Spelling guidelines
11. -ist, -istic, -ic and -ical
These are troublesome suffixes for Dutch users of English. The main problems relate to differences
in meaning and in frequency, and there is also a contrastive problem.
The first problem relates to -ist and -istic. In Dutch -ist is a noun suffix: Marxist, kapitalist etc. But
in English it is both a noun and an adjectival suffix, so that alongside he is a Marxist/capitalist you
have Marxist tendencies, capitalist plot etc. Many Dutch writers will nevertheless translate words ending
in -istisch by words ending in -istic in English, even when it is not necessary.
The forms Marxistic and capitalistic do indeed exist but they are less frequent than Marxist and
capitalist. Moreover, there may even be a slight difference in meaning between the two forms, with
for example Marxistic being slightly less Marxist than Marxist. The idea is that the addition of the
further suffix with the meaning of ‘resembling’ reduces the force of the expression.
On top of this, there can be stronger differences in meaning when the -ist and -istic options in principle
exist alongside each other. These differences may be reflected in how the words are used. For example,
nationalist means roughly ‘believing in nationalism’ and mainly occurs attributively, with nouns like
movement, party and beliefs. By contrast, nationalistic means ‘having great love for one’s country’ or
even ‘fanatically patriotic’ and is often used predicatively: one might say of an individual he
is very nationalistic, but not 
he is very nationalist.
Then there is the distinction between -ic and -ical. First of all there are adjectives that only
allow one of the two suffixes:
| specific | |
| athletic | |
| sceptical | |
| critical | |
| logical |
In some cases there is an option:
| genetic | genetical | |
| logistic | logistical | |
| problematic | problematical |
One form is usually more frequent than the other; for instance, genetic is much more common than genetical, and is the form used in set expressions such as genetic code and genetic engineering. There may also be a stylistic difference; for instance, problematical is more formal while problematic is stylistically neutral. If in doubt about the form to choose, consult a dictionary and choose the first option given.
The outcome of all this is that you really have to commit all the frequent -ist, -istic, -ic and -ical adjectives to memory. Here is a short list of words from our essay collection which were spelled wrongly or with the less common form:
| authentical | should read | authentic |
| etymologic | should read | etymological |
| linguistical | should read | linguistic |
| scientifical | should read | scientific |
| sociologic | should read | sociological |
| syntactical | should read | syntactic |
| touristic | should read | tourist |
Finally, there are a number of well-known adjectives ending in both -ic and -ical but with a very distinct difference in meaning:
classic/classical
Both these words have a number of meanings. Classic first of all means ‘archetypal’; common expressions are a classic case, a classic illustration and a classic example (‘schoolvoorbeeld’). It is also used to describe things of great quality, such that they have become the archetype; examples are a classic analysis and the classic works of art. Finally, in expressions like a classic design and a classic style it means ‘simple and attractive’.
By contrast, the main meaning of classical is ‘relating to ancient Greek and Roman civilization’, as in classical mythology. Further, classical is of course used in the expression classical music.
economic/economical
The word economic means simply ‘concerning the economy’, whilst economical means ‘not wasteful’:
| economic decisions | → | economische besluiten | |
| an economical style | → | een geserreerde stijl |
electric/electrical
The difference between electric and electrical is a subtle one. If a specific machine works on electricity, then one says that it is electric. However, if one is talking about machines in general that work on electricity, or wishes to describe something in general as having to do with electricity, then one uses electrical.
| an electric fire | → | een elektrische haard | |
| electrical appliances | → | elektrische apparatuur | |
| an electrical fault | → | een elektrische fout | |
| an electrical engineer | → | een elektrisch ingenieur |
Note also that electric, but not electrical, has the additional meaning of ‘very exciting’.
graphic/graphical
The pair graphic/graphical is a special case because the two words are partly synonymous and partly not. While graphic has two basic meanings, namely ‘vivid’ and ‘related to writing’, graphical has only the latter:
| a graphic description | → | een levendige beschrijving | |
| graphic(al) symbols | → | grafische symbolen |
Note also that graphic is the more common of the two forms.
historic/historical
The word historic means ‘very important’ or ‘famous’ from the point of view of history. If you say that someone has scored a historic victory (‘een historische overwinning’) then you see the victory as very important when seen in the context of other relevant victories. The word historical, on the other hand, means simply ‘concerning history’. Thus the expression historical events refers to events in history, while historic events refers to very important events.
politic/political
The word political means simply ‘related to politics’, while politic is used to refer to someone’s actions or words that are prudent and seen to be to that person’s advantage. Thus a politic choice is a prudent or shrewd choice, while a political choice is a choice motivated by political considerations.