Why is there an 'h' in ghost? William Caxton, inventor of the printing press and his Flemish employees are to blame: without a dictionary or style guide to hand in fifteenth century Bruges, the typesetters simply spelled it the way it sounded to their foreign ears, and it stuck. Seventy-five per cent of English spelling is regular but twenty-five per cent is complicated, and in Spell It Out, our foremost linguistics expert David Crystal extends a helping hand to the confused and curious alike. He unearths the stories behind the rogue words that confound us, and explains why these peculiarities entered the mainstream, in an epic journey taking in sixth century monks, French and Latin upstarts, the Industrial Revolution and the internet. By learning the history and the principles, Crystal shows how the spellings that break all the rules become easier to get right.
Spell It Out
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'Entertaining ... Crystal's many examples show that the development of English spelling is as random, unsystematic and anomalous as the British constitution. English spelling is as rich a mixture of anachronism, privilege and fashion as the House of Lords' -- Sunday Times
'Highly entertaining' --Observer
'Highly entertaining' --Observer
Book Description
An enlightening tour of English spelling that untangles 'stationery' from 'stationary' - and explains why the 'i before e except after c' rule is so misleading
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A comprehensive account of the development of English spelling over the past thousand years that explains exactly what happened and why. A key text for anyone teaching English, and of great interest to anyone who ever wondered why it is as it is. Brilliant scholarship, clear explanation - a very important book indeed, in fact one of the most important ever written about the English language.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Big Jim
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition
OK it's not totally the fault of the French, but 1066 had a lot to do with how English spelling has evolved over time as have many other languages. Linguist David Crystal explores the evolution of English spelling in a remarkably easy to follow fashion with good humour and loads of examples and anecdotes. My one criticism is that inevitably, given the size of the task, this is quite a short volume and the bibliography for further reading is a tad sparse as well, so if you are already "into" language and spelling I'm not sure there is much that will be new to you here but for the casual reader this is a good introduction to the subject and is well worth a dip.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When Professor David Crystal's new book "Spell It Out: the Singular Story of English Spelling" came out on 6 September 2012, a few weeks later it was a bestseller on Amazon, ahead of the erotic trilogy "The Fifty Shades of Grey". Cooking. Spelling. Sex. That was the order. English spelling sexier than sex! Could it have ever occurred to the Anglo-Saxon bards that we would come to this?
"Spell It Out" is more than a reader-friendly, comprehensible and comprehensive story of the history and evolvement of English spelling - Professor Crystal gives practical advice in Teaching Appendix as well as throughout the book. Memorising random lists of difficult words is not the solution as practice over ages has shown. The author believes and demonstrates that we need a linguistic take on getting to know the system which is not as bizarre and unassailable as popularly condemned; explaining is key, so is acquainting children with basic etymology at an early age. Professor Crystal is brilliantly convincing: "The story of the English writing system is so intriguing, and the histories behind individual words so fascinating, that anyone who dares to treat spelling as an adventure will find the journey rewarding."
In "Spell It Out", the many shades of English spelling are accurately examined, exposed, and entertainingly explained. And who but David Crystal could make English spelling more appealing and seductive a subject than "the office between the sheets"!
How many stars for this book? As many as there are spelling rules (and exceptions) in English!
For my full review see HuffPost UK Culture blog.
"Spell It Out" is more than a reader-friendly, comprehensible and comprehensive story of the history and evolvement of English spelling - Professor Crystal gives practical advice in Teaching Appendix as well as throughout the book. Memorising random lists of difficult words is not the solution as practice over ages has shown. The author believes and demonstrates that we need a linguistic take on getting to know the system which is not as bizarre and unassailable as popularly condemned; explaining is key, so is acquainting children with basic etymology at an early age. Professor Crystal is brilliantly convincing: "The story of the English writing system is so intriguing, and the histories behind individual words so fascinating, that anyone who dares to treat spelling as an adventure will find the journey rewarding."
In "Spell It Out", the many shades of English spelling are accurately examined, exposed, and entertainingly explained. And who but David Crystal could make English spelling more appealing and seductive a subject than "the office between the sheets"!
How many stars for this book? As many as there are spelling rules (and exceptions) in English!
For my full review see HuffPost UK Culture blog.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
Like all his books, this is a fascinating read from cover to cover. Also a useful resource to dip into from time to time. Marvellous.
Published 7 days ago by SB
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as his other works
I suppose I should've realised, that being such a specific topic, this might get a big bogged down. It did.
It really is a very detailed study. Read more
It really is a very detailed study. Read more
Published 24 days ago by AgentMulderUK
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling
An absolutely fascinating read from cover to cover. A must for anyone that's interested in our beautiful language and how it evolved.
Published 29 days ago by Mr. James W. Griffiths
3.0 out of 5 stars
Can you spell "ghoti"?
This is a thorough, but also rather dry account of the history of English spelling. At times, the author takes the subject matter and himself a tad too seriously. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr Dombo
5.0 out of 5 stars
David Crystal is the man
If you're at all interested in why English spelling is so peculiar and difficult then this is the book for you.
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. S. J. Bradley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommend.
If you're a bit of a sucker for etymology like me, then this book is definitely worth a read. Informal, informative and fascinating all in one - you won't look at double consonants... Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Barnett
3.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe for the academic.
Found it very interesting at first but become bored and didn's finish it. Those who are interested in an in depth history in the development of the english language and its... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr K Catlow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good
A very useful book. I loaned this to a friend who is writing a book and he found it really good.
Published 3 months ago by Kate
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tout comprendre n'est pas tout rappeler!
Professor Crystal shows us that there are EXPLANATIONS for the bewildering variety of English spelling, but at the end I felt like adapting a French proverb: "tout comprendre n'est... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ralph Blumenau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spell It Out
Loved this it answered questions I didn't even know I was asking about our wonderful language. Its a good book to dip in and out of.
Published 4 months ago by DolyDesign
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