Steve Fischer's Random Blog

To Sync or not to Synch

Written by

fish1964

in

,

Those that know me, know that I can be a grammar nerd. Poor writing really annoys me, and these days poor writing can be found everywhere.

So I was reading a Krugman blog this morning (and Krugman writes well, whether you like him or not) and he discussed economies moving in “synch”. I hate that spelling. It just looks wrong. I prefer “sync”. But I’d never looked up if either is actually correct. I have a colleague who consistently uses “synch” and it consistently bugs me but I can’t say anything unless I’m actually right.

Alas, both appear to be acceptable. “Sync” seems generally preferred and slightly more used. Google has come down squarely on the side of “sync” (gmail’s spell checker considers “synch” incorrect). But many folks as nerdy as me make the case for “synch”. Argh.

So I am left unsatisfied. Go ahead, synch away. But don’t get me started about double spacing…

Comments

2 responses to “To Sync or not to Synch”

  1. garyduanecox Avatar
    garyduanecox

    Language is changing so rapidly these days that it is pointless to hold out for this or that spelling of anything. Language is what we make it as we use it, and correctness is defined by the majority. What bothers me is the use of “synchronize” to mean “coordinate”. When you synchronize things, you should be getting them to operate at the same time (‘syn’ = together, ‘chron’ = time), but that’s no longer what it means. For years I was confused when various apps asked me to “synchronize” them with each other, when what they meant was getting them to work together but not necessarily at the same time. But there’s nothing I can do about it, the meaning of the word has changed. As far as “sync” vs “synch” is concerned, I guess I prefer the former, as you do, and I suspect that’s still the majority usage.

    Reply
  2. me Avatar
    me

    i like double-spacing after a period. you may begin…

    Reply

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