He unearths the stories behind the rogue words that confound us, and explains why these peculiarities entered the mainstream Cataloging source StDuBDS 1941- Crystal, David Dewey number 421. Language eng Summary 75 percent of English spelling is regular but 25 percent is complicated, and in 'Spell It Out' David Crystal extends a helping hand to the confused and curious alike.

English language - Orthography and spelling.If you've ever asked yourself questions like 'Why do the words 'their', 'there' and 'they're' sound alike, but mean very different things?' or 'How can we tell the difference between 'charge' the verb and 'charge' the noun?' David Crystal's Spell It Out will spell it all out for you.Label Spell it out : the singular story of English spelling Title Spell it out Title remainder the singular story of English spelling Statement of responsibility David Crystal Creator Spell It Out: The Curious, Enthralling and Extraordinary Story of English Spelling is written by David Crystal and published by St. He looks at influences from other cultures, and explains how English speakers understood that the 'o' in 'hopping' was a short vowel, rather than the long vowel of 'hoping'. He considers the question of vowels and how people developed a way to tell whether or not it was long or short. Part of a set on spelling, phonetics, and punctuation, David Crystal explains the history of English spelling that is clear and easy to read.

He looks individually at each letter in the alphabet and its origins. David Crystal traces the development of spelling from the missionaries who came to Britain in 6 AD, to the differences between American and British English, to modern-day abbreviations, the Internet, and learning systems to help children acquire basic spelling abilities. Now, with Spell It Out, he takes on the task of answering all the questions about how we spell: 'Why is English spelling so difficult?' Or 'Why are good spellers so proud of their achievement that when they see a misspelling they condemn the writer as sloppy, lazy, or uneducated?' In thirty-seven short, engaging and informative chapters, Crystal takes readers on a history of English spelling, starting with the Roman missionaries' sixth century introduction of the Roman alphabet and ending with where the language might be going. With The Story of English in 100 Words, David Crystal took us on a tour through the history of our language. The fascinating and surprising history of English spelling from David Crystal, everyone's favorite expert logophile

Spell It Out by David Crystal