Re: Odd orthography

Terrence Donnelly wrote:
>
>[...]
> Do any other languages announce political or lifestyle affiliation
> merely by spelling changes?
>
Yes! In Hebrew, the words Palestine, Palestinian etc. can be written in
two ways. One (using a sin and taf, for those who know the Hebrew
alphabet) is the historical form, and is used either neutrally or,
increasingly, to imply at least slight reservation as to the extent to
which the user acknowledges or accepts the existence of a distinct
Palestinian people. The other form (using samekh and tet) is more
modern, looks more like a Hebrew transliteration of the Arabic word
Filistin, and is used mainly by those on the Israeli left who support,
to a lesser or greater degree, Palestinian national aspirations.

        Shaul Vardi