[FAR-West] It's mike, darn it

[Wil Schwall]

on 5/12/08 2:35 PM, David Gans at david at trufun.com wrote:

> All the audio professionals and publications I know of use "mic"
> (pronounced "mike") for microphone.


Okay, i had no idea i was actually provoking a "serious" discussion here.
Given that EVERYONE IS FREE TO SPELL IT AS S/HE PLEASES. I will offer my
retort.

"Mic" looks like it rhymes with "flick," or "bic," unless you're Francophone
and rhyme it with "chic." Spelling should make reading easier, not harder.
We spell "bike" and "prez" and lots of other derivatives differently from
their roots for this reason. "Cuke," for cucumber, "Coke," for Coca-Cola,
"nuke" for nuclear.
Yeah, I read all those magazines too, with mild annoyance. The 'mic'
spelling is old enough to vote, having been used first in 1961, but the
'mike' spelling has been in use since 1927 and thus has a claim to the
common usage case. I don't know why it was changed. I think magazine editors
and publishers like to screw around with spelling so they can think they are
trend setters and we all put up with it like taking off our belts and shoes
in airports. 
Also it's messy: do we also "mic the amps?" Icky. How would you say you did
it yesterday -- "I miced the amp"?
I'll continue with the traditional spelling and you are free to spell it
like illiterate journalists if it pleases you.

Enough of this.

peace,
chico