it with an N.

 

There are lots of words with silent letters in them.

 

Here are some common silent 'n' words:

 

****

Condemn

Hymn

Autumn

Solemn

 

Oops...can't use my first example on this forum.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Trresh

[amyable]

:tongue_smilie:posting at the same time as everyone else and they explained it much better.

Edited November 17, 2011 by amyable

[clarkacademy]

I have always used the N and yes I went to catholic school until 5th grade.

[Lady Florida.]

There are lots of words with silent letters in them.

 

Here are some common silent 'n' words:

 

****

Condemn

Hymn

Autumn

Solemn

 

 

 

Yes, I think maybe there's a misconception that those of us who were taught to spell it with an N also pronounce the N. I always said dilemma and just figured it was one of those weird silent letter spellings. Why don't we hear the G in gnu or the K in kn words?

[Ester Maria]

But the N would have to be pronounced in 'dilemna'. :confused: Isn't there a logic behind silent letters too (often etymological, but sometimes by analogies you can guess what would be silent - I can't think of an analogous example of an N in -mNa where it would be silent?)? Or am I just way off base here?

[In2why]

Just curious why would anyone spell it dilemna. Do some regions pronounce it with an n or something?

 

 

I have always spelled it dilemna. I don't pronounce it with the N, but I am guessing that it was taught in a word bank with Autumn and hymn. It makes more sense to spell it without the N so I can't help but think that somewhere, sometime I was taught the incorrect spelling.

 

I had to go look on the internet to see if it was a common alternative spelling, and there isn't much out there, other than shock that so many people spell it wrong.

[Parrothead]

I never realized there are people spelling it incorrectly.

[LaxMom]

Dilemma. 40, public school. My parents, who both went to Catholic school in the 1950-60s, also spell it dilemma.

 

I also spell "definitely", but have noticed that "definAtely" is the more common, though incorrect, spelling online.

 

My husband just spelled it with a double m as well. 42, public school. (but he's unreliable, as he is prone to sending things like "hided" when we play Words.)

Edited November 17, 2011 by MyCrazyHouse

[gingersmom]

I never realized there are people spelling it incorrectly.

 

:iagree:

 

You learn something new on these boards all the time.

[Tree House Academy]

Now this is even stranger!!! I just asked ds12 how he spells it and guess what??? He said DILEMNA!!! YIKES!

 

He sure didn't learn that since I've been homeschooling him. He went to Catholic school through 4th grade and I don't ever remember that being on a spelling test and it seems too hard for 4th grade anyway. So I don't think he was TAUGHT to spell it that way. So why the heck does he think it is spelled that way? He's a huge reader, so all I can figure out is he's seen it spelled that way in a book? Very curious. I asked him why he thinks it is spelled that way or where he learned it like that and he doesn't know.

 

That is what baffles me - it doesn't even make phonetic sense. For instance, I would understand "gnat" (and the like) being spelled "nat," but to spell a word that has absolutely no "n" sound in it at all with a N just makes no sense. I wonder were the erroneous spelling came from anyway? (and I don't mean where your ds got it...just in general, how that spelling came to be.)

[HeidiKC]

But the N would have to be pronounced in 'dilemna'. :confused: Isn't there a logic behind silent letters too (often etymological, but sometimes by analogies you can guess what would be silent - I can't think of an analogous example of an N in -mNa where it would be silent?)? Or am I just way off base here?

 

Well, maybe this sounds dumb but I just never questioned it. I never pronounced the "n". But as several people said, they read it spelled that way in books. So it wasn't like I wondered if I was misspelling that and questioned it, but in my mind it was just one of those words with a strange spelling and I didn't care enough to wonder why, I guess!

 

I suspect many people recently learned they have been misspelling it since using the computer, which corrects the misspelling!

[HeidiKC]

I have never, ever seen nor heard it spelled with an "N". I didn't even realize it was an option, right or wrong. How interesting.

 

 

That was my parents' reaction last year when I asked them how they spelled it. Only they weren't quite as nice! They didn't even think it was interesting - just wondered how I could have gotten through school spelling it incorrectly and didn't really believe me that many people spelled it that way. Just sort of wrote it off as me not knowing what I was talking about, or how to spell!

[Lady Florida.]

Isn't there a logic behind silent letters too (often etymological, but sometimes by analogies you can guess what would be silent - I can't think of an analogous example of an N in -mNa where it would be silent?)? Or am I just way off base here?

 

Yes and no. Silent letters as a whole, maybe. But not all of our spellings have an etymological basis or follow phonetic rules. The different spellings in America confuse things even more (though in this case, it appears British and Australian students were also taught to spell the word incorrectly). Noah Webster wanted to Americanize the spelling of many words. That's why there's labor and labour, honor and honour for example.

 

Your idea that elementary school children, especially in the 1950's and 1960's when you DID NOT question teachers, would think they were being taught to spell a word incorrectly is in fact, off base. If the teacher, every teacher you have every year, says that's the way it's spelled then by golly, that's the way you spell it. You certainly wouldn't question the teacher about etymology and phonics rules. After all, you were the one being taught. By nuns no less. You did not question nuns. I tried a few times. Had my share of ruler smacks on the knuckles (yes, they really did that). I learned fast to shut my mouth.

[regentrude]

 

I don't even get HOW you can misspell it. :confused: WHERE do you hear that N? It's just not there. The English spelling, while not entirely consistent, is still not completely random. It just makes no sense to spell it with an N.

:iagree:

[Virg]

I am 29, went to private Christian school and learned it dilemna. I know I was taught that way because when every I write/type the word, in my head I think dilem-na. Then I think oh yeah that is wrong now and have to force myself to write double "m"s. I do that to all words spelled oddly but I have always said it aloud correctly.

[Lady Florida.]

Well, maybe this sounds dumb but I just never questioned it. I never pronounced the "n". But as several people said, they read it spelled that way in books. So it wasn't like I wondered if I was misspelling that and questioned it, but in my mind it was just one of those words with a strange spelling and I didn't care enough to wonder why, I guess!

 

People who spell lose as loose don't do it because they were taught to do so and are seeing it that way in books. The misspelling of dilemma seems to have been taught to a large, albeit unknown number of people in at least 3 English speaking countries, and no one knows why.

 

I suspect many people recently learned they have been misspelling it since using the computer, which corrects the misspelling!

That's how I learned. Or I should say re-learned how to spell it.

[Ester Maria]

Your idea that elementary school children, especially in the 1950's and 1960's when you DID NOT question teachers, would think they were being taught to spell a word incorrectly is in fact, off base. If the teacher, every teacher you have every year, says that's the way it's spelled then by golly, that's the way you spell it. You certainly wouldn't question the teacher about etymology and phonics rules. After all, you were the one being taught. By nuns no less. You did not question nuns. I tried a few times. Had my share of ruler smacks on the knuckles (yes, they really did that). I learned fast to shut my mouth.

No, I understand about the children and it makes sense that they would just conclude that it is one of those crazy words, if that is the only form they see and if they are not taught Greek - but maybe their parents did question? Especially since the previous generation (of the children in Catholic schools) would have learned Greek and known that it cannot possibly be spelled with an N? Somebody would have raised a voice against it, sooner or later? How could it go for two decades without some sort of protest against it? I mean, how would it just start happening at once? It is confusing. :confused: I should research this more, I had no idea it was systematically happening once and it makes no sense so far as to WHY would one alter the spelling and why it would it not get noticed.

[QueenCat]

Never heard or saw it with an "n" in it. Don't pronounce it with an "n" either. Didn't know others used an "n" until today. Webster's Dictionary shows dilemma.

 

Finished high school in the early '80s, in Maryland.....

Edited November 18, 2011 by CathieC

[Rhonda in TX]

I have always spelled it "dilemma". I've never even heard of it spelled with an "n". I don't remember seeing it that way. I was born in 1967 and went to PS all the way through.