Why double L in travelling?

The Double L in Travelling: A Short Vowel’s Journey

Why do we double the ‘l’ in ‘travelling’ but not in ‘sailing’? The seemingly arbitrary doubling of consonants in English often trips up writers, and the case of ‘travel’ versus ‘sail’ highlights a key distinction in how suffixes interact with vowel sounds. The secret lies in the length of the vowel preceding the consonant.

In ‘travel’, the ‘a’ is a short vowel sound, like the ‘a’ in ‘apple’. When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, like ‘-ing’, ‘-ed’, or ‘-er’, to a word with a short vowel sound preceding a single consonant, that consonant is doubled. This doubling preserves the short vowel sound. Imagine if we didn’t double the ‘l’: ‘traveling’. The pronunciation would likely shift, with the ‘a’ morphing into a long ‘a’ sound, as in ‘training’. The double ‘l’ acts as a barrier, preventing this vowel shift and maintaining the original short ‘a’ sound of ‘travel’.

Contrast this with ‘sail’, where the ‘ai’ represents a long vowel sound, similar to the ‘a’ in ‘rain’. Because the vowel is long, there’s no need to double the ‘l’ when adding a suffix. Adding ‘-ing’ directly to ‘sail’ creates ‘sailing’, and the long ‘a’ sound remains intact. The long vowel is strong enough to hold its own against the influence of the suffix, rendering the consonant doubling unnecessary.

This rule isn’t exclusive to ‘l’. Consider ‘hop’ (short vowel) becoming ‘hopping’ and ‘hope’ (long vowel) becoming ‘hoping’. The same principle applies: short vowel, double the consonant; long vowel, leave it be.

So, the next time you’re faced with the dilemma of a single or double consonant before a suffix, listen to the vowel. If it’s short, double up. If it’s long, carry on. The double ‘l’ in ‘travelling’ isn’t an arbitrary quirk; it’s a testament to the intricate relationship between vowels, consonants, and suffixes in the English language, a subtle but crucial element in preserving the integrity of a word’s pronunciation.