Understanding English Spelling [Paperback]

Understanding English Spelling is an engaging and well-written account of the reasons why the spelling of the English language is so peculiar. Masha Bell was born in Germany of Lithuanian parents, and when she learned English she was struck by the difficulty and irregularity of its spelling in comparison to her other languages. This remarkable book is the result of her curiosity: it is an unexpectedly good read, it displays formidable scholarship, and it makes what seems an irrefutable argument for spelling reform. The author demonstrates the size of the problem. Learning to spell the English language requires the understanding, conscious or unconscious, of ninety-odd spelling rules, but, even when these have been learned, there are well over 3600 common words whose memorising requires something in addition to phonics. Bell shows clearly the main sources of spelling difficulties. English often uses positional spelling (e.g. shop/station) and therefore has more basic spelling patterns than most other languages. Nearly all the dominant English spelling patterns have many exceptions, and, for several sounds, English has no clearly identifiable spelling patterns at all. Bell outlines lucidly the historical reasons behind the current state of English spelling, including Dr Johnson s attempt (unnecessary, as Bell suggests) to use graphology to distinguish the meaning of homophonic words. She demonstrates the common mistakes made by learners at various stages, pointing out that certain errors are still commonly found in students in higher education, and that few adults are confident of their ability to spell unfamiliar words. She suggests the costs, cognitive, emotional and even economic, of the difficulty of English spelling, and shows by example how simple changes would make a big and immediate difference: Eeven if we did no more than finish the job of deleeting the remaining redundant, decorative e at the end of words (giv, hav, liv, siv, definit) we would make lerning to reed eesier. We could eesily simplify it quite a bit mor and save much swet, menny teers and vast sums of munny into the bargain, while rasing litteracy standards at a stroke. Spelling is an educational and social issue in Britain to an extent unknown in most other European countries. As Bell suggests, reform would be almost entirely beneficial in terms of relieving disadvantage, stigma and the inferiority felt by millions of Britons. Rationally, there is little to be said against the idea: the language would recover rapidly from surgery, and its earlier face would still be readable by future generations, as Shakespeare s spelling can be read by us. What Bell does not consider, because this is not her concern, are the cultural obstacles to change. These are often expressed in terms of cultural identity and links with the past. Connected with this, though usually not expressed, are issues of class that are specifically British. Perhaps, to effect change in the spelling of English, we need first a broader cultural reform. In the meantime, Understanding English Spelling is an approachable and useful text for teachers and A level English Language students who want to understand the history and nature of the English language in its written form. --John Hodgson, 'English Drama Media' (a magazine of UK's National Association for Teachers of English) October 2006

Nearly half of all children in English-speaking countries start secondary school with very poor spelling skills. One in five has not even learned to read properly by the age of 11. Governments repeatedly spend vast sums of money in order to raise literacy levels. Yet year after year in England alone around 200,000 pupils leave school at 16 barely literate, or even completely illiterate. It is common to hold parents responsible or blame teachers for this sorry state of affairs and accuse them of using wrong approaches. But changes in teaching methods have invariably failed to bring significant improvements. Could there be another cause for these persistently disappointing results? Why are poor reading and writing skills common to all Anglo-phone countries, including the wealthiest? Learners of English are disadvantaged by a big handicap. They have to master the rules of the English spelling system and memorise thousands of words which disobey them. This book shows the size of the problem by explaing the system and setting out the 3,700 commonly used English words which diverge from it. The book also explains which difficulties are particularly troublesome and why many people are apt to misspell words like accommodation, separate and definite; or why so many of us regularly choose the wrong alternative from it's - its, there - their - they're and to - too - two.