Is the official spelling of this Mediterranean snack, Falafel or Felafel?

Arpeggionist

Falafel with an A. Velanu yesh falafel, falafel, falafel. :) May 31 05, 8:43 AM

gmackematix

What do you mean by "official spelling"? As officiated by whom? May 31 05, 3:56 PM

Arpeggionist

Well, I assumed Author meant the most proper transliteration of the word. Since the Arabic language has no real short "e" vowel in its language, and in Hebrew the word is given a patach (the short "a" vowel), stands to reason that it would be transliterated as an A in the European alphabet. May 31 05, 4:37 PM

author

I mean: The English (or English-American) spelling according to dictionaries published in these countries. Jun 02 05, 12:10 PM

Arpeggionist

Well if the English dictionaries are spelling it "felafel" they're wrong. Jun 02 05, 4:48 PM

gmackematix

If English dictionaries are reflecting the way the word is most commonly spelt in its borrowed form then I would hardly say they are "wrong". English dictionaries are expected to list English words not best transliterations from Arabic. The Concise Oxford lists it under "felafel" with "falafel" as a variant. Jun 02 05, 5:41 PM