Development of English Spelling
Old English (450 to 1100) – The alphabet was much like the Modern English alphabet, but Old English did not use the letters j, k, v, w and used q & z rarely; Old English used other letters to represent sounds in the language, including æ (called an ash); ð (the barred d) for both the voiced and voiceless “th”; a kind of z, the yogh, which represented the /g/ sound; and two other symbols for th and w. Some sounds were spelled differently that they are in Modern English (102).
Middle English (1100 to 1500) – Many words were added from French and Latin, and Norman scribes introduced a number of changes in spelling including replacing cw with qu, so Old English cwen became queen. In addition, many words spelled with o in Old English were spelled with u in Middle English.
Modern English (1500 to the present) - Spellings began to become fixed and many Greek and Latin words entered the language during this period. Also, during the 1500’s there was a Great Vowel Shift. During this period, a complex series of changes occurred in the pronunciations of the vowels. The long vowels were pronounced at a higher point in the mouth. In addition, high vowels became dipthongs and moved to a lower position (105).
American English Spelling
“Noah Webster was a patriot who wanted to create a uniquely American English language, different from the language in England” (105). He also wanted to simplify spelling. His spelling book became the first spelling textbook published in America.
Words spelled with our in England, are spelled or in America. Words with re in England are spelled er in America; Se substitutes for ce (defence, defense); ise is ize (recognize, recognize); k is dropped in words like music.
“Writing systems are designed to serve two different groups of people, readers and writers. Changes that would make writing easier would make reading more difficult, and changes that would make reading easier would make writing harder” (106). For example, languages have homonyms such as great versus grate. If both of these words were spelled the same, readers would have to use context clues to figure out which meaning the writer intended. "The variations in spellings of homonyms signal important meanings to a reader that would be lost if all words that sound the same were spelled the same way" (107). Without variations is spelling writing would be easier because you wouldn't have to remember which spelling goes with which meaning; however, this would make reading comprehension would be more difficult!”
The strongest demand on spelling system is the phonetic demand to spell a given sound consistently. The second demand comes from analogy (words that come from the same root and share the same meaning should be spelled the same). The third demand includes the idea that words should reflect their historical backgrounds. “This is the etymological demand, a force that keeps spelling consistent across time and across languages” (108).
Figure 5-1. Forces that shape English spelling (109).
| Force | Demand | Example |
| phonetic | Spell words the way they sound | sit |
| semantic | Spell words alike that share the same meaning | hymn hymnal |
| etymological | Spell words to reflect their origins | One (Old English) kangaroo (Australian) |
“Most words are spelled the way they sound… However, spellings signal meanings, not just sounds. English has many words that sound the name but have different meanings. Alternate ways of spelling a sound allow writers to show meanings through spelling” (108). “Most spellings that strike readers as unusual are the result of retaining forgein spellings of borrowed words” (109).
Spelling Rules
Freeman & Freeman states that "two things, above all else, seem to help students become better at spelling. First, they need to be doing writing that they want others to read... Second, students need to understand that the spelling system is logical and does follow rules" (112). They go on to state that "many poor spellers think that good spellers just memorize all the words" (112). As a horrible speller myself, I agree with this statement! I have always felt that great spellers just knew some great tricks that I had failed to learn or understand. As it turns out, "it does appear that good spellers develop some sort of visual image of a correct spelling" (112).
According to Freeman & Freeman, "to help students investigate how the spelling system works, teachers can involve them in activities in which they collect words and try to make generalizations about the spellings. In doing this, teachers and students take a scientific approach to spelling. Even if students don't come up with a rule that works every time, the process of collecting words, looking for spelling patterns, and trying to state generalizations helps students become more conscious of correct spellings" (112). I think this is a wonderful idea for out ELLs!
In our class discussion this week, a classmate mentioned that “Spelling books often mix different spellings of the same sounds much to the confusion of students. Grouping like spellings together is one way to reduce confusion. Students can group words together and make generalizations about their characteristics. Studying patterns helps students learn to spell. Making a list of homonyms and studying sounds is one way to develop pattern awareness. Keeping running lists of like words is an excellent technique to develop spelling proficiency, and it helps students discover more patterns overtime (p. 113).”
The Silent e Rule
The silent e rule and the consonant doubling rule are procedural rules, “rules that involve changes in spelling when adding a suffix to a root word” (p.120).
The silent e rule can be taught by:
1. “Help students visualize complex words as being made up of a root and a prefix or suffix” (p.120).
2. Have student collect examples of silent e words.
3. Question students why some words have a silent e.
The consonant doubling rule can be taught by:
1. Pair students together to discuss a list of words and why you double a final consonant before adding a suffix.
2. Tell students “final consonants are never double before a suffix that starts with a consonant” (p.125).
In English, some words are content words ("the words you put in a telegram") and some are function words (the ones that "connect and relate all the content words") (p. 122). It makes sense, then that these words have different lengths, with the content words being longer than the less essential function words.
Reference
Freeman, D. E. and Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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