Hyperlink-Spelling (aka orthography) Spoken vs. written language: word form and spelling Word form Spelling (orthography) Principles of writing Syllabary Ideograms Alphabet Runes, runic alphabet, aka the futhorc IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) English spelling OE spelling Caedmon‟s Hymn Middle English spelling French influence Ormulum Chancery English Caxton and the advent of printing EModE spelling The Great Vowel Shift (GVS) Standardization of spelling ModE spelling Spelling reform; reform movements and reforms Simplification Regularization Derivational uniformity Reflection of pronunciation Indication of stress Pronunciation spellings Hyphenation Individual words The New Spelling Language planning and policy Authorities (dictionaries, manuals of usage) Spellers Dictionaries Manuals of usage Spelling pronunciations Scottish English Non-standard spelling Archaisms Nonce and advertising spellings Literary practices Dialect spellings Eye dialect Literary comedians Texting literature Informal spellings Word formation, borrowing, and spelling Acronyms Borrowings Clippings
Hyperlink-Spelling (aka orthography) Spoken vs. written language Word form Spelling (orthography) (Principles of writing) (Rules of English spelling) (Historical practice) (Present-Day practice)
Spoken vs. written language is a contrast which reflects two aspects of the same phenomenon. The spoken language is primary in the sense that it is learned before the written language is. Indeed, speakers of a language can be fluent and creative users of the language without necessarily being literate at all. Furthermore, numerous languages spoken in today‟s world do not have a writing system. The written language is, in the sense just mentioned, secondary, but it is not just a reflection of the spoken language from which is somehow abstracted. It relies on different ways of expressing the distinctions which speech makes by means of tempo, pitch, intonation, and stress, but it cannot replicate them fully, just as it cannot reflect the voice quality of the individual speaker. On the other hand, handwriting, too, in very individual and cannot be copied by speech style or voice quality. Furthermore, the written language can make use of symbols (e.g. @, , , ), tables, diagrams and other figures – all of which cannot be reproduced in the spoken language or at least not easily. The spoken language is more immediate (usually restricted to people close by), generally more short-lived (bar a recording), more spontaneous, and more individual while the written language is more independent of the circumstances of its production, accessible over a longer period of time, often carefully planned and even edited, and subject to conventions of standardization, including spelling in particular. Written grammar tends to be fussier and more complex than spoken grammar, but also more generally free of the lexical vagaries like and stuff, fillers such as like or y’know, false starts (well, I, I … she finally said yes), hesitiation signals (uh), and redundancies (I liked it – it was really good, absolutely tops) of speech. Perhaps because of these differences many speakers of the language consider the written language to be the “real” language and miss the point that the two forms of the language fulfill different functions, each appropriate and legitimate in its own right. As far as English is concerned, there are probably quite a few speakers of the language besides young children who are not (functionally) literate. On the other hand, as English spreads across the world as a global language there are probably very many users of the language who are more comfortable with the written than the spoken language, esp. since spelling is highly fixed while accent varies enormously. Word form is the shape of a lexeme on a particular occasion, including an identical sequence of letters or sounds. Example: Herkneth to me, gode men - Wives, maydnes, and alle men - Of a tale that ich you wile telle (Text 4.6) has eighteen different word forms; in other words, both occurrences of men count separately as do me and ich, which are two forms of one single lexeme (the 1st person singular personal pronoun). A word form is the concrete, physical occurrence of a word and may be graphic or phonetic in nature; indeed, it may be tactile (e.g. in the braille alphabet) or visually signed in sign language. In contrast, a
lexeme is abstract, which means that the repeated occurrence of the “same” word form can only be interpreted as the occurrence of same lexeme more than once. Spelling (orthography) is the conventional means of representing language in the written medium. English uses the Latin alphabet for this, but once also used runes. The principle of English spelling is – despite its bad reputation, which itself is due largely to a lack of serious spelling reform – phonetic. Many of the exceptions are due to borrowing or to sound changes (see also archaisms) which have
occurred since spelling was fixed. Examples:
few where it is /e/
Principles of writing can be realized in a wide variety of ways. Some languages use a syllabary, some use ideograms or a logogram system of characters, others, like English use an alphabet. There are also rebus-supported systems of writing. A syllabary makes use of graphic symbols which stand not for a single sound (or phoneme), but for a combination of sounds, usually a consonant + vowel combination, which together make up a syllable. Japanese uses a syllabary, as does Cherokee. Example: the following comes from a chart of the syllabary used to write the Cherokee language. As you can see, the first line combines an initial /ts/and
the second line an initial /w/ with the vowels in each column: a – e – i – o – u – . All told the Cherokee syllabary consists of some 85 syllabograms.
Ideograms are characters said to correspond to “ideas” (meanings) rather than to pronunciations. Chinese is the best known example of a language with a writing system made up of ideograms. The total number of characters which are available for Chinese may lie close to 50,000 even though normally well educated users of Chinese can manage very well with between three and four thousand. Example:
is the character for hànzì “Chinese character.” English stands in distinct contrast to Chinese inasmuch as it uses a phonetic writing system or alphabet. English does, of course, use holistic symbols such as <#> or <%> or <$>, and, indeed, it always has as we see in the use of <7>, a character from the Tironian notes (devised by Marcus Tullius Tiro, 103- 4 BE), the secretary of Cicero, as a stenographic short-hand ), which stands for ond “and” in much the
way that <&> (ampersand) does today. English sometimes indulges in the fun of a text containing rebus forms (a rebus is picture or symbol which resembles the intended sound or spelling). Example:
(A poor old man was driving a pig to market with a whip tied to its leg when by some accident the pig got loose. The man ran after him, but piggy es[caped] …
While the example just given is a bit older, we should not forget that people still love the ludic element in such texts and play it out in texting or e-mail language. Alphabet is a system of written symbols which represent sounds. In our case, an alphabet, but which one? For there are quite a few. Examples: (Greek); а б в г д е (Cyrillic); (Hebrew); or a b c d e (Latin)? OE used runes in the very early period, but OE spelling adopted the Latin alphabet with the phonetic values of the letters associated with it and added new letters to represent some of the sounds which differed from Latin. These graphs include thorn <þ>, which is used for present-day
(nominative plural)”; and <> elsewhere, e.g. fri “peace, refuge” or oerne “other, second, next.” Both
of them are pronounced either as voiceless// or voiced //depending on their position in a word
and the stress pattern of the word. Wynn <ƿ> for /w/ is a further graph used in OE, but not present in the Latin alphabet. A final, slightly unusual letter is <æ> as in þær “there, then.” It is called “ash” and is pronounced as a low front vowel, for which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) uses the same symbol /æ/. Very limited use was made in OE of distinct capital letters. However, the differentiation began to grow as the Carolingian script spread in the period after the 9th century. The parallel existence of both uncial (majuscule) script and Carolingian minuscule script led to a capital-lower case distinction (Color plate no. 2.2 Mercy and Truth [Carolingian minuscule]). ME added the letter yogh <ȝ> for /j/, /g/, and
//. In the long term the Latin alphabet was adopted in its classical form with 23 letters. During the EModE period printers ceased to use the letters unfamiliar to present-day readers of English even though
was used for both the vowel (him) and the consonant (Iesus). Furthermore, we often find
feoh (f) ur (u) thorn (þ, th) ós (o) rad (r) cen (c/k) gyfu (, g/j) wynn (w) hægl (h) nyd (n) is (i)
ger (j) eoh (eo) peor (p) eolh (x, k) sigel (s) Tiw (t) beorc (b) eh (eoh) (e) mann (m) lagu (l)
ing () éel () dæg (d) ac (a) æsc (æ) yr (y) ior (ia, io) ear (ea)
Relatively few texts written using the furthorc have been passed on. Text 2.2 is one such example, taken from the Ruthwell Cross (erected in the 7th century) in Southern Scotland and bearing a excerpt from the poem “The Dream of the Rood.” IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) (see following chart found at IPA_chart_2005.png). The IPA offers an alternative set of symbols used to designate sounds unambiguously. If used broadly each phoneme in a language is assigned one symbol. Example: the
in privilege are all /d/. A narrow transcription is more strictly phonemic and distinguishes allophonic
variants such as monophthongal [e] and diphthongal [e] for /e/ as in late.
(Spoken vs. written language: word form and spelling) (Principles of writing) Rules of English spelling Rules of OE spelling Rules of ModE spelling (Historical practice) (Present-Day practice)
English spellings follow a relatively straight-forward set of phonetic principles. The reputation of English spelling is, however, notoriously bad. This lies in the fact the realization of the principles draws on a large number of traditional spellings which themselves go back to differing conventions of both spelling and pronunciation. Above all, English orthography has been relatively resistant toward
spelling reform. Among the important traditions we must count (1) the presumed phonetic quality of the vowels associated with the letters of the Latin alphabet in OE times; (2) French writing conventions which were adopted in part in the period after the Norman Conquest; (3) differing regional spelling traditions based on sometimes clearly differing regional pronunciations of English; (4) the unhistorical remodeling of spelling to conform to the etymological sources of individual words; (5) the maintenance of older spellings despite often major changes in the pronunciation, as due, for example, to the Great Vowel Shift; and, finally, widespread borrowing from other languages along with the foreign spelling conventions. All of this is coupled with a great inertia in undertaking reform. There were some modest, but widely accepted changes in the EModE period or shortly after it. But even the limited reforms generally prevailing in AmE have not been embraced within the BrE spelling tradition. OE spelling (2.3.1) did not have the strict convention of spaces between words that we are familiar with. Although most texts used a modified Latin alphabet, not all did. There were, furthermore, regional differences in spelling which had in part to do with regional differences in pronunciation, but also with different scribal traditions. Since by far the largest number of OE texts which we have fall within the Wessex standard, the latter point is not very prominent. For texts which reveals both sorts of difference, see Text 2.6 and the discussion of it in 2.5.4 (see also below Caedmon’s Hymn). The OE spelling of the consonants was much more regular than ModE spellings are. The most inconsistent was the spelling of the fricative. The graph <þ> did not distinguish between the voiceless
and voiced allophones [] and []. Likewise , /s/ or /z/. This was
not a problem however, since the voiceless fricatives /f, , s/ were restricted to initial or final position
while /v, , z/ were medial. Examples: and forgyf us ūre gyltas, swā swā we forgyfaþ ūrum gyltendum (from the Lord‟s Prayer, Matthew 6:12 qtd from Carpenter 1891: 52) “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” where the initial and final
forgyfa is voiced /v/. In contrast,
“bishops.” And
interpret. Before the front vowels and
in ciricean “church”; elsewhere
in the verbal prefix ge-, but // elsewhere, cf. gylde “(re-)pay” and scillinga “shillings” (examples from Text 2.1). One final ambiguous letter is
a consonant, as in Æelbirht or at the end of a word as in feoh “property” (ModE fee). The letter-vowels are assumed to have been pronounced much like their “Continental” values, but the use of macrons – or long marks – over the vowel letters in many editions of OE texts is a purely convenient modern convention based on the presumed length of the vowel, viz. long <ā, æ, ē, ī, ō, ū,
y> with a macron and the same letters without a macron as short. For two vowel-letters together in
words like feoh or gebiege we assume a diphthongal pronunciation /eo/ and /iy/ (cf. Hogg 1992 or Blake 1996 for details on OE pronunciation). Blake, N. (1996) A History of the English Language. Houndsmill: Palgrave. Carpenter, S.H. (1891) “The Sermon on the Mount,” In: An Introduction to the Study of the Anglo-Saxon Language. Boston: Ginn, 49-55. Hogg, R.M. (1992) “Phonology and Morphology,” In: R.M. Hogg (ed.) The Cambridge History of the English Language. vol. I. The Beginnings to 1066. Cambridge: CUP, 67-167. Caedmon’s Hymn is a late 7th century composition which exists in several different versions. The manuscript from 737 gives us some idea of Anglian usage, and this can be compared to West Saxon usage. The choice of words in the two versions below is identical with the exception of l.5, which has Anglian scop aelda barnum “created, the High Lord, for men”, but West Saxon sceop eorðan bearnum “created the earth for men.” The major differences are to be found in the vowels. It is widely recognized that West Saxon underwent a process of diphthongization which does not show up in northern texts. Vowel qualities also seem to have varied. Some apparent differences are, however, probably only spelling conventions. Since the two texts come from different regions and from difference times, the variation may be due to either factor or both. The following table, drawn from material in the texts, is only a selection of the spelling contrasts (see Text 2.6 and the discussion there; Blake 1996: 69-73; 115-119). Early Anglian (Northumbrian, MS of 737) Early West Saxon (1st half of 10th century) metudæs maecti end his modgidanc, meotodes meahte and his modgeþanc, 2 The Creator‟s power and His conception, uerc uuldurfadur, sue he uundra gihuaes, weorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæs, The work of the Father of Glory, as He of every wonder Anglian West Saxon Spellings metuds meotodes <> vs.
-fadur -fder <-ur> vs. <-er> for later <-er>; the former an old genitive
Excerpt from “Cædmon‟s Hymn”: 2009 Following the early, 7th century literary primacy of Northumbria with Bede and Caedmon, as represented by the preceding text, the literary and political center moved southward to Mercia in the 8th century. Evidence of the Mercian tradition is to be found in the Life of St. Chad, which is preserved in a 12th century manuscript, but employs 9th century spelling. This text suggests a pre-Alfredian interest in translation and reveals a relatively standardized language (Blake 1996: 76). But clearly Mercian power and the Mercian literary tradition (see Cynwulf) were destroyed by the Norse incursions.
Consequently, West Saxon was to be the standard language, and its spelling what we are most likely to meet with. Blake, N. (1996) A History of the English Language. Houndsmill: Palgrave.
Middle English spelling could no longer rely on the orthographic system introduced in connection with the standardization of West Saxon. Although the West Saxon scribal tradition continued to be practiced after the Conquest, the surviving standard was no longer prestigious and gradually grew outdated by change. A number of conventions began to shift, probably largely due to contact with French. Although no standard emerged in the early ME period, it is possible to see some more or less general effects. One of these is that non-Latin letters fell into disuse. Eventually,
a consonant for /j/ and <> would be fully retired. Examples: : geong vs. jonge; and
gif. <þ> and <> were being replaced by
southwest where , a French spelling, but also
Sanges sere of selcuth rime, Mony songes of dyuerse ryme Many a song of different rime,
Inglis, frankys, and latine, As englisshe frensshe & latyne In English, French, and Latin. to rede and here Ilkon is prest, To rede & here mony are prest Each one to read and hear is pressed*
þe thynges þat þam likes best. Of þinges þat hem likeþ best The things that please them all the best.
Text 4.8: Parallel excerpts from Cursor Mundi, Northern (Cotton) and Southern (Trinity) versions
Pronunciation (through spelling):
Northern English has /a/ for OE ā, where Southern English has // (sanges-songes; also S: mony)
Northern , probably /s/ for Southern
Northern English tends to for Southern //. And, finally, the representation of the vowels underwent changes due in part to French. Examples: does not seem to have had imitators. He took great care to distinguish the three sounds, /, j, d/ otherwise represented by OE <> by using two (or including a special distinct graphemes. Orm distinguished between // using grimme “grim, fierce” vs. iff “if” (Text 4.5: Admonition from the Ormulum, second half of 12th century). Especially fascinating is his system of indicating long vowels by letting them be followed by a single consonant only while short vowels were followed by doubled consonants. Examples: þiss boc iss nemmnedd Orrmulum forrþi þatt Orrm itt wrohhte. “This book is named Ormulum for Orm created it” (“Preface to Ormulum, ll. 1-2), where all the vowels are short except those in boc, the ‟s of Orrmulum, and in forrþi; the by double consonant-letters and the long ones by only one, e.g. l. 5 follc (“folk, people”) // vs. l. 7 god (“good”) /o/. This indicates that the long-short consonant distinction of OE had presumably been lost (Blake 1996: 125). Orm also sometimes used single accents to mark long vowels (l. 2 tór “difficult”) or double ones (l. 7 üt “out”). Blake, N. (1996) A History of the English Language. Houndsmill: Palgrave. Chancery English, the language of the government administration in London was available as the basis for spelling from about 1400 on. The clerks of the Chancery were trained into a system of writing twice and <þ> twice; Southern has only <þ> Blake, N. (1996) A History of the English Language. Houndsmill: Palgrave. French influence on the spelling of English became an important and lasting factor in the ME period. The most significant influence was on vocabulary, but French also reinforced or initiated structural innovations and influenced spelling. Examples: in OE, is now made maintained by as lazar “leper” < Lazarus. Gradually, replaced <þ> and <>, but then as now no orthographic distinction was made between // and