Spelling

Spelling is the writing of a word or words with the necessary letters and diacritics present in a comprehensible order, usually with some degree of standardization; it is "the conventions which determine how the graphemes of a writing system are used to write a language".[1] Spelling is one of the elements of orthography, and highly standardized spelling is a prescriptive element.

Spellings originated as transcriptions of the sounds of spoken language according to the alphabetic principle. They remain largely reflective of the sounds, although fully phonemic spelling is an ideal that most languages' orthographies only approximate, some more closely than others. This is true for various reasons, including that pronunciation changes over time in all languages, yet spellings as visual norms may resist change. In addition, words from other languages may be adopted without being adapted to the spelling system, and different meanings of a word or homophones may be deliberately spelled in different ways to differentiate them visually.

Spelling standards and conventions

Uniformity in the spelling of words is one of the features of a standard language in modern times, and official languages usually have standard spellings. However, this is a relatively recent development linked to the compiling of dictionaries, the founding of national academies and other institutions of language maintenance, including widespread education and literacy, and often doesn't apply to minority and regional languages.

In countries where there is an official language academy; such as France, the Netherlands, and Germany, reforms are regularly made so that spelling better matches the changing pronunciation.

Examples include:

English-language spelling reform proposals have been regularly made since the 16th century, but have made little impact apart from a few spellings preferred by Noah Webster having contributed to American and British English spelling differences.

Methods used to teach and learn spelling

Learning proper spelling by rote is a traditional element of elementary education and divergence from standard spelling is often perceived as an indicator of low intelligence, illiteracy, or lower class standing.[2]

Spelling tests are commonly used to assess a student's mastery over the words in the spelling lessons the student has received so far. They can also be an effective practice method. Spelling bees are competitions to determine the best speller of a group. Prominent spelling bees are even televised, such as the National Spelling Bee in the United States.

Divergent spelling

Main article: Sensational spelling

Divergent spelling is a popular advertising technique, used to attract attention or to render a trademark "suggestive" rather than "merely descriptive." The pastry chains Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, for example, employ non-standard spellings.

Misspellings

A misspelling of purchased on a service station sign.

While some words admit multiple spellings, some spellings are not considered standard, and thus labeled as misspellings. A misspelled word can be a series of letters that represents no correctly spelled word of the same language at all (such as "leik" for "like") or a correct spelling of another word (such as writing "here" when one means "hear", or "no" when one means "know"). Misspellings of the latter type can easily make their way into printed material because they are not caught by simple computerized spell checkers.

Misspellings may be due to either typing errors (e.g. the transposition error teh for the), or lack of knowledge of the correct spelling. Whether or not a word is misspelled may depend on context, as is the case with American / British English distinctions. Misspelling can also be a matter of opinion when variant spellings are accepted by some and not by others. For example, "miniscule" (for "minuscule") is a misspelling to many,[3] and yet it is listed as an acceptable variant in some dictionaries.[4][5]

A well-known Internet scam involves the registration of domain names that are deliberate misspellings of well-known corporate names in order to mislead or defraud. The practice is commonly known as "typosquatting".[6]

Notable English misspellings in history

See also

English spelling
  • Frequently misused words
  • Lists of common misspellings
Other languages

References

  1. ↑ Coulmas, F. (1996), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems, Oxford:Blackwells
  2. ↑ 1992: Gaffe with an 'e' at the end, by Paul Mickle / The Trentonian
  3. ↑ "miniscule", Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary; states that this spelling is "widely regarded as an error"
  4. ↑ "miniscule", The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
  5. ↑ "miniscule", Cambridge Dictionary of American English
  6. ↑ "Typosquatters Act May Apply to Misspelling Domain Names to Mislead Surfers", Shari Claire Lewis, New York Law Journal, September 15, 2004
  7. ↑ Ohio, p. 138, Victoria Sherrow, Marshall Cavendish, 2008
  8. ↑ QI: Quite Interesting facts about 100, telegraph.co.uk
  9. ↑ referer – Definitions from Dictionary.com
  10. ↑ Robinson, J. (2005). "Sequim History" (PDF). City of Sequim, Washington. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  11. ↑ Town of Quartzsite 2003 General Plan
  12. ↑ Norbury, J. K. W. Word Formation in the Noun and Adjective.

Further reading

External links

Look up spelling in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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