thedarkfly ,

You know, they've got a very valid point. Language is spoken before it is written and it changes with time. I've got the opinion that orthography should be subordinate to pronunciation. If 'then' and 'than', historically pronounced differently, become homophone, they could be written the same.

I'm tired of English and French orthographies being so conservative, writing words like they were pronounced hundreds of years ago...

Schal330 ,

But a differentiation is needed in this scenario. "Then" suggests a continuation, while "Than" suggests an alternative.

"I'd rather eat cake than have a pineapple up the bum"
"I'd rather eat cake then have a pineapple up the bum"

I don't know about you but I wouldn't be saying the second sentence verbally.

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