Respelling

Respelling is the practice of representing the pronunciation of a word using an alternative spelling or spelling patterns. It is used to convey how a word sounds to readers who may not know its standard spelling, or to indicate variation in pronunciation across dialects, languages, or registers. Respellings aim to approximate sound rather than preserve etymology, and they can appear in learning materials, dictionaries, or informal writing.

In lexicography and language instruction, respellings provide a practical guide to pronunciation without requiring fluency in phonetic notation. They often use familiar letter combinations to cue sounds, such as indicating American versus British pronunciations of certain words. For example, the word schedule may be shown as SKED-jool in American usage or SHED-yool in some British contexts, and route may be written as root or rawt to reflect different pronunciations. Such forms help readers predict how to say a word in a given variety of a language.

There are two main kinds of respelling: phonemic and phonetic. Phonemic respelling uses letters to signal approximate phonemes, while phonetic respelling may include more detailed cues about exact sounds, sometimes with diacritics or nonstandard spellings. Respelling is distinct from transliteration, which maps sounds from one script to another, and from formal phonetic transcription, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet, which aims for precision.

Limitations include dialect dependence, the potential to mislead about standard spelling, and insufficient precision for languages with complex sound systems.