consulting dictionary com i could find publically accepted by only one authority wordnet whereas r le is accepted by dictionary com unabridged v the american heritage dictionary of the english language fourth edition the kernerman english multilingual dictionary wherein it is listed as the primary spelling the american heritage stedman s medical dictionary and merriam webster s medical dictionary therefore i don t think that they re comparable r le is the original spelling and remains perfectly standard to this day diacritical and other supra ascii spellings are often omitted in typed text but that can in a great many perhaps the majority of situations be explained by the effort that must be invested in order to insert the necessary character s using a basic keyboard whether you believe as i and do that the r le spelling ought to be retained or you believe as and do that the role spelling ought to be used instead i m sure we can all agree that consistency is necessary the word role occurs once later in the article i m going to change it to r le whether role or r le is chosen both ought to match