Is 'aperature' a real word?

[Steph]

English is not my first language and I was wondering if 'aperature' was a real word. I cannot find it in my dictionnary and I thought it was spelt 'aperture' (which is in my dictionnary). Google returns many pages for 'aperature' but that does not mean the spelling is correct. Can anyone tell me for sure if the word exists or not? Thanks.


PS: this is a genuine question, not a rant about poor spelling on TPF

 

[altyfc]

It doesn't look like it.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aperature

 

[Alex_B]

To my knowledge it is not a real word.

 

[Helen B]

I have never seen that spelling in any optical textbook, nor heard anybody pronounce the word with the extra a. I have often wondered why the extra a gets added.

Best,
Helen

 

[Jamesy]

I have often wondered why the extra a gets added.

people can't spell?

 

[Alex_B]

people can't spell?

probably.

I just wonder why it is mostly the native speakers who create words like aparature, aperature and the like.

 

[Don Schaeffer]

An easy spelling mistake to make, they think the word is fancier than it is.

 

[Overread]

phonetic spelling = many people native to a language often spell a new/difficult word phonetically rather than correctly - further people are lazy with spell checkers '

 

[Alex_B]

but in the phonetics of aperture there is no a following the t.

or do i have to assume that those who misspell it, also mispronounce it? probably ...

 

[Overread]

quite probable - accent will also have a part to play too (were I to type in phonetic local suffolk if would be a very diffenent way to the way I type now)

(note I can't even speak proper local accent, its not really spoken much at all anyway - mostly conformist to the early BBC radio and TV pure upper class english )

 

[Alex_B]

quite probable - accent will also have a part to play too (were I to type in phonetic local suffolk if would be a very diffenent way to the way I type now)

(note I can't even speak proper local accent, its not really spoken much at all anyway - mostly conformist to the early BBC radio and TV pure upper class english )

I have been told I speak Glaswegian when very very drunk ... ... but there are no reports regarding my spelling in that state.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Could just be the Brits...they're always adding extra letteurs.

 

[fabric]

more a case of americans dropping them.

 

[Josh66]

more a case of americans dropping them.

We're just more efficient.

 

[freelunch]

We're just more efficient.

Or lazy.

[soapbox]

English is a difficult language. Native English speakers are lucky, it is a hard language for a foreigner to learn to speak and spell correctly.

I learned Spanish in high school. There are definite (not definate) spelling and pronunciation rules so if you see the word, then (not than) you can pronounce it and vice versa. English is one of the hardest languages to learn after, say, Mandarin or Cantonese.

My best friend never graduated high school. He spells everything phonetically. His letters (if you are lucky enough to get one) are a real adventure. The man is not stupid or unintelligent, he just can't spell. Trouble is, if he writes a letter to the editor, regardless of how brilliant his point might be, it will be disregarded because of his illiteracy.

In the age of spell checkers (there is even one on this website when you type a reply) there is no real excuse for bad spelling. It's (not its) a bad joke when I see/read people who revel in their laziness. When commentators talk about the "dumbing down" of society, these are the people to whose level we are all sinking, whether (not weather) we like it or not.

[/soapbox]