The Battle for the s

GeneralJeff7

In Simplified: Is there a pattern for which stroke determines the s used between two strokes?  The way decision is written would suggest that a sh, ch, or j wins out against a preceding d or t.  But that hypothesis is torn asunder by disjoin.  The way design is written would suggest that a d or t wins out against a following n or m.  To my dismay, however, the way the word dismay is written would suggest otherwise.  I have one more example to discuss.  The way the word discuss is written would suggest that a d or t takes precedence over a following k or g.  But then along comes desecrate!


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  1. There are a few things in Gregg that seem either arbitrary or excessively complicated to me (e.g inclusion/exclusion of vowels),  but these examples at least seem to fit straightforward rules. Here it depends whether the 's' is part of the prefix.

    de-cision

    dis-join

    de-sign

    dis-may

    dis-cuss

    1. Exactly. "Dis" (as d-left s) is a prefix, so the s is part of it.

      However, we change the s in words like "disagree"and "dissatisfy" to be able to write them.

      1. Yes. In Simplified, dest- and dist- are written the same, with the left s.

        Part of the reason is the elimination of the destr-/distr- word beginning in Simplified. This was represented as a disjoined d-left s.

  2. I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this. In Simplified, both "distract" and "destruct" are written exactly the same, with the left s. So the rule is not always consistently applied (more than likely in this case, it is to avoid hesitation from part of the writer in deciding which s is correct). I would have made a distinction though, especially in the case where confusion could occur, as in "The general will distract the enemy." vs. "The general will destruct the enemy.".

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