There's no doubt that they save time, at least. Any discussion of children's literature that misspells "Streatfeild" is cast into outer darkness without further consideration, no shriving time allowed. I feel almost as strongly about "minuscule". I was able to read through the Harry Potter series with equanimity largely because Rowling (who's very fond of the word) never misspelt it - or if she did, it was caught by the Bloomsbury house elves as surely as a Golden Snitch in the hand of a Gryffindor Seeker. That counts for a lot.
Yet, when it comes to "onomatopoeia" and its many variations, I'm very forgiving, feeling in my bones that to ask for more than three vowels in a row is just not English, damn it!
I'm complex, see, just like I said.
