Written words in Old English had no standardized spelling, but were spelled phonetically.
English spelling rules developed through the work of the early printers, who had to decide how particular words would be spelled in their books. It is asserted, for instance, that the spelling of "ghost" with the silent letter h was adopted by William Caxton due to the influence of Flemish spelling habits.
The word which is "merry" today was spelled in about 30 ways in written sources from the 9th to the 16th century.
Spelling of the English language only really became standardized with the publication of Dr Johnson's Dictionary in 1755.
Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras, was a French nobleman who was executed during the French Revolution. Upon reading his death sentence in 1790, he remarked to the authorities "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes".
Differences between American English and British English spelling came about mainly as the result of one man. Noah Webster (1758–1843). His American Spelling Book was the preferred English text in schools through 19th century America. Words were broken into syllables, which helped students learn pronunciation. By the end of the 19th century, it had sold 100 million.
Noah Webster's Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, a forerunner of An American Dictionary, was published in 1806. In his dictionary, he chose s over c in words like defense, changed the re to er in words like center, and dropped one of the Ls in traveler. Webster's main reason for his new spelling rules was to help children learn to read and write.
Although Webster is credited for introducing such distinctive American spellings as color and humor (for British colour and humour), many of his innovative spellings (including masheen for machine and yung for young) failed to catch on.
Pennsylvania is misspelled “Pensylvania” on the Liberty Bell, because that was one of several acceptable spellings of the name in the 18th century.
Before his execution in 1790, the Marquis de Favras, upon reading his death warrant stated, "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes."
Rudyard Kipling's Barrack Room Ballads were written in the ordinary soldiers language and slang. They featured deliberate spelling and grammar mistakes. "adn't none." and "wot makes im to perspire." It was a shot by Kipling at the convention that the standard poetic language should always be used.
The last name of How to Win Friends and Influence People author Dale Carnegie was not originally named Carnegie - in an example of how to influence people, he changed the spelling from Carnegey to resemble the name of the more influential Andrew Carnegie.
BBC radio's first quiz show, broadcast on November 25, 1937 at 5.30pm, was an inter- regional spelling competition. A one-off radio contest for children, it gave rise to a long-running quiz series, Regional Round.
George Bernard Shaw was concerned about the inconsistency of English spelling and backed the idea of a new phonemic alphabet. He illustrated his campaign for spelling reform by using the word "ghoti" as a respelling of "fish." "Gh" (f) as in cough, "o"(i) as in women, "ti" (sh) as in nation. Shaw willed a portion of his wealth aid the cause.
English spelling rules developed through the work of the early printers, who had to decide how particular words would be spelled in their books. It is asserted, for instance, that the spelling of "ghost" with the silent letter h was adopted by William Caxton due to the influence of Flemish spelling habits.
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| Caxton's 1476 edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection |
The word which is "merry" today was spelled in about 30 ways in written sources from the 9th to the 16th century.
Spelling of the English language only really became standardized with the publication of Dr Johnson's Dictionary in 1755.
Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras, was a French nobleman who was executed during the French Revolution. Upon reading his death sentence in 1790, he remarked to the authorities "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes".
Differences between American English and British English spelling came about mainly as the result of one man. Noah Webster (1758–1843). His American Spelling Book was the preferred English text in schools through 19th century America. Words were broken into syllables, which helped students learn pronunciation. By the end of the 19th century, it had sold 100 million.
Noah Webster's Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, a forerunner of An American Dictionary, was published in 1806. In his dictionary, he chose s over c in words like defense, changed the re to er in words like center, and dropped one of the Ls in traveler. Webster's main reason for his new spelling rules was to help children learn to read and write.
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| Title page of 1828 edition of the American Dictionary of the English Language By Cullen328 |
Although Webster is credited for introducing such distinctive American spellings as color and humor (for British colour and humour), many of his innovative spellings (including masheen for machine and yung for young) failed to catch on.
Pennsylvania is misspelled “Pensylvania” on the Liberty Bell, because that was one of several acceptable spellings of the name in the 18th century.
Before his execution in 1790, the Marquis de Favras, upon reading his death warrant stated, "I see that you have made three spelling mistakes."
Rudyard Kipling's Barrack Room Ballads were written in the ordinary soldiers language and slang. They featured deliberate spelling and grammar mistakes. "adn't none." and "wot makes im to perspire." It was a shot by Kipling at the convention that the standard poetic language should always be used.
The last name of How to Win Friends and Influence People author Dale Carnegie was not originally named Carnegie - in an example of how to influence people, he changed the spelling from Carnegey to resemble the name of the more influential Andrew Carnegie.
BBC radio's first quiz show, broadcast on November 25, 1937 at 5.30pm, was an inter- regional spelling competition. A one-off radio contest for children, it gave rise to a long-running quiz series, Regional Round.
George Bernard Shaw was concerned about the inconsistency of English spelling and backed the idea of a new phonemic alphabet. He illustrated his campaign for spelling reform by using the word "ghoti" as a respelling of "fish." "Gh" (f) as in cough, "o"(i) as in women, "ti" (sh) as in nation. Shaw willed a portion of his wealth aid the cause.
J.R.R. Tolkien didn't mean to change the spelling of "Dwarfs" to "Dwarves" in Lord of The Rings. He said it was a mistake that neither him nor his editors spotted.
The now-accepted spelling of "donut" did not overtake the more traditional "doughnut" in America until Dunkin Donuts stores dotted the nation a few decades ago. According to Grammarist, only one-third of American writers use "donut," with most preferring "doughnut."
In 2016, a group of hackers nearly stole $1 billion from the New York Federal Reserve but were discovered when they misspelled "foundation" as "fandation" in money request transcripts. However, they still managed to get away with $81 million.
'Misspell' is one of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language.
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| Misspelling occasions |
The most misspelled word in English is 'separate'.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".
The highest number that can be spelled out without using any letter more than once is five thousand. The next highest is eighty-four.
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