A Goodreads user
asked:
What's up with "coöperate" always being spelled like that!? It's driving me nuts every time I see it in this damn book!! Umlaut, diaeresis, I DON'T CARE, it shouldn't be in a book published in 2014! I'm sure New Yorker had some stupid style rules back in the 50s & 60s. But it's ridiculous that wasn't edited out for the 2014 edition. It just comes across as pretentious, unnecessary and DISTRACTING as hell.
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Reyner Banham
The New Yorker still uses diaeresis over most dipthongs. It's intended to indicate that the second vowel forms a second syllable. And it's tradition. I, for one, kind of like it.
Nemr Kanafani
I also find it pretentious! But at least I now know that is a dying tradition rather than a new trend ;)
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