David Crystal: the story of English spelling

nickel

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Αντιγράφω από το δημοσίευμα της εφημερίδας Guardian, ενόψει της προσεχούς κυκλοφορίας του καινούργιου βιβλίου του Ντέιβιντ Κρίσταλ με τίτλο Spell it Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling. Η ετυμολογική ορθογραφία· κάθε λεξικό έχει τον δικό του χαβά· ο κόσμος ψηφίζει τις ορθογραφίες με τα διαδικτυακά του δάκτυλα. Τίτλοι που θα μπορούσαν να μπουν σε συζητήσεις για τη δική μας γλώσσα και ορθογραφία.

There was still a great deal of variation, though, so in the 16th century spelling reformers came up with their Big Idea: etymology. If the word meaning "money owed" appeared in such varied ways as det, dett or deytt, people obviously needed help, and this would come from the word's history. The word was debitum in Latin, so they recommended a silent b. You might think such an arcane idea would never catch on, but it did – along with the b in subtle, the l in salmon and the p in receipt, and many more. In trying to simplify the system, the reformers ended up complicating it.

The big dictionaries of later years, such as Johnson's and Webster's, did their best to standardise spelling, but with only limited success. Today, there are many differences between British and American English. And publishing houses (and newspapers) vary over such words as realize and realise, judgment and judgement, flower pot, flower-pot and flowerpot. Encyclopedias make different choices over foreign names – Tutankhamen, Tutankhamun, Tut'ankhamun; 15% of words in our dictionaries have alternative spellings.

And we ain't seen nothin' yet. Spellings are made by people. Dictionaries – eventually – reflect popular choices. And the internet is allowing more people to influence spelling than ever before. In 2006 there were just a few hundred instances of rubarb on Google. By 2010 there were nearly 100,000. This month there's around 750,000. People are voting with their fingers. The original medieval spelling without h is reasserting itself. It will be a standard alternative one day, and – who knows – may eventually supplant rhubarb entirely.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/aug/23/david-crystal-story-english-spelling?newsfeed=true
 
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