Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling

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Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling Page 21

by David Wolman


  Carnegie, Andrew, 4, 98, 100, 112–14, 117, 119–20

  Catholic Church, 19–20, 28–29, 34–35, 41, 104. See also Christianity; Latin

  Cawdrey, Robert, 76

  Caxton, William, 38, 46–49, 47n, 50–51

  Chaucer, Geoffrey, 31–33, 37, 43–45, 51, 64, 66, 69

  Cheke, John, 61

  Chinese language, 40, 145

  Christianity, 106. See also Catholic Church

  Clairborne, Robert, 186

  Collegiate New World Dictionary (Merriam-Webster), 71, 82, 83

  Colloquy (ÁElfric), 23–24, 53

  A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language (Webster), 13, 89

  compositor, 43–45

  constructed language, 105

  Cook, Vivian, 29n

  Correct English, 24

  Crystal, David, 17–18, 67–69

  on compositors, 45

  on digital English, 181

  on Internet spelling, 178

  on Wessex dialect, 21, 25

  Cut Spelng, 134

  cyberspace, 174, 181–85

  Danish language, 22, 27n, 50n, 86

  Darwin, Charles, 5, 105

  Defoe, Daniel, 72–73

  descriptivism, 66–67, 95

  Desert Alphabet, 102–4

  Dewey, Melvil, 4, 98–100, 106–8, 110–12, 111n. See also Simplified Spelling Board

  A Dictionary of the English Language (Johnson), 76–79

  digital lexicon, 165–67, 181

  Dryden, John, 64

  Dudley, Arthur, 167

  Dutch language, 37, 45, 49, 63, 86, 145

  absorbed into English, 92

  dyslexia, 142–43, 147–50

  Earnest, Les, 156–59, 170

  spelling checker of, 160–62

  East Midlands dialect, 26, 33–37

  Ebonics, 69–70

  The Elementarie (Mulcaster), 62

  The Elementary Spelling Book (Webster), 84

  The Elements of Style (Strunk and White), 67

  English language, 24, 34–35, 45–46, 64. See also American English

  Alfred’s revival of, 20–22

  class system via, 53, 73, 86

  in cyberspace, 174, 181–85

  digital, 165–67, 181

  dyslexia v., 142–43, 146–50

  French in, 26–28, 27n, 29n, 30, 37, 56, 92

  Internet’s impact on, 181–85

  Latin v., 34–35

  Middle, 29–31, 35–37, 54–58

  as power issue, 90–91

  texting, 178–81

  vernacular, 69–70

  Esperanto, 104

  Feynman, Richard, 123

  Finnish language, 145

  First Folio (Shakespeare), 60

  Fleet Street, 75

  font, 43

  Franklin, Benjamin, 86–87

  French language, 26–28, 37, 56, 92. See also Norman invasion

  dominance reflected via, 29, 34

  L’Académie Française, 63–64

  Old, 22, 27n, 29–30, 29n

  Frith, Uta, 139, 141, 149, 155

  Funke, Charles Earle, 55n

  Fust, Johann, 40, 40n

  Germanic languages, 14–16. See also Old English

  German language, 63, 145

  Gil, Alexander, 57, 61–62

  Gilder, Richard Watson, 4

  Google, 82, 172–75

  public’s role in, 176–78

  Gove, Phillip Babcock, 162–63

  Great Vowel Shift, 50–51

  Greek language, 54–56, 145

  Gulliver’s Travels (Swift), 73–74

  Gustafson, Thomas, 96

  Gutenberg, Johannes, 38–39, 84

  Gutt, Tobi, 156

  Harold (king), 27–28

  Hart, John, 58–60, 62

  Hebrew alphabet, 102

  Hindi language, 56

  homophone, 59, 169

  Houghton Mifflin Company, 163–64

  digital lexicon of, 165–67

  Hyde Abbey, 21–22, 25

  hyphen, 70

  instinctual spelling, 183

  Internet, 174, 184–85. See also language

  language v., 178

  Italian language, 63, 145

  Jackson, Andrew, 95

  Jefferson, Thomas, 131

  Johnson, Samuel, 75–76, 78–79, 184

  Jordan, David Starr, 4, 7

  Kucera, 170–71

  Kuizenga, Elizabeth, 124–25, 128, 134

  language, 56, 105, 106, 144–45, 181–85. See also specific language

  British class system via, 53, 73, 86

  digital, 165–67, 181

  as power issue, 90–91

  Latin, 28–29, 30, 37, 54–55, 55n. See also Catholic Church

  English v., 34–35, 34n

  Latino Sine Flexione, 104

  Latre, Guido, 42, 44

  learning deficit, 149–50. See also dyslexia

  Lefèvre, Raoul, 46, 53

  Lepore, Jill, 87, 90–91, 95

  Le recoeil des histoires de Troyes (Lefèvre), 46, 53

  Lerer, Seth, 29–30

  lexicon

  digital, 165–67, 181

  globalization of, 56, 106

  silent letters added to, 55

  libraries, 98–99

  Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, 151, 153

  literacy, 73, 106

  loanwords, 79

  Lowe, Jim, 82–83

  Mahoney, Roberta, 135

  Manning, Emma, 136–38

  Mencken, H. L., 5, 118, 120

  on Webster, 96n

  Merriam-Webster, Inc., 71, 80–83, 162, 182

  Microsoft Speller, 168–69

  Middle English, 29–31, 35–37, 54–58

  MORE spelling system, 134

  Mormons, 102–4

  Morse, John, 80–83, 181–82

  on Webster, 86

  Mulcaster, Richard, 52, 62

  Müller, Max, 106

  Murray, J. A. H., 5

  Murray, James, 105

  Native American words, 91–92

  Norman invasion, 26–28, 27n, 29n, 37

  Norvig, Peter, 173–74, 176

  Norwegian language, 50n

  Nunberg, Geoffrey, 67

  O’Dorney, Evan, 131–33

  OED. See Oxford English Dictionary

  Old English, 15–16, 19, 20, 31

  Dutch/Latin in, 37

  misspelling v., 23

  Old French, 22, 27n, 29–30, 29n

  Old Norman, 27n

  “On Academics” (Defoe), 72–73

  Origin of Species (Darwin), 5, 105

  orthography, 2, 2n, 41, 97, 101, 138. See also spelling

  Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 5, 57, 82, 105, 163, 184

  Oxford University, 30, 33, 60

  Parton, James, 163

  phonemes, 143–44

  phonetics, 20, 31, 58–60, 62

  Plantin-Moretus Museum, 42

  Plantin Press, 43–46

  prescriptivism, 66–67, 82

  printing industry, 43–46, 52–53, 75

  Queen’s English, 60, 66. See also Standard English

  reading, 141–43, 145–46

  Richard II (king), 30

  RITE spelling system, 134

  Robinson Crusoe (Defoe), 72–73

  Romans, 14, 21. See also Latin

  Roosevelt, Theodore, 4, 114–17, 122

  Royal Society (England), 64

  Scandinavian people, 27n. See also Danish language

  A Scheme for a New Alphabet and Reformed Mode of Spelling (Franklin), 87

  Schleyer, Johann Martin, 104

  scribes, 30–31

  Scripps National Spelling Bee, 123–28, 129–33, 136–38

  scriptoriums, 19–20, 30–31, 41

  Shakespeare, William, 60, 65–66, 69, 79

  Shaw, George Bernard, 5, 121

  sign language, 90–91

  silent letters, 55

  Simplified Spelling Board, 4, 100, 109�
��11, 119, 122

  Carnegie endorses, 112–14

  Roosevelt endorses, 114–17

  Simplified Spelling Society, 127

  Spanish language, 56, 92, 145

  spell-check software, 160–62, 167–69, 174–76

  spelling, 2, 2n, 30–31, 43–46, 59, 183. See also orthography; phonetics

  Caxton’s policy for, 49

  creative, 144

  early standardization of, 23–24

  Google’s, 82, 172–75, 176–78

  notion of, 29–30

  for sophistication, 54–55

  spelling guides, 73

  spelling reform, 3–4, 6–7, 63, 87, 102–4. See also Simplified Spelling Board

  Middle English, 54–58

  Webster’s, 84, 87–89, 90–91

  spoonerism, 140

  squint, 36–37

  Standard English, 24, 51, 66

  Johnson on, 75–76

  polite speech of, 60, 131

  social class via, 53, 73, 86

  Swift on, 73–74

  St. Mary’s of Lutterworth Church, 34, 36–37

  Strunk, William, Jr., 67

  Swift, Jonathan, 73–74

  A Table Alphabetical (Cawdrey), 76

  Tamil language, 56

  Tennyson, Alfred, 5

  texting, 178–81

  Thaler, Russ, 128

  Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (Merriam-Webster), 162

  thorn (letter of alphabet), 50

  Tower of Babel, 104

  Travis, Timothy, 133

  Treatise on the Astrolabe (Chaucer), 32

  Turkish language, 56

  Twain, Mark, 5, 46, 87

  typesetters, 44

  uppercase/lowercase, 43

  Vikings, 21, 27–28

  Virgil, 38

  Volapük, 104

  Waldman, Naill, 126–27

  Watt, George D., 103

  Webster, Noah, 82, 85–86, 183, 184

  dictionaries by, 5, 13, 89–90, 92–97, 96n, 101

  spelling reform by, 84, 87–89, 90–91

  Wessex dialect, 17, 18, 21, 25

  Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, 1–3, 6–7, 67, 183

  White, E. B., 67

  Wikipedia, 182

  William the Conqueror (king), 26–28, 27n, 29n, 37

  Wycliffe, John, 26, 36–37

  Bible translation by, 34–35

  yogh (letter of alphabet), 50

  Young, Brigham, 102–3

  Zamenhof, L. L., 104

  About the Author

  DAVID WOLMAN is the author of A Left-Hand Turn Around the World and writes for magazines such as Wired, Newsweek, Outside, National Geographic Traveler, and New Scientist. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

  WWW.RIGHTINGTHEMOTHERTONGUE.COM

  WWW.DAVID-WOLMAN.COM

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  Credits

  Jacket design by Evan Gaffney Design

  Copyright

  RIGHTING THE MOTHER TONGUE. Copyright © 2008 by David Wolman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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  *Although spelling is a decent synonym for orthography, the technical definition of orthography is the entire writing system of a language, including not just spelling but also punctuation and capitalization.

  * Not all the invaders would have taken this northwesterly route. Some arrived in the south, others to the east.

  *I’m casually interchanging “French” with “Norman.” The muddier truth of the matter is that there was Old Norman, Old French, and Anglo-Norman, not to mention other regional dialects, let alone the fact that the Normans were themselves of Scandinavian descent.

  † William had at one time been promised the throne of England.

  * Linguist Vivian Cook points out that “French spoken in England after the Norman Conquest (1066) came from Normandy rather than Paris. Hence English often has pairs of words from both sources, for example the Anglo-Norman ‘w’ versus the Parisian ‘g.’” Consider: ward/guard, warden/guardian, and wile/guile. (Vivian Cook, Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary: Or Why Can’t Anybody Spell? p. 6)

  * Despite the death of so many clergy due to the plague, Latin had held on as the language of God and the Bible.

  * The expression comes from court records from the Fust lawsuit.

  * He was probably born in the English town of Tenterden, although the town’s only noticeable tribute to the father of English-language printing is an unimpressive pub called The William Caxton.

  * Thorn was the last of the Old English holdouts. Eth, which looks like this, , or this, , was gone by the fourteenth century. Ash (? or æ), as in ?lfric, is still used in languages like Norwegian and Danish, and we can still see it, or its shadow, in the British spelling of mediaeval( mediæval ) and archaeology ( archæology ).

  * Island has had an especially stormy history. Over the last millennium, it has been spelled: iland, ealond, illond, yland, islelanders, and, finally, island. The story of aisle is even more labyrinthine. With full credit to author Charles Earle Funke, it goes something like this: Originally from the Latin, ala, and then French, ele, for a passageway, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries English writers and printers began spelling it ile. But back then this was often how people spelled today’s isle, as in “Gilligan’s Isle.” When ile as in landmass surrounded by water was dressed up into isle, the word meaning passageway got dressed up, too—isle. To try and remedy this confusion, eighteenth-century writers borrowed ana from French ( ele had by then evolved into aile in France), but that created a new set of headaches because of the French allée, or alley. So the next and final fix was to just keep adding to the concoction, this time with an s. Voilà: aisle. (Charles Earle Funk, Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins, p. 8.)

  * All of these renaissance men, almost by definition, have hyper-hyphenated descriptors. No high-society figure back then was just a poet, just a pundit, or just a translator.

  * When looking at word innovation, linguists distinguish between word and lexeme, which is the base of a word. Take, took, taken, takes, and taking are all forms of the single lexeme, take. Shakespeare created more than 2,000 lexemes, possibly many more. (David Crystal personal interview, September 2007.)

  * In 1950, a National Spelling Bee contestant was dinged for spelling supercede, only to be allow
ed back into the match after the judges conferred and decided that both supercede and supersede are acceptable spellings. (James Maguire, American Bee, p. 78)

  * Taxicab is in fact a double contraction, from the French, taximeter cabriolet (Charles Earle Funk, Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins, p. 50).

  * Titles back then were not short. The full title of Johnson’s epic work is: A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words Are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in Their Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers. To Which Are Prefixed a History of the Language and an English Grammar.

 

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