Gaol or jail?

[Kieran00001]

I have noticed that quite a few posters on here use the archaic spelling "gaol" instead of the current spelling "jail" as has been used in every English speaking country for at least 100 years.  Why is a Middle English spelling still being found in use among expats?

[The manic]

Its still current usage. 

[Peterw42]

Up until 10-20 years ago it was Australian English to use the word Gaol, I was taught Gaol at school. Jail become the accepted spelling but Gaol is still used. The Australian Maquarie Dictionary says the following,

 

Q: What does the Macquarie Dictionary say?
A: Both are accepted – but “jail” is preferred. It admits that “in general, the spelling of this word has shifted in Australian English from gaol to jail”. However, it goes on to add that, “gaol remains fossilised in the names of jails, as Parramatta Gaol, and in some government/legal usage”.

[Kieran00001]

21 minutes ago, The manic said:

Its still current usage. 

 

Gaol, previously gayhole, and jail, previously jaile, coexisted in the UK since the middle ages, gaol looked like it was going to win at one point but obviously jail took the lead at some point and is the accepted spelling.  Of this there is no doubt, the dictionaries prescribe the latter, governments use the latter, the only folk using the former are old folk and expats.

 

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=jail%2Cgaol&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=18&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cjail%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cgaol%3B%2Cc0

Edited December 4, 2017 by Kieran00001

[The manic]

47 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Gaol, previously gayhole, and jail, previously jaile, coexisted in the UK since the middle ages, gaol looked like it was going to win at one point but obviously jail took the lead at some point and is the accepted spelling.  Of this there is no doubt, the dictionaries prescribe the latter, governments use the latter, the only folk using the former are old folk and expats.

 

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=jail%2Cgaol&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=18&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cjail%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cgaol%3B%2Cc0

And major newspapers. If we removed all middle English words from our language and Hindu and Scandinavian and latinate (romance) languages and Saxon etc etc we would have no language left. English is a a polyglot, eclectic language. Next you will be suggesting we spell through as thru and call football soccer!

[Kieran00001]

47 minutes ago, The manic said:

And major newspapers. If we removed all middle English words from our language and Hindu and Scandinavian and latinate (romance) languages and Saxon etc etc we would have no language left. English is a a polyglot, eclectic language. Next you will be suggesting we spell through as thru and call football soccer!

 

Why on earth would we remove things that have not been replaced?  That would be the parable, we did not remove all words for prisons, just the one poorly spelled archaic version leaving the easy to pronounce version as established in the 1600's.

But we might want to drop the gh's ph's and the like, at least all the ones added a hundred odd years ago by a fool who thought it would make English look more sophisticated.

[rott]

Do you have a name for this fool?

[Kieran00001]

22 minutes ago, rott said:

Do you have a name for this fool?

 

No, there were actually lots of these fools and they adjusted spellings badly from the 16th century on. 

 

Variation in the spelling of particular words is due to two main factors.

During the early modern period numerous words were respelt according to their true or (occasionally) false Latin etymologies; this tendency began in late Middle English but gathered strength in our period. In some of these words the pronunciation has been adjusted to conform to the spelling, while others have not (hence the existence of ‘silent’ consonants). Examples:

Examples include

anchor (Middle English, anker)

author (Middle English, autour; Latin, auctor)

doubt (Middle English, doute)

fault (Middle English, faute)

nephew (Middle English, neuew)

 

http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-time/early-modern-english-pronunciation-and-spelling/

[rott]

I think the use and acceptance of could of/should of/would of and the like plus a general inability to spell is a greater threat to the English language.

 

I had always taken Jail to be an example of Americanised babying down of the language. Right or wrong I do not know but seemingly inevitable.

 

Anyone seen a correctly used apostrophe lately? Anyone know anyone who would know the difference?