Date:  Fri, 1 Dec 1995 06:57:43 PST

From:  "//www.usa.net/~ague" <ague[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]REDRCK.ENET.DEC.COM>

Subject: Re: I before E



> Does anyone know the source of the spelling rule, "I before E except after

> C..."?

> This question came up in Michael Montgomery's response to my paper at the

> Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, where I showed that the rule is not

> very useful,

> and suggested that one spelling, "ceiling," might actually have been based on

> that rule.



Although I feel I'm a fairly acurrate speller, spelling the word "receive"

always pauses me. Each time, including this note, I have to stop and dig out

the I/E/C rule to be sure I did it right. I have no idea why I have a mental

block on this word. Do others?



-- Jim

(The spelling of accurate was a joke!!!!)