Chapter 3: Spellings and Speech Sounds
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Questions and Answers

What sound does 'gh' represent in the word 'enough'?

  • A /f/ sound (correct)
  • A silent sound
  • A vowel sound
  • A /g/ sound

Spelling in Old English had many silent letters.

False (B)

Why is English spelling considered not phonemic?

Because there is no simple one-to-one correspondence between phonemes and letters.

The Roman alphabet used in English was originally from the language of _____

<p>Latin</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following Old English spelled words with their meanings:

<p>twa = two lang = long</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a basic problem with English spelling?

<p>Not enough letters to represent sounds (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

There are 40 phonemes in English but only 26 letters.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Name one letter added to the Old English alphabet from another language.

<p>thorn or eth</p> Signup and view all the answers

In English, there are about _____ vowel sounds and _____ vowel letters.

<p>20, 5</p> Signup and view all the answers

What sound do 'th' and 'eth' represent in Old English?

<p>Both /ð/ and /θ/ (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following languages contributed the word 'kamikaze' to English?

<p>Japanese (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The Great Vowel Shift primarily affected consonant pronunciation.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'khaki' is borrowed from __________.

<p>Urdu</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following countries with their contributed words:

<p>French = Colonel Latin = Necessary Greek = Pneumonia Italian = Piano</p> Signup and view all the answers

What major influence affected the spelling of many English words in the 16th and 17th centuries?

<p>Borrowing from other languages (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'digraph' refer to?

<p>Two letters used to represent one sound (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The addition of silent letters in English words was widely accepted in the 16th century.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The letter 'ash' æ was developed by combining the letters 'a' and 'e'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What phoneme does the digraph 'ea' represent in the Old English word 'eare'?

<p>ear</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was one misconception about the word 'island'?

<p>It was thought to come from the French word 'isle'.</p> Signup and view all the answers

The phoneme represented by the digraph 'cg' occurs in the Old English word '_____' 'edge'.

<p>ecg</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the 18th century, attitudes towards the English spelling system __________.

<p>changed</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did dictionaries contribute to English spelling in the 16th century?

<p>They provided an authoritative source for spelling. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What did Middle English scribes replace 'sc' with in certain words?

<p>sh (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The advent of printing was detrimental to the standardization of spellings.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What spelling convention did William Caxton promote in 1476?

<p>Standardization of spellings</p> Signup and view all the answers

The digraph 'ou' was introduced to replace the letter '_____' in Old English words like 'wund'.

<p>u</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following Old English words to their modern representations:

<p>scip = ship cwen = queen hwæt = what is = ice</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which phonetic change did Middle English scribes NOT introduce?

<p>th replacing t (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was one of the purposes of early printing in relation to spelling?

<p>To promote a standard in spelling. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The printers were completely consistent in applying spelling standards.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What influenced the addition of an 'h' in the Old English word 'gast' to become 'ghost'?

<p>Dutch spelling conventions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

The letter 'thorn' was represented by the letter _____ in early modern English.

<p>y</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following spelling behaviors to their descriptions:

<p>Adding a superfluous e = Olde Doubling consonants = Shoppe Using y instead of i = Took up more space Etymological respelling = Silent letters</p> Signup and view all the answers

What notorious feature grew from Parisian prescriptive forces in spelling?

<p>Standardized spelling (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Etymological respellings were always correct in their assumptions about word origins.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the original Old English word for 'island' before the addition of 's'?

<p>iland</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the case of the word 'debt', the letter _____ was added later as a silent letter.

<p>b</p> Signup and view all the answers

The influence of which languages led to increased interest in etymological respellings during the 16th century?

<p>Latin and Greek (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Digraph

Two letters used to represent a single sound in a language.

Phoneme

A letter used to represent a sound in a language.

Digraphs in Middle English

Pairs of letters that represent one sound in words like 'ship' and 'queen'.

Advantages of Digraphs in Middle English

The adoption of digraphs like 'ch' and 'ou' made English spelling more consistent and easier to understand.

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Inconsistent Spelling in Early English

Early English scribes used letter combinations to represent sounds, leading to inconsistencies in spelling.

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Standardization of Letters in Early English

Replacing confusing letters like 'u' with more distinct ones, such as 'O' to improve legibility.

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Standardization of Spelling in Print

The advent of printing standardized spelling by choosing one set of spelling conventions, like those used by William Caxton.

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Variety of Spellings in Early English

Early English scribes used various spelling conventions, leading to different ways to write the same word.

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Standardization of Spelling

The process of adapting spelling to make it consistent and easier to understand.

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Impact of Digraphs on Spelling Standardization

The introduction of digraphs like 'qu' and 'ch' helped to clarify sounds and promote a more consistent system of spelling.

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Phonemic Spelling

The relationship between spelling and pronunciation in a language. A phonemic spelling system has a direct one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds.

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English Spelling is Not Phonemic

The fact that English spelling does not always accurately reflect pronunciation, meaning that one letter can represent multiple sounds or vice versa.

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Letter-Sound Ambiguity

The practice of using the same letters to represent different sounds. For example, 'gh' can be silent ('light'), represent /f/ ('enough'), or /k/ ('ghost').

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Evolution of English Spelling

The historical change in English spelling that has made it less phonemic. Old English had a more direct correspondence between letters and sounds, but this has evolved over time.

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Roman Alphabet Adoption

The adoption of the Roman alphabet by English, which led to challenges in representing all the sounds of the English language.

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Lack of Letter-Sound Correspondence

English has more sounds (phonemes) than letters, creating a mismatch between the number of sounds and the number of letters to represent them.

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Old English Spelling

The historical period when English spelling was more aligned with pronunciation, with less instances of silent letters or inconsistencies.

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Silent 'g' in Old English

The historical process by which the final 'g' in words like 'long' and 'tongue' became silent in most English dialects, demonstrating how spelling lags behind pronunciation.

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Consonant Borrowings in Old English

The adoption of letters from other alphabets (like the Runic 'thorn' and the Irish Gaelic 'eth') to represent the sounds [ð] and [θ], demonstrating the early attempts to address the letter shortage in Old English.

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Historical Reasons for English Spelling Complexities

The combination of historical factors and the adoption of an alphabet designed for another language has resulted in a complex English spelling system, making it challenging to learn but fascinating to study.

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Standardisation

The process of making something uniform or consistent, especially in spelling.

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Line Justification

An early printing practice where printers would add extra letters, especially 'e' and 'e', to make words longer and visually appealing in printed texts.

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Etymological Respellings

When words are spelled with letters or letter combinations that reflect their origin in Latin or Greek languages.

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Respellings

Words that are changed to look more like their Latin or Greek origin, even if it means adding silent letters.

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Spelling Reform

A change in how words are spelled to follow a consistent pattern.

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Digraph (spelling)

The combination of two letters to represent a single sound, such as 'sh' in 'ship.'

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Etymologically Spelled Word

A word that is spelled according to its origin in a language, such as 'debt' from the Latin word 'debitum'.

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Orthography

The practice of using letters or letter combinations to represent specific sounds in a language.

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Spelling Variation

The difference in spelling between the original form of a word and its contemporary spelling.

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Language Borrowing

The process of borrowing words from other languages, often with the result of changes to spelling and pronunciation.

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Great English Borrowing Period

A period of time in English language history during the 16th and 17th centuries when many words were adopted from other languages, greatly impacting spelling and vocabulary.

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Amalgam of Spelling Systems

The tendency for English spellings to incorporate the spelling conventions of other languages (e.g., Latin 'c' for the 'k' sound, French 'ch' for the 'sh' sound)

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Spelling Standardization

The process of standardizing language, especially spelling, by adopting fixed conventions and eliminating variation. This was heavily influenced by dictionaries and printing.

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Great Vowel Shift

A significant shift in pronunciation of long vowels in English, which occurred during the 15th to 18th centuries, affecting the way we speak and spell.

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Period of Spelling Confusion

A historical period of significant variation in English spelling, influenced by borrowing and changing pronunciation.

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Role of Printing and Dictionaries

The influence of printing and dictionaries in establishing standardized spelling conventions, especially during the 1600s and 1700s.

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Spelling and Social Status

The shift in attitude towards spelling in the 18th century, with variations being seen as incorrect and a sign of low intelligence.

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Shift in Vowel Sounds

The sound of the vowel in 'set' used to be similar to the sound of the vowel in 'sweet,' but the vowel sounds shifted during the Great Vowel Shift.

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Spelling as Conformity

The period after the 18th century, characterized by a stronger focus on spelling consistency and a desire for conformity, even when those spellings did not reflect pronunciation.

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Study Notes

Chapter 3: Spellings and Speech Sounds

  • English spelling is a complex system, a blend of different spelling systems from other languages.
  • The relationship between spelling and pronunciation isn't always straightforward.
  • Early English spelling often directly mirrored pronunciation, unlike the current system.
  • The introduction of printing standardized some spellings, but not entirely.

Why English Spelling Is a Mess

  • The English alphabet is based on the Roman alphabet, which wasn't initially adequate to represent all the sounds in English.
  • English has far more phonemes (units of sound) than graphemes (letters in the writing system).
  • Adding various consonant letters (e.g., 'thorn', 'eth') and pairs of letters (digraphs) from other languages led to a less phonetic system.
  • Changes in pronunciation (Great Vowel Shift) did not correspond with spelling changes.

The Second Problem: Spelling Oddities

  • Middle English scribes, particularly the Normans, and later printers significantly deviated from the original spelling system.
  • They adapted spellings to suit French conventions and imported spellings from other languages.
  • Examples include using 'sh' instead of 'sc', 'qu' instead of 'cw', 'gh' instead of 'h,' and 'ch' instead of 'c.'
  • These changes further complicated the connection between spelling and pronunciation.

Etymological Respellings

  • Reselling words to resemble their Latin or Greek origins created new spellings with silent letters.
  • This process was influenced by the perceived prestige of Latin and Greek.
  • Incorrect etymologies were sometimes followed.

Standardization of Spellings

  • During the 15th and 18th centuries, printing and dictionaries helped fix or standardize spellings.
  • While these attempts at standardization were made, the English spelling system still reflects borrowing from other languages and inconsistencies.

The Influence of Other Languages

  • Over time, words from various languages (e.g., French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish) were incorporated into English, bringing their respective spelling conventions.
  • These borrowings contributed to the complex and sometimes unpredictable nature of English spelling.
  • Modern borrowings from languages like Urdu and Japanese are seen today in contemporary words.

The Great Vowel Shift

  • Pronunciations of long vowels underwent significant changes, but spellings did not always keep pace.
  • The spellings of words like "sweet" and "set", for example, reflect the older sounds, not necessarily how they are pronounced now.

Attempts at Spelling Reform

  • While there were attempts at spelling reform (e.g., by Noah Webster in American English), significant changes have not been embraced in British English.
  • The complexity of English spelling, coupled with ingrained habits and the social prestige of maintaining the existing spelling system, are key factors in resistance to change.

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Chapter 3: Spellings and Speech Sounds PDF

Description

Explore the complexities of English spelling and its evolving relationship with pronunciation in this quiz. Understand the historical factors that have contributed to the irregularities and oddities of the English spelling system. Gain insights into how external influences shaped current spelling practices.

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