Especially vs. specially

[aleCcowaN]

I have troubles with many a pair of terms from Latin that found their way twice into the English language.

I was presented with the fact that both

I bought this especially for you

and

I bought this specially for you

are valid and (almost) equivalent, what I fail to see, as for me they seem to mean

I bought this for you and just you

and

I bought this because I know it fits your needs.

Am I right, or am I ... placing the water can far away from the proverbial flowerpot?

I welcome any help as I keep mixing up these two terms.

Is there any i before e except after c kind of rule that helps doing this? Whatever I learn regarding this I quickly unlearn by reading the way a multitude of native speakers use them in the internet.

[poli]

The words specially and especially are often synonymous. This is not always the case, and I am not sure there is a rule that says why. Here's an example: You would say, the films of Hitchcock are especially good. Sometimes I think he made "Vertigo" specially for me. You can say especially for me, but it's not as good to my ear. You would more like say, I especially like her cakes over others I have tried.

I think you are best to use especially when something stands out (destaca. Specially, while often used interchangeably with especially, specially is often used to mean something made to order or unique.

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you, poli! I like your Hitchcock example.

Yet, still very puzzling to me. I'm trying substituting both words using específicamente and particularmente, but it doesn't work all the time.

[poli]

What especially bothers me is that English is often not logical.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

What especially bothers me is that English is often not specially logical.

Would that be ok?