rooves

[d a v e]

What's your take on the plural of 'roof'?

I think it should be "rooves", just as it is:
wives
hooves
loaves
dwarfs
lives
(i think i remember reading in Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue that it was something to do with a strong v, weak f (or something) and it also explains why we have fox/vixen (i should check this in the book really before posting so please correct me if I'm wrong ).

But, there seems to be a change towards dwarfs, roofs - maybe because it sounds easier on the ear - so not sure which to plump for as i'm going through some copy for a roofing company (New Zealand) and i would rather opt for the more casual interpretation rather than the forcefully strict version.

Comments?

[gpuss]

I don't think I've ever seen rooves printed; I've always seen and written roofs. Maybe it's different in NZ. Iv wee spelt evry werd exactly az it wuz prunawnsed, well ... we'd be out of a job!