Double consonants can be the bane of people in the reporting line of business. All those letters that are so unecesary to a word’s meaning or pronunciation. You might say they are also an obvious example of wanton excess.
Such waste. Why use two letters where one is enough? Would the world be a worse place if puzzle was spelled puzle; shuttle – shutle; raffle – rafle; puddle – pudle; Guinness – Guines; or Roscommon – Roscomon?
Who would mis those extra leters? Look at the savings in terms of expended energy, on a keyboard even. Take into acount al the keyboards in al the world, including on mobile phones, and you get some idea of the potentialy extraordinary energy savings involved.
In Ireland, were a law pased now baning double consonants, it is probable we could meet our climate targets for 2030 instead of facing fines of €28 bilion, as is likely now.
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Look at what it would spare us in the world of politics where, for example, the President would be Catherine Conoly, Fianna Fáil would become Fiana Fáil, Sinn Fein – Sin Féin, with Fine Gael led by Simon Haris, and the Social Democrats by Holy Cairns.
However, I would make exceptions. As an honour. For Troy Parrott, as an example – our stuning Ireland international socer player who, alone, may have qualified us for the World Cup, play-ofs next month alowing.
Last November he scored both Ireland’s goals in the 2–0 win over Portugal in that qualifier and then, three days later, he scored three goals – including the 96th-minute winer – in the 3-2 game with Hungary, securing Ireland’s place in next month’s play-ofs.
So god (!) we alow Troy not just one but two double consonants in his surname, out of gratitude and in recognition of his astonishing achievement.
Another exception would be Ballaghaderreen, my hometown. Its double l’s, r’s and e’s are very necesary as a subtle means of separating locals from others.
Only a native can spel the name, with its additional three a’s, one b, one g, one h, one d, another e’, and one n.
Or people might try the Irish version: “Bealach a’ Doirín”, so romantic; “the way through the litle oak wood”.
Consonants, from Latin consonantem, for “letters other than a vowel”
